Peoples Park

From dKosopedia

Category: California

People's Park was created by hundreds of people who responded to the April 18, 1969 announcement in the Berkeley Barb to build a park on land where a block of buildings ahd been demolished. They arrived on April 20, 1969 to clear ground, plant trees, grass, flowers, set up playground equipment. It's an idea of Michael Delacour and other Berkeley activists to reclaim a block of demolished houses UC Berkeley had left in rubble. The activists understood the move to demolish the flats had been an attack on a politically active and bohemian Berkeley community by the University. Additionally, or primarilly for some, the rubble was a public nuisance adjacent to the remaining homes. This began a long series of conflicts, a battle of wills between the popular masseds and Republican Governor Ronald Reagan. The latter eventually called in the National Guard to secure the perimeter of the property in 1969. Reagan ultimately lost his battle of wills. Today it is still a park, still owned by UC Berkeley, and still the center of a vocal political community.

External Links

• People's Park Home Page
• Berkeley Parks and Recreation

(see also Urban Garden Projects)