Ohlone Park facts for kids
Ohlone Park is a public park located in Berkeley, California, in the United States. It sits on a long strip of land along the north side of Hearst Avenue. This park stretches between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Sacramento Street.
Right underneath the park, you'll find the subway tracks used by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Specifically, the Richmond–Warm Springs/South Fremont and Richmond-Daly City trains run below. Ohlone Park is also part of a larger path system called the Ohlone Greenway.
The park is mostly covered in grass with some trees. It offers paths for walking and biking, a special area for dogs to play off-leash, a basketball court, and a small field for ball games. Interestingly, the dog park here was the very first off-leash dog park in the entire United States!
How Ohlone Park Was Created
Ohlone Park was not planned in the usual way. It was created by the people of Berkeley themselves. This happened during a time of public debate in the late 1960s, connected to the famous People's Park controversy.
Land for the Park
The land where Ohlone Park now stands was once home to many houses. The BART system bought these houses and tore them down. This was done to build the underground subway through Berkeley. After the subway trench was filled in, BART planned to build apartment buildings on the land.
However, before BART could finish their plans, the citizens of Berkeley took action. They started planting grass and trees on the strip of land. They even called it "People's Park Annex." This showed how much the community wanted a green space.
Formalizing the Park
After many discussions and public meetings, BART agreed to give the Hearst Avenue strip to the City of Berkeley. The park was then officially named "Ohlone Park." This name honors the local indigenous people who lived in this area for thousands of years.
- Map: 37°52′22″N 122°16′40″W / 37.87278°N 122.27778°W
Images for kids
-
A jungle gym sculpture from the People's Park Annex area (2011).
