South Berkeley/Telegraph Ave
Telegraph Avenue, for three generations the engine of Berkeley's countercultural tendencies, is a vibrant, living anthropological museum. Still-angry activists draft leftist tracts in cafes, aging hippies sell tie-dye and macramé from sidewalk tables next to Rastas offering knit tam o'shanters and hemp advocates hawking bumper stickers. Knots of disaffected youngsters in black leather set up camp on the curb. The inevitable "Berkeley Crazy" floats through the crowd, talking animatedly to unseen companions. For the thousands of undergraduates who do their business on "The Avenue," however, it is all just background (or foreground) to the eateries, record barns, clothing outlets and bookstores lining the four blocks between Bancroft and Dwight. Rasputin's, Amoeba Music and Moe's have ardent, extra-dedicated followings after decades in business on Telegraph Avenue. The street merchants, who sell their wares weekdays on the sidewalks, spill into the street en masse on Sundays, when traffic is diverted away from Telegraph. History buffs can see People's Park by wandering up Haste Street or Dwight Way a 300 feet/110 meters or so east (toward the hills), but in truth the scruffy and overgrown lot tends to attract a rather seedy crowd and is best avoided, especially at night. Further south, Telegraph Avenue widens and begins to feature more conventional businesses such as doctor's offices, photo finishing labs and gas stations. South Berkeley as a whole, with its quiet neighborhoods of small bungalow homes, lacks the multicultural action of the area near the campus. There are scattered attractions for the visitor, however: epicures and organic food lovers flock to the large Whole Foods at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Ashby Street and to the landmark Berkeley Bowl (justly famed for its voluminous produce section) at the corner of Shattuck and Russell streets. Retro-rockers can find used tube amps and guitars at Univibe (Adeline near Ashby), and Flint's Bar-B-Q devotees are legion (ask for the pork slab). At the Ashby BART station, the Saturday flea market has been drawing big crowds of bargain hunters for thirty years.Nightlife
Attractions
Telegraph Avenue Street Vendors
University Press Books of Berkeley
Restaurants
Wat Mongkolratanaram (Thai Temple)
Asian Restaurants at Durant Avenue
Hotels
