Piece of Alameda lore could meet wrecking ball
Piece of Alameda lore could meet wrecking ball
A 94-year-old concrete bench that may be Alameda’s best-known piece of park furniture could fall to the wrecking ball.
The Recreation and Park Commission will consider a proposal Thursday to get rid of the storm-damaged Clark Memorial Bench and to replace it with a new bench and landscaping.
The 16-foot-long, four-foot-tall bench was erected in Jackson Park – Alameda’s oldest park – in 1920, donated by Isabelle Clark in memory of her late husband, a staff report to the commission says. The bench bears a plaque with the inscription “In Memory of My Dumb Friends” – a reference to Isabelle Clark’s love for animals, it says.
A palm tree toppled by a massive windstorm in January “significantly damaged” the bench, including the memorial plaque. So the parks department is talking about removing the bench, which is not listed as an historical monument.
One other reason city staffers would like to remove the bench: Police say its size and location provide “natural concealment” for miscreants who engage in “bad behaviors” at the park, which runs up the middle of Park Avenue at Encinal Avenue, the report says.
Police Chief Paul Rolleri said residents who live near the park have complained to police and members of the City Council about a list of public nuisances they’ve associated with the bench that include underage drinking, drug sales and trash. Wooldridge said she’s heard reports of pot smoking teens and that parks staff are having a hard time keeping up with graffiti; parks workers have found hypodermic needles and condoms in Jackson Park, she said.
“While this bench holds some historical value, that must be weighed with the current issue as an attractive nuisance and significant repair work required,” the report says.
Demolishing and replacing the memorial bench with a new, smaller bench and landscaping would cost $4,000; restoring it would cost $12,000, the report says.
But some are questioning the city’s rationale for demolishing the bench and saying they’d like to see it restored.
Resident David Foote said the bench is one of the things that makes Alameda unique, on par with the park’s bandstand and the wrought iron gate that lines Lincoln Park’s main entrance – things he said no one would propose destroying if they were damaged by a storm. In an e-mail to Wooldridge and members of the City Council, he said destroying the bench won’t make “any meaningful difference” toward controlling illicit behavior in the park.
“The legendary Clark Memorial Bench is one of those very special treasures that give Alameda its quirky and much-admired atmosphere, foster good memories and bind the generations together. Let's fix the Jackson Park bench, not destroy it,” Foote wrote.
While the Alameda Architectural Preservation Society hasn’t taken a formal position on the bench’s fate, first vice president Jim Smallman said most of its members “would very much like to see this historic artifact restored.” Smallman questioned the city’s estimate of the cost to fix the bench, saying that the damage was limited to the concrete apron in front of the bench and the dedication sign.
Smallman said he doesn’t think destroying the bench will halt problems in the park; other suggestions for addressing the problem have included lighting, video monitors, a drinking fountain for dogs to encourage people to walk their pets there and a neighborhood watch program.
“I just hate to see this nearly hundred year old artifact lost to the red herring of drug use,” Smallman said. “Destruction would accomplish nothing, and be another loss to the community.”
Wooldridge said that if people want to raise money to fix the bench or offer suggestions for addressing crime and nuisances in Jackson Park, she’s “completely open to those options.” Regardless of what happens next – which will be a while off, she said – the bench will soon get a fresh coat of paint.
“I’m open for discussion,” Wooldridge said. “It’s not a final decision made.”
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