It was Chinese New Year last Wednesday, but there was another reason for our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group to celebrate when we met at the Exedra. As part of the Piedmont Beautification Foundation’s 60th anniversary, we were going to see the second of three sets of projects that the PBF has supported during its years of service to Piedmont.
This Wednesday we were going to see the Ramona/Ronada Triangle and the Dracena Park’s tot lot and Storyteller Bridge. At each location a PBF volunteer was going to tell us about the project. A big turnout of 49 walkers and a record of eight K-9 best friends were on hand. See the attached photo of our friends.
The morning started off with Matt G and PBF President Patty D telling us about PBF and what we were going to see that morning. We headed off in a long line going down Highland, Moraga, and Estrella Avenues to Ramona Avenue. Molly A, who lives nearby, shared the Ramona/Ronada Triangle’s history while a video team from the City’s KCOM team taped her talk.
In the early 2010s residents on Ronada and Ramona Avenues thought this corner was a traffic safety hazard for children going to school. The neighbors felt the crosswalk was too wide and traffic coming off Moraga was dangerously fast. The residents came to the Park Commission and presented their case for the intersection’s improvement. They had raised money and were willing to financially support improvements. The City appreciated their commitment, and PBF campaigned to raise more money to develop this triangle park. It was determined that a small park projecting out from 109 Ronada along with a stop sign would slow traffic. Landscaping with drought tolerant plants and handsome masonry were done, and the park’s opening celebration was Arbor Day 2014. This was also the 50th anniversary of PBF. Molly noted the plants have grown and matured beautifully over the last ten years. This little park is in the middle of a busy street, but it is also a sanctuary. During Covid many chats were had on the bench, so this beautiful park helps slow traffic and creates a community meeting location. After Molly answered questions, the attached group photo was taken.
Then we were off, going down Ramona, up a hidden set of stairs to Arroyo Avenue, and down Ricardo Avenue to the foot of Dracena Park. We admired the exposed roots of two magnolia trees and how they intertwined to support one another. Sherry J said this is like redwoods the group saw the week before in the Jerome Triangle. The walkers went up to the tot lot in Dracena Park where Nancy K, the City’s Parks & Project Manager, was there to share the park’s history while the KCOM crew taped, and little people played nearby.
Dracena Park’s site was part of Walter Blair’s land purchase in 1852. Blair was the first European settler in the area. This land had basalt outcrop, a dark-colored formation of volcanic rock, and Blair created a quarry to extract it. This material paved early Oakland and Piedmont roads. However, in 1890 Blair’s diggers struck an underground stream. A lake formed and the quarry work stopped. In 1903 Frank C. Havens bought the land and it was left as a natural area, but in 1916 Piedmont voters approved a bond to purchase the land. The site was used in 1924 by the City as a corporation yard and nursery. It took over 200 truckloads of dirt to flatten the area. For over 40 years the old quarry was fenced for public safety, but in 1975 the City started to develop the former quarry site. In 2004 PBF was a major contributor to the development of the play area, tot lot, and landscaping, and in 2006 the tot lot was renovated with new equipment, matting, lighting, and paths. The fence that closed the area was removed, opening the lower park.
Nancy then took us and the videographers up to Storyteller Bridge. The original bridge connected Park Way and Dracena Avenue and spanned the Dracena Park Ravine from the 1920s until the early 1960s. It was in bad shape and was removed in the 1990s. The upper pathways were made safer with paving in 2010. A large renovation took place in 2013 with funding for the new Storyteller Bridge. It was built and presented to the city in 2014 by Cole Becker and his family, as his Boy Scout Eagle project, with the support of PBF and others.
After Nancy completed these histories, it was time for us to make our return to the Exedra via Park Way and Highland Avenue. We walked back with greater appreciation of PBF’s support for the projects that have enhanced the beauty of our city.
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