Fairfax Theater and Maxwell Park Obelisks

This morning, I decided to take my camera along on my morning walk, and take some pictures of streets around where I live, along with the Fairfax Theater, an old movie palace on Foothill Street below my neighborhood.  Here is a map of the route I took:

View Fairfax and Obelisks in a larger map

This first picture is the view down Monticello, looking toward the Maxwell Park obelisks at Brookdale.  These stone pillars marked the entrance to the original Maxwell Park subdivision, which was built in the 1920s.  I decided to take pictures of all the obelisks I was aware of:

 

Here is a close-up of obelisk no. 1:

Next, I headed down to the Fairfax Theater.  The picture below shows the storefront in the theater building I was thinking I'd choose for the Café Perconow, if I ever have the means and determination to open a coffee shop.  Right now, the neighborhood is a little transitional, so it may be good that my ambition to be a small business owner is not on the front burner.

Back in the day, however, the Fairfax was the place to be, according to cinema buffs.  According to the Cinema Treasures website, it opened in 1926 and could seat 1,493 patrons.  I was interested to read that a near twin of the Fairfax was built at the same time in Monterey, California, although the Fairfax was more ornate.  The Golden State Theater in Monterey has now been restored, and is considered one of the treasures of the city.  Here is a picture of the interior of the Golden State (by BWChicago) I found on Flickr:

But the Fairfax in Oakland is nearly forgotten.  It has served as a neighborhood church for several decades:

This is a close-up of the sidewalk in front of the Fairfax:

And here are what look to be original glass doors, one of which is now broken:

As I walked back up the hill from the Fairfax, I came across this Fremontodendron bush growing in a traffic circle.  It is native to California, and named for John Charles Frémont:

Here is obelisk no. 2, at the corner of Kingsland and Brookdale, now painted white:

Obelisks no. 3 are at the corner of Madera and Fleming:

A typical Maxwell Park streetscape, looking down Madera toward Birdsall:

Maxwell Park Elementary is the neighborhood school:

Interestingly, Maxwell Park qua a park is not in the original subdivision of Maxwell Park, at least judging from the placement of the obelisks.  This picture shows the entrance to the park on Fleming:

A sign of the times:

Here is Courtland Creek.  I just learned this week that a railroad called the California Railway used to run along Courtland Creek from Fruitvale to Leona Heights.  Now, the creek runs through many culverts on its way from the Oakland Hills to the bay:

The street where I live:

The view up Walnut Street from High:

Climbing up the hill toward my house:

My block:

The view from top of Walnut toward San Francisco Bay (with powerlines):

That concludes my morning walk.  I hope you enjoyed coming along!