Aquatic Park (Berkeley)

Pedestrian Bridge at the north end of the park

Aquatic Park is a public park in Berkeley, California, United States, located just east of the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80) between Ashby and University Avenues. The park was created in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, simultaneous with its work on the nearby Berkeley Yacht Harbor. Its centerpiece is an artificial mile-long lagoon cut off from San Francisco Bay when a causeway for the Eastshore Highway was created in the 1930s in conjunction with the construction of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge approaches. The lagoon still communicates with the Bay through culverts under the freeway (one in line with Ashby Avenue, the other in line with Grayson Street). The east shoreline of the lagoon represents what used to be the original shoreline of San Francisco Bay. The park has been noted as being a long running and "historical" cruising location by the Berkeley Police Department where dozens of men engage in anonymous public sex.

Park features

Aquatic Park features picnic areas, "Dream Land for Kids"-- a large children's playground, a pedestrian-bicycle path, and a disc golf course. The lagoon is used by the Berkeley Paddling and Rowing Club year round, and by the Berkeley Water Ski Club during the summer months (their ski ramp is visible in the middle of the lagoon). Historically, it was also a practice site for the University of California crew teams (see California Golden Bears).

External links

• Aquatic Park official page
• Aquatic Park cleans up, tackles brackish reputation
• Aquatic Park advocate wins conservation award
• Cruise Judgment: Berkeley takes tentative steps to limit public sex in Aquatic Park

References

• Annual Reports of the City of Berkeley Recreation Department, 1933-1940