Photo by flickr user redyaffle
The Walnut Creek Open Space staff are giving a talk titled, “Why Trees?” from 7 – 8pm this evening at Howe Homestead Park.
We’ll be discussing the facts and fancies about three of the most common trees found in the Open Space — the oak, sycamore and walnut. Learn about the benefits to wildlife from these species as well as cultural information from around the world. We’ll be in the Dutch Kitchen at Howe.
Spotted at a Starbucks in downtown Walnut Creek on N. Main St. and Duncan St. According to the Walnut Creek downtown historic sites page:
Walnut Creek’s first financial institution, the San Ramon Valley Bank, was built in 1908 at the southeast corner of Main and Duncan. The bank left the building after a few years, and the building saw many different uses as an office and retail store before being razed in 1998.
This is what the bank looked like in the beginning:
I can’t believe it was still here as late as 1998. That would have been cool to see.
With a few hours to spare I decided to check out the new 21 Jump Street movie at the Century movie theater in downtown Walnut Creek. The times popped up on Google immediately so I headed out for a 2:25 showing.
I get there and they ring me up for a $14 ticket. For a moment I thought I was hallucinating that I was in Manhattan, because a movie ticket in Walnut Creek can’t be more than $8. And then I remembered about the special XD movie theater with special seats, audio and a larger screen. Not wanting to lose out on seeing the movie I shelled out the $14 and decided to see what’s so special about the XD theater. Would it be worth the extra 75%? Put simply, no way. The theater was rather empty considering it was opening weekend, so I think most people would agree.
Lesson learned: when you check for movie times at the Century theater in downtown Walnut Creek, make sure you steer clear of the XD showings.
Be on the lookout for a toy that looks like a bus as pictured above. In 2007, they were handed out in Antioch, Bay Point, Concord, Pittsburg, Richmond, San Pablo, Martinez and Brentwood, but may have ended up in Walnut Creek and Lafayette. From an email:
Dear Beyond the Creek,
I would like to alert you to a lead contamination health crisis here in CCC involving toys containing up to 2100 ppm (which is 21 times the current federal limit).
This situation was not reported to the general public here in Contra Costa County, CA, and as the danger remains, I feel the public has a right to be more fully informed about the matter. Moreover, it seems that the agency violated the federal Consumer Product Safety Act, which requires that any distributor of hazardous toys involving a recall is required to immediately report it to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They admittedly did not do that, nor did they report it to the State of California public health officials, and it’s not confirmed that they actually informed our county’s lead poisoning office, which may be required by law as well.
Read the rest after the jump
photo by flickr user joeshlabotnik
The City of Walnut Creek is giving out free sandbags:
Free sand and sandbags are available in the parking lots of Heather Farm Community Center, Howe Homestead, Larkey Park and at Lancaster Road at Orchard Lane. Bring your own shovel. See a road hazard due to the rain? Call 943-5854.
The lululemon “team lemon” run club meets every Tuesday evening at 6 pm in the lululemon store located next to Talbot’s in downtown Walnut Creek. They do 3 – 5 mile loops according to the sign in front. If anyone’s been let us know how it is.
Thanks to reader obiwan, who spotted this at the Artform Frame Shop next to the Sunrise Bistro in downtown Walnut Creek. The sign say:
UNATTENDED CHILDREN
will be given candy and a free puppy.
The Management
Can you spot the error? When a reader mentioned a sign at a downtown Walnut Creek restaurant last week I thought it was going to be a small hand-written sign, but this sign is HUGE. The apostrophe in “it’s” indicates a contraction of “it is” or “it has”, so in this case it should be, “SOUL FOOD AT ITS BEST”.
I don’t get it because I thought this was a chain restaurant, so maybe there is some history to this usage?
Update: Earlier I noted that these Christmas lights were coming down, but it turns out they are going up to celebrate the grand opening of Neiman Marcus this week. They will also be displayed on the trees in front of California Pizza Kitchen all year.
The Christmas lights at the Broadway Plaza fountain were taken down last Friday. Note the new Neiman Marcus popup in the background.
Strolling around downtown Walnut Creek while window shopping, hanging out at a fountain, or getting a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant, you might never realize that hiding within steps of this great shopping district is a koi pond so magnificent, yet so serene, it’s as if you stepped into a different world. These koi are HUGE by the way. You have to see it in person to see what I mean.
To get to the koi pond, go to the corner of N. Main St. and Mt. Diablo Blvd, where Tiffany’s is, and walk over to Va de Vi, the tapas style restaurant, and turn left as if you were going to go to the resturant. You’ll see a giant oak tree. Keep walking past the oak tree, and the koi pond will be a few steps beyond.
I had always wondered what the story was behind the koi pond, and finally found out that it was built by the developer of that block, called “The Corners”, Brian Hirahara, of BH Development (the company that was recently awarded the parking lot across the street), who turns out grew up in Walnut Creek. He emailed me a detailed explanation:
The origin of the koi started with the fact that I grew up
near the creek that runs by Oak Grove & Valley Vista, down the hill from Boundary Oak. My brother and I and our friends used to spend countless hours exploring the creek, and there were even orange carp (less fancy versions of koi, which are fancy carp) that were trapped under the aqua-duct and we would try to catch them. So this fascination with water / creeks / fish evolved into a tropical fish hobby growing up and much later the ponds / water features that have become a signature element of our projects.The pond has been there since we developed the project, which was completed in 2003. My office is right above Va de Vi, so the koi pond is my pet project and I feed them every day. We also have 4 resident turtles in the pond, 3 of which are transplants. Turtles apparently don’t make the best pets for kids at home, so people drop their unwanted turtles in our pond where they are pretty happy. One is quite large in fact, and they are quite tame and will basically eat out of my had as will the koi.
Yes, the pond is absolutely open to the public, although we don’t encourage feeding since we feed them koi food and their digestive system basically shut down during the winter so it can be harmful or fatal for the koi if they are fed the wrong food.
Unfortunately, we’ve had to replace the koi 1.5 x, the first time due to a prank (some kids stole several of the koi and put them into the fountain across the street from the Chevron and killed them) and the 2nd time due to an equipment malfunction. We’ve had to install security cameras to help with the vandalism.
As far as why we built the pond and added the koi, both of which are very expensive, it was to add unexpected life, charm, character, and authenticity to our project. Nothing gives me more pleasure than watching kids run up to the pond to marvel at the huge koi, parents from around the area bring their kids to see the pond. It provide a surprise peaceful break from the bustling downtown, an oasis in the middle of suburbia.
So please do yourself a favor and the next time you find yourself in downtown Walnut Creek, drop by the koi pond behind Va de Vi and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere while gazing at these beautiful creatures. Thanks to Brian for taking the time to explain the origins of this koi pond, as well as for installing and maintaining it for the public to enjoy.
Check out more photos of the koi pond after the jump