Lafayette Square Park

Would actually like to leave no stars for this wasted opportunity of a city park. Living across the street, we hear the toilets flush 24/​7, along with the constant late-​night/​early-​morning crazed banter of park-​people. Have called the police multiple times after witnessing assaults & drug activity. Would never let my kids play on the jungle gym let alone sit on the grass or use the bathrooms.

I went to Lafayette Square early on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy the sunshine and to read a book while eating my falafel wrap from Brown Couch Café. The homeless man who came and sat down at the other end of my park bench had a different idea, at least as far as the reading went. He and I shared some good conversation though, talking about life and where it leads us. I guess that bit of reflection and looking at life from eyes different than my own was what I really wanted anyway. It was a good afternoon.
All that humanism aside, I should say that a healthy bit of common sense and being aware of your surroundings isn’t a bad idea in Lafayette Square. There were a couple of guys smoking crack in the bathroom for a while. They weren’t there to bother anyone though. To me it’s all a wonderful part of the theatre of life but others may see things differently.

Beautiful redesign but no one but the bums hang out there and the po-​po and caretakers have a bad habit of driving over the grass when it’s still wet, leaving big ugly gashes on the mound and lawn.

An urban park that established the reputation of landscape architect Walter Hood. More than a century and a half old, it’s been here longer than nearly anything else associated with Oakland. Its current incarnation, designed by Hood and opened in 1999, includes tables for the chess and checker players, benches where nearby office workers can enjoy their lunch, and restrooms regularly used as pit stops by the homeless. A large, gently-​sloped mound marks the location where the first Chabot Observatory once stood, a mere three blocks from City Hall, before it relocated to the Oakland Hills. A perfect example of how an eroding downtown can revitalize itself with the addition of a city park designed primarily for adults.