The falling neighborhood

Yesterday I spent some time wandering around Oakland taking pictures. As most of you know, this is one of my favorite things to do for free time. Kel was in the middle of rowing, so I had a few hours to explore.

Awhile back I read an interesting story on Insidebayarea.com about three houses sliding down a hill in the East Oakland neighborhood of San Antonio. The photos from our staff photographer were riveting and heightened my interest in seeing this spectacle.

So I set off in search of these three houses.

Mind you, this neighborhood isn't the nicest part of town, so going early in the morning was key. I had also read that these homes were a haven for drug deals, crime and homelessness, so I had to be extra careful with what I might encounter.

So I drove up 14th Ave, turned right on 24th St. and went to the top of the hill. I turned left on 19th Ave. in what I thought was the right location. Just up the road to my left was Wallace St., ground zero for a living landslide. I pulled up in front of one of the homes and got out to inspect the territory. At first I stayed close to the truck, but the early hours proved to be very quiet and safe to wander.

What struck me was the three or four feet of space under the back portion of the middle home. The foundation was still in place, but the entire house had lifted to a point where anyone could craw in. Obviously this is why the homeless have used it as a very dangerous form of shelter. This was a house literally teetering on the brink of collapse, gripping to the edge of a hill. I thought, it could fall any minute.



All three homes were a classic example of blight. Graffiti was tagged on various walls and the yards were clearly the neighborhood dumping ground. Plywood covered windows and doors and a makeshift fence was put up to unsuccessfully keep people out. There was a beat up stroller on the front step and a child's toy truck left from a time long past. It was so quiet, you could almost hear those children still playing on their front step, not knowing their homes would one day slide from underneath their little feet.

I walked to the back to get a few shots of the hill. I looked at the two-story blue home on the edge and realized the bottom of the hill was the last spot I wanted to be. Unfortunately there are homes down there without that option.

I wrapped up the shoot by driving up Vallecito to get a wide-angle shot of what these homes look like from the street. The two photos you see here are just the start of this photo series. I plan to go back for a few more shots when I can bring someone along. Hanging around a site like this leaves one feeling uneasy at the site of urban decay. But it's the volatile nature of living on these hills and in these surroundings that leaves even the curious photographer a bit melancholy.

posted by DVS @ 2:20 PM 1 comments