Categories for Fountain News & Updates

October 22 | Fountain Goes Dark So There Will Be Light

Friends and neighbors: The Fountain at The Circle has been temporarily drained and left dark in the evening in order for some needed repairs to be made to its electrical system. It was drained Sunday, Oct. 21; the repairs are scheduled to take place this week. Draining the fountain was necessary to allow for the inspection and likely replacement of...

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October 14 | Marking 25 Years of Friends of the Fountain and Walk

Friends and neighbors: This year is the 25th anniversary of the founding of Friends of the Fountain and Walk, your all-volunteer neighborhood nonprofit that has partnered with the City of Berkeley to restore and care for the historic Fountain at The Circle and Fountain Walk in the heart of Berkeley’s Northbrae neighborhood. We came into existence in 1993 when neighbors...

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July 14 | We’re Going Paperless!

Friends and neighbors: Just as we aim to preserve and maintain our wonderful neighborhood landmarks, the Fountain at The Circle and Fountain Walk, our group also wants to be responsible in helping preserve other resources. To that end, we have begun a move to use less paper in whatever ways we can. This past month, we sent a note to...

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June 12 | The Circle in Bloom

Friends and neighbors: If you have passed through The Circle in recent days, you may have wondered why the ordinarily emerald green ground cover on the island that contains the fountain and some of the parking strips around the perimeter suddenly look like they’ve had a dusting of snow. The answer: The Kurapia planted there late last fall is flowering....

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May 28 | Spring Has Sprung on Fountain Walk

Friends and neighbors: Just thought we’d share a look at historic Fountain Walk as the plantings lovingly maintained by FOFW Friend and walk neighbor Wendy Wells are springing into bloom. If you are out for a walk in Northbrae, make sure to take in the walk. In case you’re not sure where it is: It runs up along the eastern...

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May 20 | Reminder: Keep the Fountain Sign-Free

Friends and neighbors: The November 6 election is fast approaching, and the candidates and ballot measures are working hard to get your attention and your vote. Campaign signs are popping up everywhere, including around The Circle — always a popular spot due to the high volume of traffic that moves through it every day. So please share this reminder with...

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April 19 | Another Northbrae Fountain: Part 3

Friends and neighbors: The mystery of the second Northbrae fountain is solved — well, at least the part about exactly where it stood before it was removed. (You can read the back story in our two previous posts.) John Coleman, who lives on Monterey Avenue near The Alameda, sent along this note and a photograph that definitively places the smaller...

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February 10 | February at the Fountain

Friends and neighbors: An update on several things as we move into February… Another soaping: After a long lull, the fountain has now been soaped for a second time in just over a month. It happened the evening/early morning of Feb. 9-10. As always, it is discouraging that someone(s) not only chooses to do potential harm to the fountain works,...

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December 31 | Happy New Year! (and an update)

Hi, folks. A quick update: The lighted garlands around the perimeter of the fountain island in The Circle will be taken down today (Wednesday, Jan. 3) ahead of the expected rains. They were to stay up until Saturday, but the wet weather expected today means it is better to take them down now, so they can be dry when stored...

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November 16 | Update: New Landscaping at The Circle

Friends and neighbors: By now you have likely seen the results of a flurry of activity around the Fountain at The Circle over the past few weeks. Most noticeable is the re-landscaping that has taken place, removing the old, weed-ridden sod on the fountain island, the planting strips surrounding The Circle and the median between Los Angeles and Mendocino with new...

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