June 11 | Northbrae Walking Tour & Lantern Unveiling

Friends and neighbors: Mark your calendars for a pair of local history events planned for Saturday, Aug. 9. In the morning, join Friends of the Fountain and Walk on a walking tour of the Northbrae neighborhood that is home to the Fountain at The Circle and adjacent Fountain Walk. Learn about the history of the fountain and its whimsical grizzly...

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May 30 | Fountain Dry For a Bit

Friends and neighbors: The Fountain at The Circle will not be flowing for a few days while we work with the city’s Public Works department to make some long-needed repairs. The opportunity to get to the repairs arose this week when someone(s) put soap in the fountain, requiring us to drain it. We hope it will be back up and...

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March 17 | New Northbrae Lanterns Near Completion

Friends and neighbors: In case you didn’t see this story on Berkeleyside this past week, we are sharing it here. It says the effort to re-create and install lanterns that once topped the large, century-old stone pillars at the intersection of The Alameda and Hopkins Street is nearly complete. And donors who contributed to the project via Friends of the...

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January 4 | Happy New Year from Friends of the Fountain and Walk!

Friends and neighbors: Just a note to say happy new year and thank you for your continuing support of our small, all-volunteer neighborhood nonprofit. We are very grateful to members of our community — both longtime supporters and those who are brand new — for their generous donations of dollars and of volunteer time. We could not fulfill our mission...

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November 23 | Fountain Gets Its Holiday Finery

Friends and neighbors: On Saturday, November 23, braving the rain and wind of the atmospheric river and bomb cyclone, the valiant volunteers of Friends of the Fountain and Walk added seasonal decorations to the Fountain at The Circle. From now through the first week of January, the fountain island will be ringed with lighted garlands of greenery and the grizzly...

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October 31 | October Surprises on The Circle

Friends and neighbors: Happy Halloween! It’s the final day of October, which has been an eventful month around The Circle. But we head into November and the holiday season full of hope for good things. A recap: On Saturday, Oct. 5, a car descending Marin Avenue struck another car and flew into the center island of The Circle, narrowly missing...

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October 5 | A Minor Miracle at The Circle

Friends and neighbors: On Saturday, Oct. 5, a crash involving two cars at The Circle did significant damage to the ring of bollards surrounding the Fountain at The Circle but somehow entirely missed the fountain itself. Even better, none of those involved in the crash were killed, despite one of the cars apparently going airborne and then ending up across...

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August 24 | Talk and Tour on Northbrae Homes & History

Friends and neighbors: Wanted to bring to your attention to two upcoming events that will focus on the history and architecture of Northbrae. Sponsored by Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, the related events are: Presentation on the development of Northbrae: This talk, scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, at Northbrae Community Church, will serve as a prelude to a BAHA...

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August 5 | Coming Soon: New Flowers Around The Circle

Friends and neighbors: The Circle at Marin and Arlington avenues, with its centerpiece fountain, includes a grand, circular balustrade that creates the outer edge of The Circle’s public precinct. The balustrade opens at each of the seven radiating streets, allowing them all to join at The Circle. John Galen Howard, the designer of The Circle, the fountain and Fountain Walk,...

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July 12 | Fountain Walk Plants Are Not Up for Grabs

Friends and neighbors: If you’ve strolled along Fountain Walk the past few years, you’ve seen how the lower part of the Walk has been transformed into a lovely garden with an amazing variety of plantings that provide greenery and bursts of color year-round. That transformation is largely the work of Walk neighbor and Friends of the Fountain and Walk volunteer...

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