A Brief Photographic History of the Never-Ending Battle for People’s Park

For more than half a century, People’s Park in Berkeley has been a beacon of community activism. It’s also a place where authorities and the counterculture have done battle again and again. The space, east of Telegraph, has been a contentious plot of land ever since an April 1969 ad in the Berkeley Barb encouraged people to congregate there.

UC Berkeley originally bought the 2.8 acre plot in 1967 to construct dorms, but after bulldozing several buildings, the university left the lot vacant. After that ad in the Barb encouraged the public to take over the space, not only did crowds start gathering there, they quickly dug a pond, began gardening projects and put up a small playground. And thus, People’s Park was born.

The Haste Street plot quickly became a site for local protests, community gatherings and rallies like this anti-war demonstration.

A month later, on May 15, work crews arrived, destroyed much of what the community had built and put up an 8-foot chain link fence to keep the public out. Protesters were not shy about sharing their feelings about the development.

Soon, protesters were clashing with Berkeley PD over the park. One man was killed by sheriff’s deputies. Another was blinded. Then-Governor Ronald Reagan sent in 2,000 National Guard troops. As feelings ran high, violent confrontations filled the streets. So did tear gas.

Meanwhile, a 25-minute walk away in what is now Ohlone Park on Hearst Avenue, work was under way to establish a “People’s Park Mobile Annex.” As had been done at the original site, people planted trees, brought in playground equipment and generally tried to beautify what was then a vacant lot.

Despite several attempts by authorities to remove the plants and equipment at the Annex, people continued to gather there.

Apartments had originally been the intended use for the Hearst Avenue plot. However, in June 1979 — five years after a citizen’s committee concluded that locals overwhelmingly wanted it to be a public park — the land officially became Ohlone Park. A victory for the people, as well as their dogs — Ohlone bears the distinction of being one of the first off-leash dog parks in America.

As for the main People’s Park, as clashes continued in 1969, the National Guard stayed posted in Berkeley for more than two weeks, and a curfew was imposed. Still, protesters fought for their right to access the park. A candlelight vigil was held in Berkeley on June 6, 1969. The protesters had earlier attempted to march to the park itself but were blocked by police officers.

Once the tensions had died down, the university made only sporadic attempts to take the park back. Its attempts to put in a soccer field in 1971 failed, as did an attempt to turn part of it into a parking lot in 1979.

Throughout the ’70s, People’s Park remained an important place to gather and protest. The park also became a place where the houseless and transient could gather and seek shelter.

Throughout the ’80s, new concerns emerged about the state of the park. It had become a hotspot for drug use, and discussions around how to clean it up began in earnest.

In 1990, rallies took place in Berkeley to assert the rights of the homeless community to shelter in the park.

In 1991, there were yet more protests when there was a proposal to put a volleyball court at the park.

The anti-volleyball protests continued for months, even after nets were put up and games were actively happening.

(Apparently the protesters in the background of this photo later invaded the volleyball court and started building sand castles. Classic Berkeley.)

The following year, when construction of public bathrooms commenced at the park, there were even protests about that too.

By the end of the ’90s, volunteers and city departments had worked together to clear out trash from the park; get grass, plants and trees in better shape; and turn the space into somewhere beautiful again. People’s Park was a favorite with everyone from lunching office workers to Food Not Bombs volunteers who regularly showed up to hand out free meals. In 1996, Hip Hop in the Park started, becoming a hugely popular annual event that ran for two decades. More recently, People’s Park has once again become prominently occupied by a tent encampment.

UC Berkeley has been determined to start work on a $312 million construction project at People’s Park ever since plans were announced all the way back in 2018. The university says the new 16-story building it intends to build would accommodate 1,100 students, as well as 125 very low-income people, many of them currently homeless.

The City of Berkeley named People’s Park a cultural and historical landmark in 1984. It has been a symbol of Berkeley’s love affair with activism and revolutionary acts for more than 50 years. If UC Berkeley finally succeeds in building dorms on the site, it will undoubtedly be a great loss to the city and the communities that have been gathering there for decades.