Just off of Highway 80 in Albany you can find a retired construction debris landfill that is now a crumbling kingdom of art. Known as the Albany Bulb, this space is now a public park open to dog walkers, runners and those with an artistic soul searching for an fresh canvas.
Sitting on the edge of the Bay, you could explore Bulb in for hours and never see every last detail. With each step I took more and more was revealed to me; labyrinths, swings and sculptures, the land is covered in the type of art that can’t be confined by the walls of a museum.
Serene is the best word to describe the hidden location- it’s just you, the sound of the waves and your thoughts.
Painted on misconstrued slabs of concrete is a letter left behind by a resident,
“You have walked here, heard the waves and witnessed the unique beauty. You have looked across the water at the skyline of San Francisco. You have in common with those of us who live here, an appreciation of this place as an escape, as an alternative. And this is very important.”
Only after merging on to the freeway headed for home did I realize how removed I had been from the world around me, just for a few hours. The whole time I had a city skyline looming over me and a highway paralleling my location and yet I didn’t have a care in the world.
World Watching 