Telegraph

Telegraph Avenue is a street that reaches from downtown Oakland to the southern edge of the UCB campus (ca 7km). It is also the main street, or one of the main streets, of the student quarters in Berkeley known collectively as Telegraph, or when expanded somewhat, Southside. The street is home to many cafes, clothing stores, delis, dorms, and other student housing solutions, and is daytime populated by a number of street vendors, panhandlers, homeless, students, and general eccentrics. Historically, the area and the street has been the site of student protests and riots, attracted a number of runaways and homeless, and has obtained something of a cult following associated with the hippie movement and marijuana use subculture. There are a number of smoke stores selling smoking equipment ("for tobacco use only" as the signs in Hi Times, a small shop containing about 400 hand-made glass bongs and pipes, explicitly state), and plenty of the street vendors openly display their sympathies in the marijuana legalization debate. Telegraph is also home to the annual Telegraph Ave Holiday Street Fair, which I suspect I will get back to in December. Regardless of your opinion in this matter, don't visit Berkeley without seeing Telegraph. And buy some of the hand-made bracelets and knickknacks sold here, they're quite nice. Here are some pictures of Telegraph, the boring one depicts the northern end of Telegraph as seen from the UCB campus southern entrance. I threw in the dancing Hare Krishnas as a bonus.