I’m about 100 yards into my first stroll into the Albany Bulb, and I already feel like I’m in a Terry Gilliam movie.
A tiny amphitheater made of multicolored stones appears, just big enough to seat a kindergarten class. Yards away, an enormous driftwood bench makes me feel like I’ve shrunk to hobbit-size. Small notes of motivation, inspiration and revolution are clothspinned to a birdcage-sized metal sculpture hanging from a tree. “To Do 2025: Resist Fascism,” one reads.
There’s enough wild public art here to fill three museums, or a dozen fever dreams.
Less than a half century ago this was an industrial landfill, a dumping ground for everything from chemical waste to chunks of rejected concrete from the Interstate 80 build. Now it’s the most Bay Area-coded park in the region — so filled with art, dogs, maker spaces and protest vibes, that I keep forgetting to admire the stellar bay views…