About People’s Park
For over half a century, People’s Park stood as a living symbol of resistance, community, and shared radical creativity. It was more than a plot of land; it was a sanctuary for the unhoused, a stage for expression, and a beacon of Berkeley’s soul.
What We Do
Salvaged Material Preservation
We meticulously rescue materials from the physical site—aged wood from historic trees, fragments of the community stage, and artifacts recovered during excavations. We give these pieces new life through dedicated woodcraft, ensuring the physical DNA of the movement is never lost.
Digital Archiving
Our growing digital archive serves as a permanent record of the park’s legacy. We host dozens of photographs, original protest flyers, oral histories from community members, and ecological data documenting the unique flora that once thrived in the park.
Community Support & Direct Action
Food Not Bombs
Art Days With Rosie
Telegraph Ave Chess Club
Weekly Outreach
Providing weekly harm reduction supplies, health and hygiene products., and seasonal clothing donations at the Telegraph intersection.
Food Justice
Meals every day by Food not Bombs at 3:00 PM on the corner of Telegraph Ave. and Haste St. We recommend www.assistlist.org for a full list of food resources in Berkeley.
Essential Supplies & Navigation
Seasonal distribution of cold weather gear and summer relief supplies. Active referral networks for housing and food resources for both UC Berkeley students and the unhoused community.
The Maker’s Role
The Craft
This includes meticulous cleaning, sanding, and carving of the park’s trees into handcrafted items in collaboration with local artists to integrate visual storytelling into every piece.
The Personal Journey
Historical Timeline
This Timeline captures the birth of People’s Park through collective action and the violence that followed, and the inception of the Universal Community Today.
Before the Park (Pre-1960s)
The story of the land begins long before Berkeley existed, on the ancestral home of the Chochenyo/Huchiun Ohlone people. This grounding reminds us that the park’s history is part of a much older continuum of stewardship and displacement.
People’s Park Inception (1967–1969)
1967: UC Berkeley acquires the land through eminent domain, displacing more than 200 residents. The lot sits vacant — a wound in the neighborhood.
April 1969: Community members begin transforming the empty lot into a park, planting trees and building structures. I was born the same week, after my parents had returned to Maine to grow vegetables after living in San Francisco, on Haight Street during the summer of 1968. Yep.
May 1969: UC attempts to fence off the land, sparking protests.
May 15, 1969 — “Bloody Thursday”: Police and National Guard confront demonstrators; one person is killed and dozens injured.
Life of the Park (1970s–2010s)
For decades, People’s Park becomes:
- A hub for free speech and political organizing
- A sanctuary for unhoused residents
- A stage for art, music, and performance
- A battleground between community and institutional power
Key moments include:
1970s: UC attempts development; community resistance prevents construction.
1990s: Renewed clashes over control of the park.
2010s: The park remains a vital community space despite increasing pressure for redevelopment.
The Park’s Destruction (2018–2024)
2018: UC announces plans to build student housing on the site.
2019: Ian Hunt shows up and starts looking around in horror and confusion.
2022: People’s Park is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
2023–2024: Construction crews, protected by police, begin clearing the park of trees.
January 4, 2024: The park is officially closed, fenced, and demolished.
The final days of the park — the removal of trees, the destruction of community-built structures, and the struggles of those who fought to protect it remain a story very much worth telling.
The Universal Community Today (2024 -2026)
Founded as a tool for education and activism to prevent such tragic losses in the future, and provide an example to the world again of how non-violent protest and community engagement can transform the lives of real people in your neighborhood today!
I am thrilled to be doing this and since the buck stops on my desk, I pledge to maintain the integrity of this community and provide to the best of my ability:
- account_balance A historical monument to replace the living monuments that were cut down
- menu_book A way to preserve stories and lessons that should carry on, or be forever lost
- local_florist A living memorial for a destroyed community space, a vital ecology and lives tragically lost
- balance Restore a sense of social integrity and balance to a traumatized population
- volunteer_activism Access to the basic human services People’s Park is still a nexus for in the community. Food, clothing, shelter, medicine, harm reduction all save lives every day, right now
Support the Ecosystem
Keeping the spirit and ecosystem of People’s Park alive requires the collective strength of our community. Your support ensures this history is not just remembered, but lived.