Local stone on Loma Vista

I always get a kick from old walls around Oakland that are made of local stones. This one is on Loma Vista Avenue, in the upper Laurel.

lomavista-stonewall450

Click the image to see a 1000-pixel shot of the whole thing. The mix of blue Franciscan rocks, golden Tertiary sandstones and the occasional reddish chert is distinctive, and it’s nothing that a local landscaping yard would ever offer. Its charm is homely and understated, but authentic.

We haven’t had a working quarry in Oakland for many years, so a lot of these walls are old, or rebuilt. Lovers of local stone today have to scavenge what they can from recycled rocks or their own cellar holes.

2 Responses to “Local stone on Loma Vista”

  1. Andrew Alden Says:

    Those are definitely imported.

    I always thought that wall would be tempting to climbers.

  2. John Says:

    have you ever looked at the Golden Gate retaining/bouldering wall? local stones or imported?

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