Thousand Oaks, Berkeley

Thousand Oaks is the neighborhood where we live! Carol & I looked at about 100 homes when we were buying our home. We finally linked up with a local Realtor who showed us 4 homes. We made 2 offers, bought 1, and have lived in the same house for over twenty years!

We love the neighborhood... the architecture, history, neighbors, the shopping, and selling homes and real estate in Thousand Oaks!

It's a "feet first" neighborhood. Many of the homeowners (including us) have lived here for decades, and the only way they plan to leave is "feet first"

But the neighborhood isn't all alte kakke's... we have lots of families with kids. There's a wonderful playground next to the Thousand Oaks School... with a stream next to it. Several years ago the stream was "daylighted" and it's a very pleasant park now.

And our Thousand Oaks Magnet School is simply wonderful, with a dedicated staff and active PTA. Carol & I just took a tour of the school this morning.... and I took some photos. We were very impressed with everyone we met... and wished we could attend Elementary School again.

Our neighborhood association is TONA - Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association . TONA helps neighbors with local issues such as traffic, noise, schools, etc.

Shopping is great! I'm from The Bronx, and like to walk to shops. Within a short stroll on Solano Avenue are all the essentials of life - Coffee (Peet's & Starbucks), Movies (The Oaks Theater), Bookstores (Pegasus and Half Price Books), Banks (Mechanic's, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual), Restaurants (Sweet Basil, Khana Peena, Boran), Supermarkets (Andronico's, Safeway), a Post Office, and even Noah's Bagels!

Our shopping street is Solano Avenue, which goes down the hill into Albany. On the first Sunday after Labor Day, the Solano Avenue Associations hosts the Solano Stroll... a mile long block party which attracts exhibits, music, performers, food vendors, and about 100,000 people! I always see lots of friends, kids, and happy dogs. Come - you'll have a great time (but be sure to bring the sun block!)
Trish Hawthorne gives a wonderful seminar on the history and architecture of the neighborhood.
There aren't any tract homes here! The adjoining Northbrae tract was developed by local developers. Look down and chances are you'll see pink or light red sidewalk concrete - a signature of the Northbrae Tract.

Many of the streets after California counties because there was a movement to make Berkeley the capital of California at the turn of the last century. Hence, we have streets named Solano, Colusa, The Alameda, Modoc, Tulare, Los Angeles, Napa, Yolo...

The Solano Tunnel was originally a light rail tunnel for commuter trains to San Francisco. They cut open the hill, put in the concrete arch, and backfilled the arch with soil. The traffic circle at the intersection of Marin, The Arlington, Mendocino & Del Norte is just above the tunnel, and the fountain has been beautifully restored.

The commuter trains ran up and down Solano, and another route went down Colusa and Monterey to the Westbrae shopping area.

Thousand Oaks Neighborhood - Berkeley   North Berkeley — Solano Avenue to Kensington & Albany to Arlington     Neighborhood Information     Friends of Capistrano Creek PO Box 7012 Berkeley CA 510-525-7570 A neighborhood group dedicated to the stewardship of the creek who are working to restore year round flow to the creek.         TONA - Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association PO Box 7572 Berkeley CA TONA is the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association which is dedicated to the well being of Thousand Oaks residents. It's a volunteer organization which puts out quarterly newsletters and sponsors slide shows, political debates, and works to make Thousand Oaks a wonderful place to live. I was President several years ago.     Shops & Vendors   Mechanic's Bank Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510- Mechanic's Bank is a friendly, local neighborhood bank. When you open your account here, be sure to say hello to Sherman and Victoria.. and tell them Ira & Carol sent you         Gathering Tribes 1564 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-527-9038 Fascinating items from the western hemisphere, with a speciality in Latin America. The original store, Gathering Tribes, at 1573 Solano Avenue 510-527-9038         Gathering Tribes 1573 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-527-9038 Fascinating items from the western hemisphere, with a speciality in Latin America. There's a sister store, Gathering Tribes South, at 1564 Solano Avenue 510-526-7003         Miyuki Japanese Cuisine 1695 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-524-1286 One of our favorite Japanese Restaurants.         Tangerine Food Bar 1707 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-558-9898 We eat at Tangerine several times a week... it's right across from our Integalactic Headquarters! Robert, the very personable owner, serves an excellent buffet, and prepares delicious salmon... and specialty coffee. I particularly like his Cafe Cubano.         Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy 1744 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-527-8929 An extremely pleasant pharmacy with Eastern & Western Medicine... just a few doors from our office.         Kirin 1767 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-524-1677 Berkeley has lots of Chinese Restaurants, but not many which are good. Kirin is one of our favorites (and it is right across the street from our office!)         Payn's Stationery 1791 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-3056 The place to go for stationery when in Thousand Oaks. www.paynsstationery.com doesn't seem to work yet         Ajanta Indian Restaurant 1888 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-4373 One of two Indian Restaurants (Ajanta & Khana Peena) at the top of solano. The murals inside are reproductions of a paintings from Ajanta Cave in India.         Khana Peena 1889 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-528-2519 One of two Indian Restaurants (Ajanta & Khana Peena) at the top of solano. Khan Peena is beautifully done.. and has private rooms too         Christopher's Burger 1897 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-7888 They have the juiciest hamburgers I've ever had... and their secret is using Western Grasslands Beef http://www.westerngrasslands.com/         Dave's Mac and More 1737 Solano Avenue #308 Berkeley CA 510-527-5748 Dave does Macintosh instruction and troubleshooting         New Pieces Gallery 1605 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA Attractive place         No Sweat Dance Studio 1831 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-5528-1958 Yoga, dance, pilates, samba & more!         Half Price Books & Magazines 1849 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-6080 Always fun to browse - stores on Solano and Telegraph         Pegasus Books 1855 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-6888 Good selection of magazines, and new and used books and records. The sister store is Pendragon on College Avenue in Rockridge         Solano Avenue Association 1563 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-527-5358 Lisa Bullwinkel does a terrific job of managing the Solano Avenue Assocation, which puts together the Solano Stroll the first Sunday after Labor Day         Andronico's Market 1850 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-524-0513 High quality food, high prices to match - stores on Solano, University, and Telegraph Avenues         The Bone Room 1569 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-5252 Bones of critters large and smaill - great place to take kids. Skeletons, beetles, fossils, and skulls.... what fun! Check out the Vivarium in the 4th Street neigbhorhood if you're not too squeamish         Oaks Theater 1875 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-1836 Our neighborhood theater operated by a local movie lover. Whenever possible, come to the Oaks Theater and support local theaters.         Front Row Video 1831 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-5353 Nice selection and right next to the Solano Avenue Post Office. The staff is friendly and knowledgable (i.e. NOT Blockbuster) They have a daily quiz in front - knowing the answer is its own reward         Thousand Oaks School Tacoma & Ensenada Berkeley CA 510-644-6368 Our New Thousand Oaks Elementary School - it’s beautiful!         Great Stoneface Park Thousand Oaks & San Fernando Berkeley CA Someone asked an oldtimer why it was called “Great Stoneface Park”... and they said “Cause the rock looks like a Stone Face” It’s harder to tell with all the vegatation there, but go see for yourself     Restaurants   Rivoli's Restaurant 1539 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-2542 Lovely restaurant on Solano Avenue with a pleasant garden in back. Eat dinner, and watch the racoons watch you eat dinner. Rivoli's, Lalimes, Skates, and Breads of India are some of our favorite Berkeley restaurants.         Berkeley Bakery & Cafe 1561 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-527-2253 Harry The Baker’s place.... and Ortman’s Ice Cream. Will soon have Fishman's Deli... so we can have Corned Beef and Pastrami on Solano Avenue         Frishman's Deli 1561 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510- Frishman's deli is supposed to be opening in 2003. Has been Harry The Baker’s place.... and Ortman’s Ice Cream         Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers 1591 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-8185 Wonderful selection of different kinds of burgers and fries. Go for the half menu on fries, because you won’t want to finish the full sized one! We often share a hamburger and a caesar salad. Say hello to June, one of the hardest working waitresses around.         Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine 1736 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-527-8611 Excellent Thai food... their Pad Thai is very good. The smells sometimes waft up to our office. We’ve two Thai Restaurants on upper Solano Avenue. Check out Boran and Sweet Basil and let us know which is your favorite. I enjoyed my meal at Sweet Basil far more than a much more expensive dinner at Emeril's in New Orleans.         Starbucks Coffee Berkeley 1799 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-5885 Starbucks has clean bathrooms and expensive coffee. They also have wireless T-Mobile locations on many of the stores. If you travel, sign up for the T-Mobile account and you can access the web at high speeds if your laptop has a wireless card.         Peets Coffee & Tea 1825 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-526-9607 The bay area’s best deal, ranking up there with attending a West Coast Live performance at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, is to get a Peet’s “credit’ card. Whenever you add $20 to the card, they give you $1 off (they once gave you the drink of your choice). I usually make my $20 deposit into BOP (Bank of Peets) whenever I have a hankering fo a double decaf mocha, nonfat milk (doesn’t that sound like a contradiction in terms?) Peet's even has coffee & tea tastings!         Zachary's Chicago Pizza 1853 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-5950 If there were a Pantheon dedicated to Pizza, Cheese Board would be Zeus Arinell would win the award for “most like NY style”, Lococos and Cugini would be lesser gods... and Zachary’s would be mere mortals. Zachary’s keeps on getting awards, but I think that’s only because the Cheese Board is only open limited hours druing the daytime         Cactus Taqueria 1881 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-528-1881 Good Mexican food just up the street from our office.         Noah's New York Bagels 1883 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-4447 Noah’s Bagels are all over the place, and I like their Egg Mit sandwich... but the award for best bagels goes to Manhattan Bagel Company on 4th Street         Boran Thai Restaurant 1892 Solano Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-3625 Two Thai Restaurants on Solano Avenue. Check out Boran and Sweet Basil and let us know which your favorite is. We’ve two Thai Restaurants on upper Solano Avenue. Check out Boran and Sweet Basil and let us know which is your favorite.     For Kids   Thousand Oaks Preschool 1812 San Pedro Avenue Berkeley CA 510-525-4561 Preschool in the Thousand Oaks Baptist Church... just a block north of Solano Avenue         Dandelion Coop Nursery 941 The Alameda Berkeley CA 510-526-1735 Nursery Coop in Thousand Oaks Neighborhood         Designers   Patti Gildersleeve Berkeley CA 510-526-4481 Excellent Design Work!