Kensington
Kensington... a town which reminds me of back east!

Kensington reminds me a lot of an East Coast town; perhaps that's why Carol and I would live there if we ever decided to move from Thousand Oaks.

I once read that Kensington had the highest education level of all communities in the Bay Area, and the highest number of Nobel Laureates. I wouldn't be surprised if that were so. J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the Atomic Bomb lived in Kensington when he was at UC Berkeley. I've been fascinated by him ever since seeing the public television series on him, starring Sam Waterston. Frank Oppenheimer, his brother, was a (the?) founder of San Francisco's wonderful Exploratorium.

Click to view more photos!

Kensington is almost entirely in the hills, so many homes have bay views. Upslope lots tend to have terraced yards which are great for kids, and the downslope lots often have decks and views unobstructed by wires or light poles. Kensington has several distinct areas. I call one of them "Old England" because the street names are Stratford, Avon (yes, there is a Stratford at Avon),. Coventry, Kingston, etc. This neighborhood is between Colusa Avenue (Kensington Circle) and The Arlington (Kensington Village). The homes tend to be older and more distinguished.

The streets between The Arlington and Grizzly Peak are named after colleges - Stanford, Purdue, Beloit, Columbia... so I describe it as the "College District". These homes generally were built in the 30's and 40's.

Kensington is bounded on the east by Tilden Park. Canon Road takes you right down to the pony rides, merry go round, and Little Farm.

It's convenient to both the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station (go north on Colusa) and North Berkeley BART (take Arlington down to Central Berkeley)

The First Unitarian Church of Berkeley is actually in Kensington... but the initials weren't appropriate for mixed company!

Kensington has two shopping districts:
Kensington Village: with Shai's deli, a drug store (and mini-post office), a bank, and a hardware store. Shai makes delicious soup, and Carol always smiles whenever I suggest we stop by Shai's for lunch!

Colusa Circle: with Kensington Circus Pub, Semifreddi's Bakery (their flagship store), Cafe Select, and Boadecias Books.

A special treat awaits architecture buffs. Drive up Kenyon, and turn left on Purdue. On your right (as you go down the private road) is a handsome house designed by Bernard Maybeck (I believe it's the Wallen Maybeck house, built for his son and Daughter in law Jacomena). We saw the home on an architectural tour, and it had a simple elegance to it.