2080 Channing Avenue - Edgewood Plaza - [Duveneck-St. Francis] 2013
Edgewood Plaza serves as an exemplar POPOS. There is space for groups of different sizes to gather, find shade, and experience a genuine sense of the Commons.
Edgewood Plaza comes with a name. That’s as it should be. This spacious, well-appointed-and-maintained POPOS was the last PC Zoned Project, approved in 2013 after a 63-year run. (OK, wonky moment - here’s the Ordinance - I bet you want to take a peek.) The big controversy here has been over the Public Benefit of having a grocery store at this center. And bravo that we have one, which seems to be doing well. The City worked hard to enforce that Public Benefit. There are teeth in that ordinance for that particular Public Benefit but really, there is not much in the way of enforcement in these deals in general and certainly not for the Privately Owned Public Open Space. It’s strictly the honor system.
Edgewood Plaza - Then and Now. An Eichler Treasure.
HOURS: 24/7. While in a residential neighborhood, it’s a perfect setting for social gatherings of all kinds, with numerous options for food and drink, including the House of Bagels, a Palo Alto favorite for decades.
WHAT’S THERE: XXX picnic tables and other tables with chairs, most under canvas canopies for modest protection from the elements. The POPOS is located at the corner of Channing and St. Francis, offering convenient car and bike access, as well as ample parking for both. Also, it's very walkable from the neighborhood and has handy access from 101. A great meeting spot! There are historical plaques with lots of detail (you need to go there to read it all - history bait!)
WHAT’S AROUND: Lots! The Market (the full service, independently owned grocery store), House of Bagels, and Chef Zhao Kitchen all border the POPOS and more is around the corner, including one of Palo Alto’s few remaining gas stations.
WHAT YOU CAN DO THERE: This garden beckons anything peaceful: enjoying lunch on a bench as you behold the flowers and foliage, reading a book, meditating, maybe sketching. I have witnessed some that use it as a pleasant alternative to a street as a cutthrough, a perfect spot to enjoy gelato from around the corner and a tailor made environment to reset one’s being of staring at screens all day. I have witnessed people on phones (alas) either reading or talking. This should be like the quiet car on a train, IMHO. You can and will be surveilled.
WHAT I HAVE DONE HERE: I have met up for a bagel and glass of iced tea with a friend, video recorded my husband reading from Noam Chomsky’s Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, I have noticed who is around and how the space is being used. I understand that a large group meets there regularly on Saturday mornings for coffee and conversation.
WHAT YOU CAN’T DO THERE: The signs on the gates spell out a lot of what you can’t do. You can’t smoke, bring in any pets, skateboard or bicycle.
WHAT YOU COULD DO THERE: This POPOS makes me want to put up a small soap box and invite Public Comment. It feels like the auxilliary Town Square. What does it inspire and activate in you? What action might you take to bring that to life there? What values emerge in that place? Now, why not go do something?