Tax Season Is Upon Us

Your Boulevardier has, once again, fallen behind on postings. It's not for lack of material; it's for lack of a much more precious commodity: time. Work has been very busy, leaving time for walks but not time for writing about walks.

Another profession that is busy this time of the year is that of tax preparer. Dueling sign-carrying dancers have been at work in front of the H&R Block and Liberty Income Tax offices on Castro Valley Boulevard, luring in those for whom a person in a gown the color of aged French copper seems like a reliable advisor in financial matters.

Those who are less inclined to follow a human-animated sign would do well to look for this gem, which Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou spotted the other week as lunch was eaten at Swiss Delices.



There's much to admire in this hand-painted beauty: the rich, albeit faded, color scheme (Your Boulevardier counts at least seven different hues), the artistic touches (the flower over the "i" and the pointing finger, for example), and the unusual typography leap out. One hopes Don & Linda's Tax Service keeps the sign forever.

Instant Conflict

Your Boulevardier noticed new advertisements on Castro Valley Boulevard, including a billboard and a bus shelter poster, hawking instant coffee. One wonders who the intended target of the new ads might be.

Truth be told, Your Boulevardier does not understand the appeal of instant coffee. He uses a #2 Melitta cup-top coffeemaker when he requires a single dose of demon caffeine, and finds it just as fast -- and vastly superior in quality -- to instant coffee.

The Other Castro Village

Your Boulevardier took BART to San Francisco last night to meet friends and take in Fritz Lang's Human Desire as part of the Noir City festival at the Castro Theatre. He noticed this sign at the corner of Castro and 19th Streets.



To which Your Boulevardier exclaims: Share The Love.

Good Architectural News

Your Boulevardier received a letter today from his bank, Wells Fargo. The company has decided to consolidate its Castro Valley options into the lovely building at the corner of Castro Valley Boulevard and Redwood Road -- the building that was once World Savings, and which now is Wachovia. (Wells Fargo owns Wachovia.)

This was the very outcome Your Boulevardier hoped for back in October of 2008 when Wells Fargo acquired the collapsing Wachovia. One does not harbor any illusions that the banking powers paid any heed to, or even would deign to acknowledge, this blog. But satisfaction in the resolution is nonetheless derived.

This may not be the best of news for the other merchants in the strip mall (on Castro Valley Boulevard between Anita and San Miguel Streets) where Wells Fargo currently makes its home. The Vella's Locker Room has decamped for San Leandro (taking with it half of its sign), and many Blockbuster Video stores in the Bay Area have already closed. The Asian restaurants, dollar stores, and cleaners have had a tough go of things in that shopping center. Your Boulevardier does not patronize the other shops, so he cannot attest to their health. But certainly losing the walk-in traffic of a busy bank branch cannot be good news.

One can only hope that the converse is true -- that the center surrounding the new location will perk up. Although Your Boulevardier has not inspected it carefully in some time, he believes it to be mostly empty. Time will tell.

Coupe de Grace

Your Boulevardier is an habitue of the Village Barber Shop, but he acknowledges that there are many other places in the City of Lite to get one's hair done. One, on Redwood Road near Trader Joe's, sports this charming hand-painted sign.



The stark blue-black-orange color scheme, while unusual, works well for the sign, in Your Boulevardier's opinion. And the images themselves have an endearing retro style; perhaps they are an homage to Roy Lichtenstein. The upper haircut might be a portrait of movie idol George Chakiris, while the lower image could be a subtle appeal to the Mad Men crowd.

The building itself is, if Your Boulevardier recalls correctly, the former office of a Castro Valley real estate agent named Jem Angus. He was Your Boulevardier's first employer, paying this garçon a half-cent each to hang his advertising flyers on Castro Valley doorknobs. Perhaps that is when the love of walking our neighborhoods was first cultivated.

Light Up The Valley

Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou caught a showing of the High Voltage Christmas last Sunday night. (He intended to write about it sooner, but various delights and pressures of the season have filled the days since.)

The synchronized light-and-music show, first launched in 2004 by teenager Jeff Stevens, is at 18199 Carmel Drive in Castro Valley. Showtimes are 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00 p.m. A new feature this year is projected cartoons, along with family photos and videos, on the garage door.

Your Boulevardier doesn't know how true this story is, so he posts it only as hearsay: A FOB -- a person who lives in the neighborhood of the High Voltage Christmas -- says that Mr. Stevens is away at college this year and was not planning to create a holiday display. Fortunately gentle pressure from friends and neighbors caused him to relent. (It's also interesting to note that Mr. Stevens is studying Civil Engineering, not Electrical.) Readers who can confirm or correct the veracity of this tale are encouraged to do so in the comments.

Whatever the story, the efforts are magnificent and well worth a trip. The synchronization and cleverness of the display are wonderful, the scale is impressive, and the spirit is heartwarming. Mr. Stevens personally supervises each show and is available to answer questions before and after.

A tip of the beret, and a merry Christmas to all.

It Was a Wonderful Night

Your Boulevardier, accompanied by Soeur et Neveu de Boulevardier, took in the 11:30 p.m. showing of It's a Wonderful Life at the Chabot Theater last night, along with about 145 of their closest friends.



In truth, no personal friends were recognized in the crowd, but the atmosphere was friendly and festive. Ages varied, but most persons seemed in to be in the 20s-to-50s range, with a contingent wearing CVHS apparel. Many people, it seemed, had pre-purchased their tickets and walked straight into the auditorium; one young woman in line who had an extra ticket offered it gratis to Your Boulevardier, but he insisted on compensating her. Still, the generosity of her offer was noted and appreciated.

A number of people arrived in barely disguised sleepwear. Some attendees took advantage of the snack bar, though takers of the popcorn-and-cocoa offer were not, by Your Boulevardier's observation, in abundance.

The movie itself was shown without ceremony. Indeed, there were no trailers or previews or advertisements on the screen before the show; only a digital countdown in the corner of the screen. Projection itself was flawless, thanks to a digital "print" of the film and a digital projector. (Your Boulevardier had worried to his companions before the show about the print quality -- worries that were unfounded.) The only semi-comical footnote to this use of technology was the large blue-and-white message that appeared immediately after the show -- something about pressing PLAY. This got a laugh from the audience.

But indeed, the entire show got laughs where appropriate (the dance over the swimming pool, for example); a cringe, where Capra-induced (George Bailey's occasional and irrational tirades over his seemingly hopeless existence); and a tear or two (such as when newlywed Mary Bailey makes the most of her ruined honeymoon by setting a beautiful table in the shabby, leaking Granville house.

The film's message of rapacious bankers, impending foreclosure, and financial desperation took on, perhaps, a more urgent tone this year than in years past. Certainly the current economic downturn is affecting our area. Thanks go to the Chabot for putting together an evening of inexpensive holiday entertainment, and to almost 150 people for partaking of it. Castro Valley may not be Bedford Falls, but it ain't Potterville, either.

Happy Holidays

Your Boulevardier notes with pleasure that Castro Village is making good use of an empty storefront to create a sitting room for Santa. What's more, it has marked the space with a very attractive sign.


In the not-so-distant past, of course, the big guy sat in a chair in the window of the Village Toy Shop. When that store closed and Eden Bicycles took over its place, the bike shop kindly (and, Your Boulevardier thinks, wisely) ceded some of its sales floor to the man from the North Pole.

This new situation makes sense. It puts another storefront to use while not taking away valuable space from merchants. Still, his presence in his own quarters will draw the young ones and their parents to the Village.

Happy holidays, all. Let the season commence!

Sit a Spell

Your Boulevardier is a fan of The HayWord, which reports online the news that's happening to our immediate south-southwest. And Your Boulevardier is happy to report that he's not the only one poking gentle fun at billboards, misspelled signs, and the like. Reporter Eric Kurhi has, correctly, labeled one sign in Hayward "an affront to spelling."

The Drink's On Me

This juxtaposition of billboards on Castro Valley Boulevard caught Your Boulevardier's eye this morning.



One would not suggest that alcohol and soda are equally bad for young people (or for adults, for that matter). However, a good case can me made that neither one is very good for a person. Soda in quantity -- the billboard advertises 100 ounces for a family of four as a possible serving size -- provides a great deal of carbohydrates and little else. Those 25 ounces would deliver 75 grams of carbohydrates -- largely in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which some say is worse than good old glucose.

We have excellent tap water in Castro Valley. Perhaps that's the best choice of all.

Crowing about Rowells

Don, the fiberglass horse that stands guard outside of Rowell's Saddlery, has a new friend -- a large-headed scarecrow. Your Boulevardier does not know if the smiling new fellow is a temporary or permanent addition to the shop's publicity team, but we're certain Don enjoys the companionship on chilly days like today.



("Don," by the way, is Your Boulevardier's name for the horse; the handle was bestowed in honor of Don Guillermo Castro, who once owned the valley in which our town now resides. Yes, Your Boulevardier is aware that "Don" is, in this case, a title, not a name. Work with me, people.)

Changing the Locs

As noted earlier on these pages, half of the former storefront occupied by Vella's Locker Room will become a bike shop. (There's now a business card taped in the window as well; Your Boulevardier forgot to make note of the shop name.) The shopping center management company, in preparation for its new tenant, has removed the signage over that part of the center.


This move, to Your Boulevardier, makes no sense. If one is going to bring in the equipment and personnel to remove part of the sign, remove all of it. One cannot imagine a scenario in which the shop occupying the left half of the building is going to want any part of the old signage.

And The Heavens Opened

Your Boulevardier went for a long walk this morning, and was caught mostly unprepared for the light rain that fell. He did capture this scene, which -- if one were religiously inclined -- would likely be quite inspiring. It's hard to see in this photo, but the rainbow terminates right at the three crosses of Neighborhood Church.



Upon returning home he checked the rain gauge at Chez Boulevardier. After Tuesday's deluge, the rainfall total -- that is, from Tuesday evening through today -- was just 0.07".

Head over Heels

Your Boulevardier took a twilight stroll around downtown, stopping at the usual places: the bank (Wells Fargo, in his case), the post office, Castro Village (Yogofina is becoming a minor obsession) and Peet's. On the way to coffee, he noticed that the new day spa in the former Beneficial Finance storefront -- cleverly named "Holiday Spa" and featuring foot reflexology -- has a sign issue that only appears at night.



There are two ways to look at this situation (he said, not at all intending to be clever or ironic). Either the owners of the strip mall (or the Holiday Spa itself) were cutting costs and corners in making their sign; or that they were recycling, and also giving a subliminal message that the services presented are, in fact, beneficial. Either way, though, it must be noted that the sign is nearly impossible to read at night.

AN Interesting Typographic Question

Your Boulevardier noticed these stenciled words in the parking lot of Castro Valley's Safeway store. (Everyone's favorite parking lot.) Can you notice something interesting about them? (You may want to click the photos for a better view.)




He will post his observation in a day or two.

Connection Revealed

A facade improvement (at least Your Boulevardier assumes that's what's going on) at 3235 Castro Valley Boulevard has revealed this long-covered hand-painted business sign.


Do any readers recall when the Rental Connection did business in Castro Valley? The typography leads one to think it was in the 1970s.

Ouch

Your Boulevardier generally avoids ribald humor in this space, but this is the exception that proves the rule.

After reading Mary Roach's wonderful Bonk over the Labor Day Weekend (thank you, Renée), this office on Strobridge Avenue across from McDonald's took on a whole new meaning.

On Four-Day Workweeks

On this first day of a four-day workweek, it seems an appropriate time to call attention to a small typewritten sign spotted recently by Your Boulevardier on the door of Merle Norman Cosmetics on Castro Valley Boulevard. It reads:

ATTENTION .... PLEASE !!!!!

WE TRY TO CONSERVE ENERGY BY:
(1) KEEPING THE LIGHTS TURNED DOWN
(2) BEING CLOSED ONE EXTRA DAY

IF EVERYONE THAT COULD WORK A FOUR DAY WEEK
WOULD SAVE MILLIONS $$$$$$$

ONE LESS CAR ON THE ROAD JUST ONE DAY A WEEK
AGAIN MILLIONS $$$$$ WOULD BE SAVED ....
LESS FOSSIL FUEL BEING BURNED ... MUCH BETTER
FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT ......

ALL WE ASK IS THAT YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR CHOICES
TO MAKE THIS A BETTER WORLD-------INSTEAD OF
COMPLAINING THAT IT'S NOT CONVENIENT!

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY OR SATURDAY

To which Your Boulevardier can only respond: "Amen."

Minnesota Gives Up

Your Boulevardier snapped this photo a few weeks ago of the billboard that stood guard at the west end of Castro Valley Boulevard.



Minnesota tried to kick California when it was down. But clearly its plans failed, because now there's a Corona Beer advertisement in its place.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Your Boulevardier has been traveling -- once to far Northern California, and once to far Western New York -- and those trips have been followed by an amount of professional work that has been, frankly, staggering.

As a result, he has fallen out of the habit of posting here. You have his apologies. After Labor Day, it is hoped that regular missives will return. (At least as regular as can be hoped, given the source.) Meantime, here are three items to wet readers' whistles, all related to eating establishments in town:

1. Baker's Square has now become Shari's, as hinted here back in March.

2. The Dell Cafe has applied to repaint its building and repair its neon sign. This is wonderful news. The Boulevard needs more neon. Seriously.

3. As of September 1, Big Apple Bagels has painted its windows in a Halloween theme. Holiday creep begins.

P.S. Is there interest among regular readers in a Castro Valley Boulevardier Facebook presence?

Spanked by Hand

In spite of the risqué-seeming title, this post is about another hand-painted sign in Castro Valley: that of Spanky's Lounge, a tavern on Baker Road. Its sign is low-key and no-nonsense; Your Boulevardier's impression of the place (he is not, personally, a denizen of dive bars) is that domestic beer is the beverage of choice, but the sign depicts a rather tall martini glass, as painted with an airbrush.

Clearly Wonderful

Is there anything more goofily charming in Castro Valley than the facade of Allied Glass on Wisteria Street? Your Boulevardier's favorite touch in the chaotic, pseudo-Western storefront: the guy in the logo holding the tiny, three-dimensional pane of glass. (Click the photo for a better view.)

Faded Glory

Your Boulevardier is a big fan of hand-painted signs, perhaps because he recalls, as a child, walking to school past the home/workshop of a sign painter on Grove Way. Painted signs, it seems, are becoming yet another lost art.

So when an example of a beautiful hand-painted sign can be found -- even one in bad shape -- it's worth noting. This Gothic-lettered creation was spotted recently on Wisteria Street in Castro Valley. Click on the photo for a closer view.

National Doughnut Day

Your Boulevardier has learned, belatedly, that yesterday was National Doughnut Day.

The origins of the holiday can be found here.

Coincidentally, Your Boulevardier paid a visit to Rudy's yesterday. The holiday was not being celebrated in any particular way that he could discern; the place was busy, but that's not unusual for a Friday morning at 7:45 a.m.

A few weeks ago this photo was taken of the lovely hand-painted espresso sign at Rudy's; the paint is failing in a most attractive way. One hopes, probably in vain, that they won't paint it over.

Apostrophe Wrench

Your Boulevardier hsa walked past it several hundred times, but only recently noticed the very nice hand-painted sign for Sal's Foreign Auto Service on Castro Valley Boulevard.


Note the clever use of a wrench for the apostrophe.

The office for Sal's is in the Quonset hut that was formerly the Bubble Palace coin laundry, if memory serves. (Frère de Boulevardier played for the Bubble Palace Little League team many decades ago.) Sal's service bays are around the corner.

More Tenacity of Life

It's the first full day of spring, and on warm days like those we've been having, Your Boulevardier misses the star jasmine that was formerly a feature of the landscaping -- such as it was -- at the Castro Valley Post Office. Earlier this year the plants were all removed and water-efficient landscaping was installed.

The removal of the shrubbery around the base of the flagpole has exposed the back of the sign rooted in the planter. The backs of the signs clearly show their reuse, and the bits of jasmine wood that the landscapers could not extract from the pole show just how determined that plant was to succeed in its environment. (Click the photo for a better view.)

Castro Village Remodel Goes Before MAC

Next Monday, April 27, the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) will hear about the plans to remodel the Castro Village. Plans for the remodel can be viewed at the Village Barbershop.

This will not be the first time the center has undergone renovation, of course. A representative of Crosspoint, the company that manages the property, told the Castro Valley Forum last January that "There will be no major changes to the town-and-country theme of the village. It will still look and feel the same. Our goal is to build upon what we have to create this as the shopping destination in town."

Your Boulevardier is grateful to his friend Stephanie for loan of the vintage Castro Valley postcard. Readers can click on the photo for a better view.

AMENDMENT: Your Boulevardier belatedly realized that this was a fairly lame post. It contained no insight, observations, or opinions on the situation, just a report. Apologies.

When Crosspoint said it didn't plan to change the village's theme, Your Boulevardier was mighty relieved. The worst thing that could happen, he believes, would be to try to make the Village -- and the town of Castro Valley -- over into something it's not. While local incomes are generally high and public education is generally good, Castro Valley is, it must be said, not upscale. And Your Boulevardier believes that's for the better. Sure, it might be lovely to have an Apple Store or a Sephora in the Village, or a Whole Foods built back where the carwash lies -- the long-term plan for Castro Village calls for some sort of large retailer back there, absorbing some of the vacant properties in the area -- but it's also a delight to have such a collection of small, independent, locally owned, sometimes-funky operations in one place. Homogeneity stifles creativity, Your Boulevardier believes, and creativity is what's needed in an economy like we have today.

So, bring on the remodeled Castro Village! Though it's managed by Crosspoint (a San Francisco firm), the center is still owned by the Nahas family who built it 60 years ago. That's something worth celebrating and supporting.

And, to answer Wudas' question, the postcard has no copyright or other date. The newest cars in the photos are from the mid-1960s.

BART Parking Fees

Your Boulevardier noticed on a recent walk that BART has posted signs that, he presumes, announce the new $1 per day parking fee that goes into effect next Monday, April 27.



On that fateful day, the brown paper will be removed.

On The Button

It would appear that crosswalk buttons around town are being replaced. This past weekend Your Boulevardier walked on the west side of town, north of Castro Valley Boulevard, and noticed a new-style button in place. This one was photographed at Lake Chabot Road and Somerset Avenue.


As you can see in the photo, the new buttons fit into the existing fixtures. They have a red light-emitting diode (LED) in the center, and emit a sharp beep sound when pressed.

Your Boulevardier believes that the new buttons are accompanied by crosswalk signals that count down as the time to cross the street runs out.

Help Find Doobie

Your Boulevardier came across this poster on this morning's stroll.



Sad to say, but there are always plenty of lost dog posters around town. But this one caught the eye because of its poignant honesty. The small type at the bottom, perhaps unreadable in this photograph, says:

"His name is doobie, no tag no collar... I know.. I'm stupid."

Your Boulevardier hopes Doobie is recovered, and when that happens he promptly receives a collar, tag, and microchip.

Of Mice and Gyros (and Miscellany)

The former Daughtrey's Department Store (which is also a former billiards hall, and is annually the Spirit Party Supply) is now a store specializing in Disney merchandise. Your Boulevardier walked past (alas, not into) the store this evening and noticed that the parking lot on the side was full. Was there not a similar store at Southland not so long ago? One wonders if, like the aforementioned Spirit store, the Disney store is a transient use of the building. Its signs are just banners hung from the exterior walls, lending to the air of temporariness. The building has been in limbo for some time, though in 2007 there was some talk of refurbishment.

It's also noted that the former Carry Outee is now fenced off and has a banner announcing that Toula's Gyros is coming to the site. Your Boulevardier misses the falafel that were served at Haim's Cafe (and also that served at Kampus Korner at CSUEB), and hopes this new place will offer this Middle Eastern dish.

Two doors down, the Daughtrey's children's store has reappeared; it closed in Castro Village but has reappeared in one of the tiny business cottages on the north side of the Boulevard between Worley's and El Rancho STEAK House.

Also of note in the dining world: the former Tam's Kitchen has been re-branded as King Kong. One imagines that the portion sizes are colossal.

Your Boulevardier does not know what to make of all of these comings and goings. The amount of churn definitely seems to be on the upswing. It's a strange and difficult time to start a business, though some say this is the best time to do so because of the leverage available with suppliers, landlords, and employees.

At Least The Sign Is Polite

Your Boulevardier recently came across this sign on a building on Castro Valley Boulevard.


It's a sensible request. The structure to which the sign is affixed is a residential building, and is close to several retail establishments, including a tobacco shop, that might attract people who are inclined to sit or walk. Chances are the sign was posted because persons sitting or walking on the wall below the sign were disturbing the residents therein.

While handmade, the sign is clear, practical, and direct. With the exception of a stray hyphen and some random capitalization, the sign is grammatically acceptable. (Your Boulevardier was an English major and tends to be a stickler about punctuation and capitalization, so perhaps this is his personal bugaboo.)

What's more, the sign is certainly polite. Not everyone uses what Mère de Boulevardier (and most every other mère, for that matter) called "the magic word." In total, there's much to admire about the sign's intention and implementation

But there is a problem. As can be seen in the photo below, the arrows on the sign point to a concrete curb, not a brick wall. If a person were to take the sign literally, he or she could sit or walk on the curb with impunity. But that would most certainly violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the sign.

Such are the quandaries when one walks about in Castro Valley, trying to obey the rules.

Animal Signs

Your Boulevardier noticed on Sunday that the Castro Valley Companion Animal Hospital on Redwood Road has installed a wonderful new sign. The fellow who installed the sign was engaged in conversation this past Sunday and he told the story.

The sign was created by a sculptor named Doug Stuart who lives in Napa County. The design was agreed upon long ago, and in lieu of the finished three-dimensional sign the design sketch was blown up and installed as a flat sign. Of late the paint on that former sign has been failing; Your Boulevardier photographed it for an item that never ran:



Now that the finished sign is in place, a planter will be built around its base and the thermometer will be calibrated. (On Sunday, the instrument on the south (sunny) side read 90 degrees, while that on the shady side read 70 degrees; the latter was more accurate.) The handsome clock itself is battery powered and automatically corrects itself for daylight savings time, leap seconds, and other temporal anomalies. (Your Boulevardier used this opportunity to learn the difference between Atomic Clocks and Radio Clocks; the clock in this sign is a radio clock.)

Hit the Bench

On Sunday morning Your Boulevardier noticed that the bench and trash receptacle by the Castro Village sign seemed to have taken quite a beating recently.



Anybody know what happened?

Chronicle Snubs Chabot

Today's San Francisco Chronicle ran an article about the best movie houses in the Bay Area. Sadly lacking from that list is Castro Valley's own Chabot Cinema. So in response to the Big City Snub, Your Boulevardier would like to provide a baker's dozen of reasons the Chabot is wonderful.

1) It's the only single-screen first-run movie theater in the East Bay.
2) Terrific Tuesdays: all tickets just $4.
3) Summer midnight movies.
4) Because it's a single-screen theater, there aren't a bunch of bored-looking folks loitering in the lobby.
5) Several reasonable dining options in the neighborhood.
6) Neon, glorious neon!
7) Food-scrap recycling bins.
8) Reasonable walking distance from BART.
9) New, comfortable seats.
10) Outrageous legroom in the balcony.
11) Movie club gives you free popcorn.
12) No-service-charge online tickets.
13) In-seat concession service (supposedly; Your Boulevardier has not tried this).

If you haven't been to the Chabot recently, please go soon. We, the citizens of Castro Valley, must keep our hometown movie theater alive!

Put a Fork In It

Your Boulevardier is amused by the signs hawking the lunch special at Tam's Kitchen on Castro Valley Boulevard. Why, you ask? Because knives and forks are used to secure the posterboard to its stake. (But the question is raised: wouldn't chopsticks be more appropriate?)

The food at Tam's Kitchen has not been sampled by Your Boulevardier, but Yelpers' opinions are mixed about it.