464:) The Native American practice of regular burning to avoid brush buildup (and major fires) was continued by the dynamite companies and later the city, into the 1960s. Perhaps as a result, the hill harbors unusually large numbers of native wildflowers and other plants. The oak forest on the cool north face remains much as it was pre-European-settlement. The non-native eucalyptus trees on the summit attract migrating and wintering monarch butterflies. Hawks, owls, wild turkeys, and deer are among the animal inhabitants; herons, kingfishers, and egrets fish the creek.
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right-of-way allowing public access. In late 2019, this tract was listed for sale at $ 10 million. It is zoned for apartments or town homes, with a maximum density of nine units per acre. The city's Master Plan includes various policies regarding this parcel, including keeping the summit open, clustering development, providing a trail easement, protecting monarch butterfly habitat, minimizing grading, and protecting and restoring the hill's natural features, native vegetation, and wildlife.
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Conservation Area by Bay Area and state agencies. By 2019, when the bonds matured, the city had bought small parcels totaling six acres. The remaining bond funds in 2019 were being spent for access and other improvements called for in the city's plans for the park, adopted first in 1991 and repeated in a new plan adopted in 2012.
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The cross has been subject to disputes regarding the Lions Club easement and the legality of a
Christian symbol displayed on public land. In 2016, the city cut off power to the cross for several months, citing safety concerns regarding the electrical wiring. In June 2018, a federal judge ruled the
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such as
Constance Ramos and Patrice Ayme). The city has increased brush control, road maintenance, and clearing. Clearing is limited by wanting to maintain habitat for birds, including hawks and owls, and monarch butterflies that use the eucalyptus trees as a migration stopover or winter habitat.
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Fire is a serious concern on this wooded hill surrounded by city. Plans adopted in 1991 and 2012 call for thinning eucalyptus and controlling brush to create a savannah-like habitat that would limit fires. On
November 15, 2008, strong dry northeast winds whipped up a fire in a forested area on the
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at the northwest foot of the hill. The company had been forced to move from San
Francisco and then nearby Fleming Point in Berkeley because of continuing accidental explosions. The eucalyptus trees now on the hill were planted by the dynamite manufacturers to catch debris and muffle sound of these
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However, the fire danger may be less than what it seems. In the 1980s, a large fire started from Pierce street, and swept uphill, going north-west. No large tree burned, although many were scorched. The fire burned fiercely the Poison Oak, next to the ground (this was witnessed by local residents
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The remaining quarter of the open space is a single tract: South of the highest point, a 10.7-acre privately owned parcel runs from Pierce Street on the west up over the summit and down to Taft Street on the east slope. Most users treat this land as park, but the city has never negotiated a legal
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A few volunteer groups work on and near the hill. Friends of Albany Hill has worked to maintain and increase native vegetation on the hill itself by removing non-native invasive plants. The
Friends have also educated the public about the natural and cultural significance of the hill, monitor the
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From the early 20th century on, particularly in the 1970s, numerous schemes were proposed for development of Albany Hill, from dynamiting it for bay fill to building high-rise hotels or blasting out the top as a reservoir. Protest by local residents defeated most of these. Eventually the city
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In 1994, citizens passed
Measure K, cutting allowed density on the hill by half and allowing the city to pursue further lowering, and in 1996 voters passed Measure R, a special levy including $ 3 million to buy land on the hill. In 2008, the remaining open space hill was declared a Priority
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up the north side of the hill. Large condominiums on the west side of the hill maintain significant areas of open space as part of their development agreements, and the north part of the summit ridge and a portion of the northeast slope is owned by the city.
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As a large open space, the only nearby high elevation next to the Bay, and in the path of sea winds blowing through the Golden Gate, Albany Hill is an ecological island. It is a haven for plants normally found in much cooler areas, for example Nootka rose
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killed 23 workers. The explosion carved a massive crater in the north flank of the hill, which is today evident by a large dip in the tree-line. After this incident, dynamite making was forced north to less-settled areas, making an eventual last stand at
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On June 26, 2022, a vegetation fire broke out on the west side on Albany Hill, burning near
Cleveland and Washington avenues. The City of Albany asked residents of Gateview, Hillside, and Taft St to evacuate. An initial evacuation center was set at
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In
January 2020, a development of 48 mansions up the west side of Albany Hill, facing the Golden Gate, was proposed by Trumark Homes. A public petition ("Save Albany Hill Park") was created online to entice City Hall to block the project.
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west side of the hill above a large apartment complex (555 Pierce Street). Recent heavy rains and a prompt response by the Albany and
Berkeley fire departments limited the blaze to 2 acres (8,100 m), with no structures burned.
397:. Oaks on the north side, the willow grove where tributary Middle Creek joins Cerrito Creek, salt and fresh wetlands to the north (now filled), and the nearby Bay would have made this a bountiful seasonal home.
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on alternative development schemes and development densities. After a series of public hearings the consultant's recommendation design was chosen leading to the present development pattern of clustered
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425:. Quarrying on the hill continued for many years, leaving scars on the rock and eventually obliterating a low summit northwest of Albany Hill, approximately where
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wintering site for the monarch butterfly migration and trail improvement projects, and in the 1990s they helped bring privately held parcels into city hands.
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are visible. From earliest
European settlement, residents have enjoyed open space on the hill, "sledding" on dry grass and swinging from rope swings.
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377:. The name was changed to Albany Hill shortly after the city incorporated as Ocean View changed its name to Albany in 1909. The adjacent city of
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allowing for maintenance by the Lions Club. The land was obtained by the City of Albany in 1973. The cross is illuminated by the Lions Club on
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has done extensive restoration along Cerrito and Middle Creeks and adjoining groves and meadows at the foot of the hill. A new group,
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explosions. The stop on the transcontinental railroad tracks just to the west was called Nobel Station after
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346:. Albany Hill is part of a range of hills uplifted long before today's Berkeley Hills. These hills include
342:, carried to the western edge of North America on the Pacific Plate and scraped off there in the course of
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display unconstitutional, requiring that the city remove the cross or sell the parcel on which it stands.
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of almost 40 acres of open space on the hill is protected from development. A public park extends from
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name is unknown. The 1772 Fages expedition referred to the landmark as "El Cerrito," and it was named
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View of Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay, from the western side of Albany Hill.
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804:"F5C Jan. 2020 e-news: Planting natives, trash talk, tide walks, seasonal outings, more"
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The north side of Albany Hill was long used by Native Americans, as evidenced by large
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829:"PCA - Priority Conservation Areas | Association of Bay Area Governments"
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stands near the summit of Albany Hill. The cross was erected by the Albany
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Lower Codornices and Cerrito Creeks - History and Restoration Possibilities
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Beginning in the late 19th century, Judson Powder Works manufactured
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in the distance. Looking south from the hill, the high-rises in
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912:"Albany cross shouldn't be in public park, federal judge rules"
747:"El Cerrito's History | el Cerrito, CA - Official Website"
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from one side. From the other, it looks out onto the Bay, with
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residential use and preservation of the majority of the hill.
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736:, Albany City Chamber of Commerce, Accessed August 2, 2007.
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589:, and other occasions such as the anniversary of the
373:, a Spanish land grant which encompassed much of the
988:"Albany Hill on fire, residents ordered to evacuate"
886:"Albany 2035 General Plan | City of Albany, CA"
338:. Geologically, the hill is predominantly Jurassic
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entrance to Albany Hill Park, north end of Taft Ave
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
717:, Friends of Five Creeks, Accessed August 2, 2007.
381:was named after the hill's original Spanish name.
601:Proposed Development of the West Side of the Hill
350:and Point Isabel (their summits dynamited away),
137:Albany Hill from El Cerrito Plaza BART station
854:"Albany Hill Creekside Park Master Plan 2012"
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1031:Landforms of Contra Costa County, California
577:in 1971 on then-private land, subject to an
412:In 1905, a massive accidental explosion of
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559:TASH (Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill)
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
688:United States Department of the Interior
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1041:Landmarks in the San Francisco Bay Area
1036:Landforms of the San Francisco Bay Area
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785:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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369:family after the name of their ranch,
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467:The hill provides a view of Albany,
47:adding citations to reliable sources
679:Geographic Names Information System
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872:Albany Hill Real Estate Listing
727:A Brief History of Early Albany
684:United States Geological Survey
34:needs additional citations for
910:Tadayon, Ali (June 19, 2018).
1:
264:Show map of the United States
986:King, John (June 27, 2022).
409:, the inventor of dynamite.
505:Environmental Impact Report
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962:"Albany Hill. Sheet Index"
437:Modern history and ecology
990:. San Francisco Chronicle
649:"Albany Hill, California"
357:Albany Hill's indigenous
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186:37.8949254°N 122.304692°W
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808:www.icontact-archive.com
501:environmental consultant
330:along the east shore of
153:338 ft (103 m)
454:), and coast horkelia (
191:37.8949254; -122.304692
1026:El Cerrito, California
868:"Available Properties"
555:Friends of Five Creeks
552:Friends of Albany Hill
448:), stinging phacelia (
363:Cerrito de San Antonio
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234:Show map of California
16:San Francisco Bay hill
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591:September 11 attacks
457:Horkelia californica
43:improve this article
1016:Hills of California
937:"Albany Hill Cross"
451:Phacelia malvifolia
182: /
1021:Albany, California
732:2014-01-11 at the
713:2007-09-29 at the
617:Golden Gate Fields
393:and remnants of a
371:Rancho San Antonio
367:Luís María Peralta
336:Albany, California
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156: NGVD 29
143:Highest point
431:Pacific East Mall
332:San Francisco Bay
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385:Early history
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58:"Albany Hill"
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54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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992:. Retrieved
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969:. Retrieved
966:albanyca.org
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765:the original
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499:retained an
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477:Sather Tower
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445:Rosa nutkana
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411:
407:Alfred Nobel
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395:shell midden
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99:October 2013
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
833:abag.ca.gov
693:December 7,
658:December 7,
519:Just under
473:UC Berkeley
471:— notably,
462:californica
324:Albany Hill
258:Albany Hill
228:Albany Hill
189: /
177:122°18′17″W
164:Coordinates
126:Albany Hill
1010:Categories
771:January 5,
635:References
629:Sala House
575:Lions Club
569:A 20-foot
493:Emeryville
479:— and the
419:Pt. Pinole
379:El Cerrito
344:subduction
283:California
174:37°53′42″N
69:newspapers
971:April 16,
895:April 16,
838:April 16,
813:April 16,
583:Christmas
510:high-rise
340:sandstone
202:Geography
149:Elevation
994:June 27,
946:July 17,
921:July 17,
781:cite web
730:Archived
711:Archived
623:See also
579:easement
469:Berkeley
427:Richmond
421:, now a
402:dynamite
375:East Bay
301:Richmond
294:Topo map
275:Location
524:⁄
365:by the
83:scholar
587:Easter
359:Ohlone
85:
78:
71:
64:
56:
571:cross
460:ssp.
90:JSTOR
76:books
996:2022
973:2023
948:2018
923:2018
897:2023
840:2023
815:2023
787:link
773:2020
695:2014
660:2014
491:and
328:hill
299:USGS
287:U.S.
62:news
475:'s
429:'s
45:by
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779:{{
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