Map of the proposed Emerald Views building as well as other selected tall buildings in Oakland.

At 457 feet tall, the proposed Emerald Views project would dwarf the historic apartment buildings at its base: the Regillus (L) and the Bechtel Building (R).

Hayden Foell (L) and Brian Kemble created the succulent garden on Rand Avenue.

Trunk of the Kapok Tree in the succulent garden on Rand Avenue.

Hayden Foell’s Agave salmiana towers over Rand Avenue. Photo taken June 1, 2007.

Despite protestations to the contrary, the clothes dryer had not been removed from the parking lot of the Kwik Way.

This clothes dryer, dumped along the Kwik Way’s parking lot, is just one example of the blighted conditions cited by many respondents in the recent FatBurger online poll.