Aquatic Park (Berkeley)

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Aquatic Park is a public park in Berkeley, California, located just east of the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80) between Ashby and University Avenues. The park was created in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, simultaneous with its work on the nearby Berkeley Yacht Harbor. Its centerpiece is an artificial mile-long lagoon cut off from San Francisco Bay when a causeway for the Eastshore Highway was created in the 1930s in conjunction with the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge approaches. The lagoon still communicates with the Bay through culverts under the freeway (one in line with Ashby Avenue, the other in line with Grayson Street). The east shoreline of the lagoon represents what used to be the original shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Aquatic Park features picnic areas, a pedestrian-bicycle path, and a disc golf course. In the past, the park was the site of water skiing contests. The ski ramp is still visible in the middle of the lagoon. It was also a practice site for the University of California crew teams (see California Golden Bears). A public boathouse for kayaking still operates.