The beauty of deserted industrial streetscapes

Cal Ink (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004)

In 1964, Michelangelo Antonioni revealed the beauty of industrial wastelands in Red Desert.

While not necessarily wastelands, west Berkeley’s industrial zones offer beauty in unexpected places. One of these is the California Ink plant at 1326–1404 Fourth Street.

Established here between 1900 and 1903, Cal Ink—now Flint Ink, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan—is the oldest factory in Berkeley operating at its original location.

On Sundays (as when the photos in the article were taken), the gigantic deserted plant has an eerie beauty Antonioni would have appreciated.