Directions to Fleming Point
What To Google
Google does not give an address for Fleming Point in Albany, but you can find it with that name.
Directions To The Albany Bulb Parking Lot
On highway 80 take the Buchanan St exit and turn west towards the waterfront. Stay on the right as you reach the very end of the street. Turn on the roundabout and begin looking for a parking spot. This parking lot gets a lot of visitors and you might have to wait for a spot. Also, if you have a lot of gear, you might not enjoy walking to Fleming Point. The Albany Bulb’s parking lot is a short walking distance from Fleming Point, the flat area with a short stretch of sandy beach south of Albany Bulb. Look for my truck.
Directions To the Fleming Point Parking Lot
On highway 80 take the Gilman St exit and turn west towards the waterfront. Make a right when you reach the end of Gilman. To your right you’ll see the Golden Gate Racetrack property. Go up the hill but stay on the left lane that circumvents the GGR entrance kiosk. There should be no attendant on a Friday. They restrict access on days when they have events. Continue on this left lane with the top of the hill parking lot to your right and go down the hill. You should not see Fleming point, which is the flat area with a short stretch of sandy beach. Look for my truck as you park right next to the beach. Warning: the parking lot is for two hrs only.
Description
Fleming Point is the only beach in Albany. While it is rather small, it is popular with dog owners and parents looking for a quiet area in which to enjoy the sun and ocean breezes. We paint on the south side of Fleming Point which is less visited. Fleming Point has no shady spots, no bathrooms or running water and it can get windy. The hill where the racetrack is located has long interested landscape painters, as well as the beach itself and the Bulb’s southern shore. Fleming Point offers a chance for introspection as you examine its sandstone and shale rocks, its driftwood, its eucalyptus grove in the distance, the Albany hills, or the blocky racetrack building on top of the hill.
History
Fleming Point is part of the slough into which three creeks drain: Schoolhouse Creek, Codornices Creek and Marin Creek. John T. Fleming bought the slough from Jose Domingo Peralta in 1853. Fleming used it as a transhipment point for sending his cattle across the bay to San Francisco for slaughter and processing. In the 19th century, it was the site of the Giant Powder Company and Judson Dynamite and Powder Company until 1905 when they were replaced with chemical factories. In early 20th century, it was later used by the city of Berkeley as a garbage dump, which is one of the reasons the City of Albany decided to incorporate in 1908. The Golden Gate Fields racetrack was bought by the Stronach Group in 2011 and is currently the only major racetrack in northern California. It featured greyhound races during the time when horse races were banned by the state of CA (1911-1933), but this fact has been scrubbed off the internet.
