Ocean View Park is the only developed park in the western part of Albany. This 3.61-acre park is located…More near the I-80 and I-580 freeway interchange, and is accessible from Buchanan Street, a busy four-lane street that leads from the freeway to San Pablo Avenue. Ocean View is partly owned by the Albany Unified School District, route: {:controller=>"listings", :action=>"show", :id=>"albany-unified-school-district-3"} --> and partly by the City of Albany.</p> <p>The park encompasses sports fields, a redwood grove, <a href="http://albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=602">picnic facilities</a> and the city's <!-- name: Teen Center. The picnic area's barbecues and the sports fields may be rented out or reserved through the Recreation Department (<a href="http://albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=602">click here</a> to learn more about picnic table rentals or to fill out an application).</p> <p>The park recently underwent major renovations that upgraded the sports field and lighting, resurfaced the tennis courts and added new features including a children's play structure, path lighting, <a href="http://albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=602">new picnic areas</a>, restroom facilities and a community garden. The Albany Art Committee headed an Art in the Park Project that added the new sculptural entry sign reading "Wave Rose."</p> <p><b>History </b></p> <p>Ocean View Park sits on land originally occupied seasonally by hunter-gatherer American Indian tribes referred to generally as the Ohlone (the specific group in this area was probably the Huchiun). This property was later owned by the Gill Family, which operated a rose nursery. The U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, which performs ecological and social science research on ecosystems, has occupied the adjacent property to the west since 1926. </p>