The Gates of City Center Wine District
Have you ever imagined walking through a high iron gate, along a winding path, through a lush
garden, into a marble palace with fountains of wine?
Protective and beautiful, there’s romance around an iron fence. Timeless. Stately. Evocative of mystery from glimpses through wrought iron gates.
In her imaginings, Linda Donovan envisioned a wrought iron fence encircling the block of City Center Wine District.
Architectural. Sculptural. Classic. Secure.
She needed a fence that “couldn’t be cut, more attractive than chain link.” A fence suiting the Spanish Colonial architectural style of the historic Cooley-Neff building and the urban industrial area, but also complementing the refined, contemporary design for The District Wine Bar, with the green and rain garden spaces.
Finding it took some searching. She started local, but when that proved to be improbable she looked farther afield, and it all fell into place. The company was able to do the brown coating she wanted that would match other metals and trim. The company was willing and able to customize as she needed for accessibility and functionality distinctive between the public spaces and the winery areas.
The fencing and gates were set to arrive in the Port of Oakland about the same time she was expecting a new load of wine barrels to be shipped north to her. Calling the freight company she found the wine barrels could be shipped with the fencing and gates - if they arrived on time.
The boat from the East was not so slow, and didn’t get stuck waiting for weeks at the port of entry. The freight was quickly loaded onto a truck with the wine barrels, and arrived at the winery a few days later. And she said, “was even better than expected.”
Barb & Plank Fencing out of Klamath Falls, OR are doing the install. I’ve personally been driving by it everyday to watch the progress. The poles went in first with 18” deep holes. Because of city codes they had to be set back a bit more than originally planned to allow for street visibility, which set the fence in from the new sidewalk, and cut in a little to the already planted landscaping. Ah well, the 16’ wide by 10’ high intricately scrolled gates make up for this inconvenience. Within these large gates will be a “human gate” to allow for easy access as needed. This main gate opens to the path by the bioswale/rain gardens, winding up to the marble-walled District Wine Bar.
Throughout centuries of tradition, gates of wrought iron have opened into wine cellars across the world. Magic happens behind these gates - there’s a slowing down, a timelessness of sipping, intrigue. Walking through the wine gates of The City Center Wine District, the sun glints off the wrought iron with the deepened brown coloring of aged red wine.
Romance spills over walls, springs from the earth, climbs wrought iron gates, and takes my breath away. ~ Kim Graham