‘Fairy Doors’ Are Appearing In A California Neighborhood

When you are part of a community, you are often part of something that is much larger than the people or the places. Each community has something unique to offer and it is a source of pride for many that live within it.

That is true in a small island community near Oakland named Alameda. Aside from the people and the architecture, there is something else that this area is known for – fairy doors.

People in Alameda have become accustomed to seeing fairy doors appearing throughout the community and they have been around for a number of years. Those tiny doors are often put at the bottom of trees or fence posts but the numbers have been on the rise during the pandemic.

So many of the doors are appearing throughout Alameda that a Facebook group has been set up to map out the locations as they appear. This has established a culture of those who are interested in self-guided walking tours to see as many as possible.

The fairy door movement got its start when Fred Hogenboom and his daughter began putting them in place about 7 years ago.

It has grown since then and Hogenboom shared with the SF Gate, “It’s a great phenomenon that was embraced by the whole community.”