Holiday streets

Sunset, Dec, 1994 by Steven R. Lorton, Betsy Reynolds Bateson, Lora J. Finnegan, Daniel Gregory, Jeanie Puleston Fleming, David Lansing, Roseann Hanson, Jeff Phillips

FOURTH STREET Berkeley, California

Berkeley developer and street booster Denny Abrams believes that a healthy street is not just for shopping, but for bringing people together. The two blocks of Fourth Street between Hearst Avenue and Virginia Street that he's been developing with Rick Millikan since the early '80s are an attractive, design-oriented enclave of shops, cafes, and restaurants that are especially festive during the holidays.

SHOPPING

Restoration Hardware (1733) carries a tempting array of stylish brass house numbers.

Crate & Barrel Outlet Store (1785) appeals to the budget-conscious.

Hearthsong (1812) specializes in quality children's toys and games.

Builders Booksource (1817), an architecture and building bookstore, is stocked with stately pleasure tomes.

Slater Marinoff & Co. (1823) is a favorite furniture store of architects and designers.

The Gardener (1836) has gifts for home and garden.

Aerial (1840) is an idiosyncratic trove that includes building blocks, scale model cars, and art and architecture posters.

The Nature Company's flagship store and art gallery stands at the corner of Hearst and Fourth.

EATING

Bette's Oceanview Diner (1807A) is a favorite local hangout, especially for brunch.

Ginger Island (1820) serves top-rate Pan Pacific specialties, O Chame (1830) has indoor dining, and in good weather, you can sip tea and survey the street scene from a concrete table under a canvas umbrella.

LOGISTICS

Businesses stay open until 8 P.M. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

N. SANTA CRUZ AVENUE Los Gatos, California

It's difficult to picture tidy, dapper Los Gatos as a rough-hewn logging town, but if you stood along the main drag in 1858, you'd have eaten a fair amount of dust kicked up by lumber wagons. The wagons have long been superseded by four-wheel-drive vehicles in this upscale suburb 12 miles southwest of downtown San Jose, But the town has hung on to its history, preserving the best of its wood and brick Victorian-era buildings. A walk along N. Santa Cruz Avenue between Main Street and Saratoga Avenue passes shops that appeal to both the whimsical and the practical.

SHOPPING

Smith & Hawken (26) can oblige with a wreath for the door or tools to cut the fresh makin's from your garden.

And plenty of other shops cater to the house-proud crowd, displaying furnishings from Scandinavian modern to French Provincial.

The Travel Store (56 1/2) is a great place to shop for a person on the go. Besides a range of globes and maps, it has lots of useful stocking-stuffers.

Bears in the Wood (59) is stuffed with teddy bears from humble to collectible (the handmade bears can cost as much as $300).

EATING

Dolce Spazio (221), one of many espresso spots in town, has a Valencia espresso drink that will send you home with a warm glow. But if you'd like to stop for more substantial fare, you'll find plenty of first-rate restaurants.

EVENTS

The official Tree Lighting ceremony with music, caroling, a visit from Santa, and an open house at downtown shops will be held at 5 P.M. on December 2 in the town plaza (N. Santa Cruz and Main).