Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the
San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
in
Northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose , Sacramento , as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern California coast, the Big Sur coastline area, the Sierra Nevada...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of
OaklandOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
and
EmeryvilleEmeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
. To the north is the city of
AlbanyAlbany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 16,447 at the 2000 census.-History:...
and the
unincorporatedIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city or town with its own government. Thus, an unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
community of
KensingtonKensington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 4,936 at the 2000 census.- Law and government :Kensington is an unincorporated area of Contra...
. The eastern city limits coincide with the county line (bordering
Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2006, the US Census Bureau estimated it had a population of 1,024,319...
), which generally follows the ridge line of the
Berkeley HillsThe Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges which overlook the northeast side of the valley in which San Francisco Bay is situated...
. Berkeley is located in northern
Alameda CountyAlameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census it had a population of 1,443,741, making it the 7th largest county in the state, and by 2006 it was estimated 1,457,426...
.
Berkeley is the site of the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
, the oldest of the
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system...
system, and the
Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryThe Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus. It is managed and...
. It is also home to the
Graduate Theological UnionThe Graduate Theological Union is a consortium of nine independent seminaries and schools of theology and eight program centers mainly in Berkeley, California as well as San Anselmo, CA. The close relationship among these schools is meant to encourage ecumenical and interfaith dialogue...
. The city is noted as one of the most politically liberal in the nation, with one study placing it as the third most liberal city in the United States.
Early history
The site of today's City of Berkeley was the territory of the Chochen/Huichin band of the
OhloneThe Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are the indigenous people of Northern California who occupy the areas around San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, and the lower Salinas Valley when the Spanish arrived in the late-18th century...
people when the first Europeans arrived . Remnants of their existence in the area include pits in rock formations, which they used to grind acorns, and a shellmound, now mostly leveled and covered up, along the shoreline of
San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
at the mouth of
Strawberry CreekStrawberry Creek is the principal watercourse running through the city of Berkeley, California. Two forks rise in the Berkeley Hills, part of the California Coast Ranges, forming a confluence at the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, then running westward across the city to...
. Other artifacts were discovered in the 1950s in the downtown area during remodeling of a commercial building, near the upper course of the creek.
The first people of European descent (most of whom were born in America, and many of whom were of mixed ancestry) arrived with the De Anza Expedition in 1776. Today, this is noted by signage on Interstate 80, which runs along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of Berkeley. The De Anza Expedition led to establishment of the Spanish
Presidio of San FranciscoThe Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It has been a fortified location since 1776 when the Spanish made it the military center of their expansion in the area...
at the entrance to San Francisco Bay (the "
Golden GateThe Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
"), which is due west of Berkeley.
Luís PeraltaLuís María Peralta was a soldier in the Spanish Army, who received one of the largest of the Spanish land grants, Rancho San Antonio, a plot that encompassed most of the East Bay region of California.-Biography:...
was among the soldiers at the Presidio. For his services to the King of Spain, he was granted a vast stretch of land on the east shore of San Francisco Bay (the
contra costa, "opposite shore") for a ranch, including that portion which now comprises the City of Berkeley.
Luís Peralta named his holding, "Rancho San Antonio". The primary activity of the ranch was raising cattle for meat and hides, but hunting and farming were also pursued. Eventually, Peralta gave portions of the ranch to each of his four sons. What is now Berkeley lies mostly in the portion that went to Peralta's son, Domingo, with a little in the portion that went to another son, Vicente. No artifact survives of the ranches of Domingo or Vicente, although their names have been preserved in the naming of Berkeley streets (Vicente, Domingo, and Peralta). However, legal title to all land in the City of Berkeley remains based on the original Peralta land grant.
The Peraltas' Rancho San Antonio continued after
Alta CaliforniaAlta California was formed when Spain separated the Dominican Missions from the Franciscan Missions in approximately 1769 with the founding of the first Alta California mission in San Diego...
passed from Spanish to Mexican sovereignty after the
Mexican War of IndependenceThe Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The Mexican War of Independence movement was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought independence from Spain...
. However, the advent of U.S. sovereignty after the
Mexican–American WarThe Mexican–American War was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas. Mexico claimed ownership of Texas as a breakaway province and refused to recognize the secession and subsequent military victory by Texas in...
, and especially, the
Gold RushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James Wilson Marshall at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, California. News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California from the rest of the United States and...
, saw the Peralta's lands quickly encroached on by squatters and diminished by dubious legal proceedings. The lands of the brothers Domingo and Vicente were quickly reduced to reservations close to their respective ranch homes. The rest of the land was surveyed and parceled out to various American claimants (
See Kellersberger's MapKellersberger's Map is a plat map created in 1856 of the northeastern shore lands of San Francisco Bay. It was created by surveyor Julius Kellersberger in order to facilitate the subdivision of a portion of the lands of the Rancho San Antonio following the US-Mexico War...
).
Politically, the area that became Berkeley was initially part of a vast Contra Costa County. On March 25, 1853, Alameda County was created by division of Contra Costa County, as well as from a small portion of Santa Clara County.
The area of Berkeley was at this period mostly a mix of open land, farms and ranches, with a small though busy wharf by the bay. It was not yet "Berkeley", but merely the northern part of the "Oakland Township" subdivision of Alameda County.
Late 19th century
In 1866, the private
College of CaliforniaThe College of California was the predecessor of the University of California system of public universities. The private College was founded in 1855 by Henry Durant, a Congregationalist minister...
located in the city of Oakland sought out a new site. It settled on a location north of Oakland along the foot of the Contra Costa Hills (later called the Berkeley Hills) astride Strawberry Creek, at an elevation about above the bay, commanding a fantastic view of the Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate.
According to the
Centennial Record of the University of California, "In 1866…at
Founders' RockOn the corner of Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road, in Berkeley, California, lies the Founders' Rock, the spot, according to college lore, where the 12 trustees of the College of California, the nascent University of California, Berkeley, stood on April 16, 1860, to dedicate the property they had just...
, a group of College of California men were watching two ships standing out to sea through the
Golden GateThe Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
. One of them, Frederick Billings, thought of the lines of the
Anglo-IrishAnglo-Irish was a term used historically to describe a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until 1871, or to a lesser...
Anglican
Bishop George BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley, was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism" . This theory contends that individuals can only know directly sensations and ideas of objects, not abstractions such as "matter"...
, 'westward the course of empire takes its way,' and suggested that the town and college site be named for the eighteenth-century Anglo-Irish philosopher and poet."
The College of California's "College Homestead Association" planned to raise funds for their new campus by selling off parcels of land adjacent to it. To this end, they laid out a plat and street grid that became the basis of Berkeley's modern street plan. Their plans fell far short of their desires, and collaboration was then begun with the State of California, culminating in 1868 with the creation of the public
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system...
.
As construction began on the new site, more residences were constructed in the vicinity of the new campus. At the same time, a settlement of residences, saloons, and various industries was also growing up around the wharf on the bayshore called "Ocean View". A
horsecarA horsecar was an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes or from the omnibus that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly-invented iron or steel rail or 'tramway'...
line was constructed out from
TemescalTemescal is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the northern section of Oakland, California. It is centered on Telegraph Avenue, bordered by Broadway and State Route 24 to the east and west, and MacArthur Boulevard to the south...
in Oakland along what is today's
Telegraph AvenueTelegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California...
to the university campus.
By the 1870s the
Transcontinental RailroadA Transcontinental Railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent from "coast-to-coast". Terminals are at or connected to different oceans. Because Europe is criss-crossed by railways, railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, the Orient Express perhaps being an...
had reached its terminus in Oakland. In 1876, a branch line of the
Central Pacific RailroadThe Central Pacific Railroad was the California-to-Utah portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America.Many proposals to build a transcontinental railroad failed because of the disputes over slavery in Washington; with the secession of the South, the modernizers in the Republican...
, the
Berkeley Branch RailroadThe Berkeley Branch Railroad was a long branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad from a junction in what later became Emeryville called "Shellmound" to what soon became downtown Berkeley, adjacent to the new University of California campus. The line opened on August 16, 1876. The initial...
, was laid from a junction with the mainline called Shellmound (now a part of Emeryville) into what is now
downtown BerkeleyDowntown Berkeley is the central business district of the city of Berkeley, California, United States, around the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, and extending north to Hearst Avenue, south to Dwight Way, west to Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and east to Oxford Street...
. That same year, the mainline of the transcontinental railroad into Oakland was re-routed, putting the right-of-way along the bay shore through Ocean View.
The first post office opened in 1872.
In 1878, the people of Ocean View and the area around the University campus, together with the local farmers, incorporated themselves as the Town of Berkeley. The first elected trustees of the town were the slate of
Dennis KearneyDennis Kearney was a California populist political leader in the late 19th century, known for his nativist and racist views toward Chinese immigrants....
's
Workingman's PartyThe Workingman's Party was a California labor organization led by Dennis Kearney in the 1870s. The party took particular aim against Chinese immigrant labor and the Central Pacific Railroad which employed them. Its famous slogan was "The Chinese must go!" They held large Sunday afternoon rallies...
who were particularly favored in the working class area of the former Ocean View, now called "West Berkeley". The area near the university became known as "East Berkeley".
The modern age came quickly to Berkeley, no doubt due to the influence of the university.
Electric lightMost of the industrialized world is lit by electric lights, which are used both at night and to provide additional light during the daytime. These lights are normally powered by the electric grid, but some run on local generators, and emergency generators serve as backups in hospitals and other...
s were in use by 1888. The
telephoneThe telephone is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sound, most commonly the human voice. It is one of the most common household appliances in the developed world, and has long been considered indispensable to business, industry and government...
had already come to town. Electric streetcars soon replaced the
horsecarA horsecar was an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes or from the omnibus that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly-invented iron or steel rail or 'tramway'...
. A silent film of one of these early streetcars in Berkeley can be seen at the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
website:
"A Trip To Berkeley, California"
Early 20th century
Berkeley's slow growth ended abruptly with the
Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, CA and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.8; however, other values have...
. The town and other parts of the East Bay somehow managed to escape serious damage from the massive temblor, and hundreds if not thousands of refugees flowed across the Bay.
In 1908, a statewide referendum that proposed moving the California state capital to Berkeley was defeated by a margin of about 35,000 votes. A legacy of this ballot measure which survives today was the naming of streets in the vicinity of the proposed capitol grounds for the counties of California.
In 1909, the citizens of Berkeley adopted a new charter, and the Town of Berkeley became the City of Berkeley. Rapid growth continued right up to the Crash of 1929. The
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
hit Berkeley hard, but not as hard as many other places in the U.S. thanks in part to the University.
On September 17, 1923,
a major fireThe 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration which consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923....
swept down the hills toward the University campus and the downtown section. Some 640 structures burned before a late afternoon sea breeze stopped its progress, allowing firefighters to put it out.
The next big growth occurred with the advent of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when large numbers of people moved into the Bay Area to work in the many war industries, such as the immense
Kaiser ShipyardsThe Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the U.S. west coast during World War II. They were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, a creation of American industrialist Henry J...
in nearby
RichmondRichmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
. One who moved out, but played a big role in the outcome of the War was U.C. Professor and Berkeley resident J. Robert Oppenheimer. During the war, an Army base,
Camp AshbyCamp Ashby was a temporary U.S. Army installation sited in Berkeley, California during World War II. The base was named for Ashby Avenue, a nearby thoroughfare , which in turn was named for one of Berkeley's earliest settlers, William Ashby .Camp Ashby was used to quarter and train the 779th...
, was temporarily sited in Berkeley.
The 1950s and 1960s
The postwar years saw moderate growth of the City as events on the U.C. campus began to build up to the recognizable activism of the sixties. In the 1950s,
McCarthyismMcCarthyism is the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence...
induced the University to demand a loyalty oath from its professors, many of whom refused to sign any such oath on the principle of freedom of thought. In 1960, a U.S. House committee (HUAC) came to San Francisco to investigate the influence of communists in the Bay Area. Their presence was met by protesters, including many from the University. Meanwhile, a number of U.C. students became active in support of the
Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or...
. Finally, the University in 1964 provoked a massive student protest by banning the distribution of political literature on campus. This protest became known as the
Free Speech MovementThe Free Speech Movement was a student protest which took place during the 1964–1965 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley under the informal leadership of students Mario Savio, Brian Turner, Bettina Apthecker, Steve Weissman, Art Goldberg, Jackie Goldberg, and...
. As the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
rapidly escalated in the ensuing years, so did student activism at the University, particularly that organized by the
Vietnam Day CommitteeThe Vietnam Day Committee was a coalition of left-wing political groups, student groups, labour organizations, and pacifist religions in the United States of America that opposed the Vietnam War...
.
Berkeley is strongly identified with the rapid social changes, civic unrest, and politial upheaval that characterized the late 1960s. In that period, Berkeley—especially Telegraph Avenue—became a focal point for the
hippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district...
movement, which spilled over the Bay from San Francisco. Many hippies were apolitical drop-outs, rather than students, but in the heady atmosphere of Berkeley in 1967–1969 there was considerable overlap of the hippie movement and the radical left. An iconic event in the Berkeley Sixties scene was a conflict over a parcel of University property south of the contiguous campus site which came to be called "People's Park".
The battle over the disposition of People's Park resulted in a month-long occupation of Berkeley by the
National GuardThe National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States...
on orders of then-Governor
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
. In the end, the park remained undeveloped, and remains so today. A spin-off, "People's Park Annex," was established at the same time by activist citizens of Berkeley on a strip of land above the
Bay Area Rapid TransitBay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 43 stations in four counties...
subway construction along Hearst Avenue northwest of the U.C. campus. The land had also been intended for development, but was turned over to the City by BART and is now
Ohlone ParkOhlone Park is a public park in the city of Berkeley, California, situated on a strip of land along the north side of Hearst Avenue between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Sacramento Street...
.
1970s to present
The 1970s saw a decline in the population of Berkeley, partly due to an exodus to the suburbs. Some moved because of the rising cost of living throughout the Bay Area, and others because of the decline and disappearance of many industries in West Berkeley.
From the 1980s to the present, Berkeley has seen rising housing costs, especially since the mid-1990s. In 2005–2007, sales of homes began to slow, but average home prices, as of 2009 remain, among the highest in the nation.
Though many think of the 1960s as the heyday of liberalism in Berkeley, it remains one of the most overwhelmingly Democratic cities in the United States. The era of large public protest in Berkeley waned considerably with the end of the Vietnam War in 1974. One person who rose in prominence during the late sixties and into the seventies was
Ron DellumsRonald Vernie "Ron" Dellums serves as Oakland's third African-American mayor. From 1971-1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
, nephew of C.L. Dellums, an African American labor leader. He first served on the Berkeley City Council, and later became a federal representative for the district which includes Berkeley. He was elected Mayor of Oakland in 2006.
In 2006, the Berkeley Oak Grove Protest began, protesting construction of a new sports center annex to Memorial Stadium at the expense of a grove of oak trees on the UC campus. The protest ended in September 2008 after a lengthy court process.
In 2007–08, Berkeley received media attention due to demonstrations against a Marine Corps recruiting office in downtown Berkeley and a series of controversional motions by Berkeley's City Council regarding opposition to Marine recruiting. (
See Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center controversyThe Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center Controversy began in September 2007 when a small group of protesters from Code Pink began periodically protesting in front of a United States Marine Corps Officer Selection Office located in Downtown Berkeley, California at 64 Shattuck Avenue by standing...
.)
Geography
Berkeley is located at (37.871775, −122.274603).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (40.9%) is water, most of it part of
San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
Berkeley borders the cities of Albany, Oakland, and Emeryville and Contra Costa County including unincorporated Kensington as well as San Francisco Bay.
Berkeley lies within telephone area code 510 (historically, part of 415), and the postal
ZIP codeThe ZIP code is the system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service . The letters ZIP, a backronym for Zone Improvement Plan, are properly written in capital letters and were chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s are 94701 through 94710, 94712, and 94720 for the
University of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University system...
campus.
Geology
Most of Berkeley lies on a rolling sedimentary plain that rises gently from sea level to the base of the
Berkeley HillsThe Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges which overlook the northeast side of the valley in which San Francisco Bay is situated...
. From there, the land rises dramatically. The highest peak along the ridge line above Berkeley is
Grizzly PeakGrizzly Peak is a summit in the Berkeley Hills above Berkeley, California. The peak is located on the border between Alameda and Contra Costa counties, within the boundaries of Tilden Regional Park, and directly behind the University of California, Berkeley campus.The peak was named for the...
, elevation . A number of small creeks run from the hills to the Bay through Berkeley:
CodornicesCodornices Creek is one of the principal creeks which runs out of the Berkeley Hills in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. In its upper stretch, it passes entirely within the city limits of Berkeley, and marks the city limit with the adjacent city of Albany in its...
,
SchoolhouseSchoolhouse Creek is the name of a creek which flows through the city of Berkeley, California in the San Francisco Bay Area.The creek acquired its name from a school which was sited adjacent to it, the Ocean View School . The school was later replaced by the San Pablo Avenue School and still...
, Marin and
StrawberryStrawberry Creek is the principal watercourse running through the city of Berkeley, California. Two forks rise in the Berkeley Hills, part of the California Coast Ranges, forming a confluence at the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, then running westward across the city to...
are the principal streams. Most of these are largely culverted once they reach the plain west of the hills.
The Berkeley Hills are part of the
Pacific Coast RangesThe Pacific Coast Ranges or Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the west coast of North America from Alaska south to northern and central Mexico...
, and run in a northwest–southeast alignment. In Berkeley, the hills consist mainly of a soft, crumbly rock with outcroppings of harder material of old (and extinct) volcanic origin. These
rhyoliteThis page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
formations can be seen in several city parks and in the yards of a number of private residences.
Indian Rock ParkIndian Rock Park is a public park in the city of Berkeley, California, on the slope of the Berkeley Hills. It is located in the northeast part of the city, about one block north of the Arlington/Marin Circle, and straddles Indian Rock Avenue. The central feature of the park is a large rock...
in the northeastern part of Berkeley near the Arlington/Marin Circle features a large example.
Berkeley is traversed by the Hayward Fault, a major branch of the
San Andreas FaultThe San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
to the west. No large earthquake has occurred on the Hayward Fault near Berkeley in historic times (except possibly in 1836), but seismologists warn about the geologic record of large temblors several times in the deeper past, and their current assessment is that a quake of 6.5 or greater is imminent, sometime within the next 30 years.
The
1868 Hayward earthquakeThe 1868 Hayward earthquake was the last large earthquake to occur on the Hayward Fault Zone in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States. It caused significant damage throughout the region, and was known as the "Great San Francisco Earthquake" prior to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake...
did occur on the southern segment of the Hayward Fault in the vicinity of today's city of
HaywardHayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County. The sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is one of the larger suburbs of Oakland. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 140,030. The estimated population in 2007 is 155,312. The former suburbs of Mt...
(hence, how the fault got its name). This quake destroyed the county seat of Alameda County then located in
San LeandroSan Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was estimated to be 82,472 as of January 1, 2009. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year....
and it subsequently moved to Oakland. It was strongly felt in San Francisco, causing major damage, and experienced by Samuel Clemens (
Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted...
). It was regarded as the "Great San Francisco Quake" prior to 1906. The quake produced a furrow in the ground along the fault line in Berkeley, across the grounds of the new State Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind then under construction which was noted by one early University of California professor. Although no significant damage was reported to most of the few buildings which then existed in Berkeley, the 1868 quake did destroy the vulnerable adobe home of Domingo Peralta in north Berkeley.
Today, evidence of the Hayward Fault's "creeping" is visible at various locations in Berkeley. Cracked roadways, sharp jogs in streams, and springs mark the fault's path. However, since it cuts across the base of the hills, the creep is often concealed by or confused with slide activity. Some of the slide activity itself, however, results from movement on the Hayward Fault.
A notorious segment of the Hayward Fault runs lengthwise down the middle of Memorial Stadium at the mouth of Strawberry Canyon on the University of California campus.
Photos and measurements show the movement of the fault through the stadium.
Climate
Berkeley has a
Mediterranean climateA hi Mediterranean climate resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes most of the area with this climate type worldwide...
, with dry summers and wet winters. The summers are cooler than a typical Mediterranean climate thanks to
upwellingAn Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water...
ocean currents along the California coast. These help produce cool and foggy nights and mornings. Berkeley's location directly opposite the
Golden GateThe Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
ensures that typical eastward fog flow blankets the city more often than its neighbors.
Winter is punctuated with rainstorms of varying ferocity and duration, but also produces stretches of bright sunny days and clear cold nights. It does not normally snow, though occasionally the hilltops get a dusting. Spring and fall are transitional and intermediate, with some rainfall and variable temperature. Summer typically brings night and morning low clouds or
fogFog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground. A cloud may be considered partly fog; for example, the part of a cloud that is suspended in the air above the ground is not considered fog, whereas the part of the cloud that comes in contact with higher ground is considered fog...
, followed by sunny, warm days. The warmest and driest months are typically June through September, with the highest temperatures occurring in September. Mid-summer (July–August) is often a bit cooler due to the sea breezes and fog which are normally most strongly developed then.
The
National Weather ServiceThe National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
cooperative station's records since 1919 show that January, the coldest month, has an average maximum of and an average minimum of . September, the warmest month, has an average maximum of and an average minimum of . Annually, there are an average of 2.9 days with highs of or higher and an average of 1.0 days with lows of or lower. The highest temperature recorded was on June 15, 2000, and the lowest temperature recorded was on January 21, 1937, and December 9, 1972.
Average annual precipitation is . The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1929 with . The wettest month on record was December 1955 with . No measurable rainfall has been common during the summer months. The most rainfall in 24 hours was on January 4, 1982. Although snowfall is rare in the lowlands, averaging only each year, fell on January 29, 1922. Snow has generally fallen every several years on the higher peaks of the
Berkeley HillsThe Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges which overlook the northeast side of the valley in which San Francisco Bay is situated...
.
In the late spring and early fall, strong offshore winds of sinking air typically develop, bringing heat and dryness to the area. In the spring, this is not usually a problem as vegetation is still moist from winter rains, but extreme dryness prevails by the fall, creating a danger of wildfires. In September 1923 a major fire swept through the neighborhoods north of the University campus, stopping just short of downtown. (
See 1923 Berkeley fireThe 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration which consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923....
). On October 20, 1991, gusty, hot winds fanned a conflagration along the Berkeley–Oakland border, killing 25 people and injuring 150, as well as destroying 2,449 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. (
See 1991 Oakland firestormThe Oakland Firestorm of 1991 was a large urban fire that occurred on the hillsides of northern Oakland, California and southeastern Berkeley on Sunday October 20, 1991, almost two years after the Loma Prieta earthquake...
)
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Avg high temp. °F (°C) |
56
(13) |
59
(15) |
61
(16) |
64
(18) |
67
(19) |
70
(21) |
70
(21) |
71
(22) |
72
(22) |
70
(21) |
62
(17) |
57
(14) |
| Avg low temp. °F (°C) |
44
(7) |
46
(8) |
47
(8) |
49
(9) |
51
(11) |
54
(12) |
55
(13) |
56
(13) |
56
(13) |
53
(12) |
48
(9) |
44
(7) |
| Rainfall in. (cm) |
5.1
(13) |
4.8
(12) |
4.1
(10) |
1.6
(4) |
0.6
(2) |
0.1
(0.25) |
0.1
(0.25) |
0.1
(0.25) |
0.4
(1) |
1.4
(3) |
3.6
(9) |
3.5
(9) |
colspan="14" style="text-align:center;"|Table 1: Berkeley Climate Data
Demographics
| Population |
| 1890 |
5,101 |
| 1900 |
13,214 |
| 1910 |
40,434 |
| 1920 |
56,036 |
| 1930 |
82,109 |
| 1940 |
85,547 |
| 1950 |
113,805 |
| 1960 |
111,268 |
| 1970 |
116,716 |
| 1980 |
103,328 |
| 1990 |
102,724 |
| 2000 |
102,743† |
| 2005 |
100,744‡ |
| 2007 |
101,377‡ |
| † |
2000 Census |
| ‡ |
City Data estimate (2005 and 2007) |
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 102,743 people, 44,955 households, and 18,656 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 9,823.3 people per square mile (3,792.5/km²), one of the highest in California. There were 46,875 housing units at an average density of 4,481.8/sq mi (1,730.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.17%
WhiteRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 16.39%
AsianRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 13.63%
BlackRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.45%
Native AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.14%
Pacific IslanderRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 4.64% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 5.57% from two or more races. 9.73% of the population were
HispanicRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
LatinoRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race. Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 55.18% of the city's population. 7.3% were of German, 7.2%
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
and 6.3%
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
ancestry according to Census 2000. 73.1% spoke
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, 8.3%
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
, 4.5%
ChineseStandard Chinese can refer to the following:* Standard Mandarin, the common spoken language of the modern Han Chinese.* Vernacular Chinese, the written Chinese standard language.-See also:*Standard Cantonese, the standard form of the Cantonese language....
or Mandarin, 1.6%
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
, 1.2%
KoreanKorean is the official language of North Korea and South Korea. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers. It was formerly written using Hanja, borrowed Chinese characters pronounced in the Korean...
, 1.1%
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
and 1.0%
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
as their first language.
There were 44,955 households out of which 17.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.5% were non-families and/or unmarried couples. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 14.1% under the age of 18, 21.6% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $57,189, and the median income for a family was $93,297. Males had a median income of $50,789 versus $40,623 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $30,477. About 8.3% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over. Population is estimated to have reduced slightly since the 2000 census.
Transportation
Berkeley is served by
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
(
Capitol CorridorThe Capitol Corridor is a 172-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs daily from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...
),
AC TransitAC Transit is a regional bus agency serving parts of Alameda County and Contra Costa County in the western coastal area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, headquartered in Oakland...
,
BARTBay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 43 stations in four counties...
(Downtown Berkeley Station, North Berkeley, and Ashby Station) and bus shuttles operated by major employers including
UC BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
and
Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryThe Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus. It is managed and...
. The
Eastshore FreewayThe Eastshore Freeway is a segment of Interstates 80 and 580 along the northeast shoreline of San Francisco Bay in northern California. It begins at the Carquinez Bridge and ends at the MacArthur Maze interchange just east of the eastern end of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. Interstate 580...
(Interstate 80 and
Interstate 580Interstate 580 is an 80-mile north-south Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 connects the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 in the state's Central Valley, providing access from San Francisco to the southern San Joaquin Valley and...
) runs along the bay shoreline. Each day there is an influx of thousands of cars into the city by commuting UC faculty, staff and students, making parking for more than a few hours an expensive proposition.
Berkeley has one of the highest rates of
bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, push bike or cycle, is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or a bicyclist....
and pedestrian commuting in the nation. Berkeley is the safest city of its size in California for pedestrians and cyclists, considering the number of injuries per pedestrian and cyclist, rather than per capita.
Berkeley has modified its original grid roadway structure through use of diverters and barriers, moving most traffic out of neighborhoods and onto arterial streets (visitors often find this confusing, because the diverters are not shown on all maps). Berkeley maintains a separate grid of arterial streets for bicycles, called Bicycle Boulevards, with bike lanes and lower amounts of car traffic than the major streets to which they often run parallel.
Berkeley hosts car sharing networks run by
City CarShareCity CarShare is a nonprofit car sharing organization that launched car sharing in the San Francisco Bay area in 2001. It was started by transportation activists in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. City CarShare has cars available for hourly use at all times of day...
,
U Car ShareU Car Share is a for-profit carsharing service offered by U-Haul in selected cities across the United States, billable hourly or by the day.-Cities served:* Portland, Oregon* McMinnville, Oregon* Berkeley, California* Salt Lake City, Utah...
, and
ZipcarZipcar is a for-profit, membership-based carsharing company providing automobile rental to its members, billable by the hour or day. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Cambridge, Massachusetts residents Robin Chase and Antje Danielson. On October 31, 2007 Zipcar merged with rival Flexcar...
. Rather than owning (and parking) their own cars, members share a group of cars parked nearby. Web- and telephone-based reservation systems keep track of hours and charges. Several "pods" (points of departure where cars are kept) exist throughout the city, in several downtown locations, at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations, and at various other locations in Berkeley (and other cities in the region). Using alternative transportation is encouraged.
Berkeley has had recurring problems with
parking meterA parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
s. In 1999, over 2,400 Berkeley meters were jammed, smashed, or sawed apart. Starting in 2005 and continuing into 2006, Berkeley began to phase out mechanical meters in favor of more centralized electronic meters.
Transportation past
The first commuter service to San Francisco was provided by the
Central PacificThe Central Pacific Railroad was the California-to-Utah portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America.Many proposals to build a transcontinental railroad failed because of the disputes over slavery in Washington; with the secession of the South, the modernizers in the Republican...
's
Berkeley Branch RailroadThe Berkeley Branch Railroad was a long branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad from a junction in what later became Emeryville called "Shellmound" to what soon became downtown Berkeley, adjacent to the new University of California campus. The line opened on August 16, 1876. The initial...
, a
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used rail gauge. Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
steam railroadSteam railroad is a term used in the United States to distinguish conventional heavy railroads from street railways, interurban streetcar lines, and other light railways usually dedicated primarily to passenger transport....
which terminated in downtown Berkeley, and connected in Emeryville (at a locale then known as "Shellmound") with trains to the
Oakland ferry pierThe Oakland Long Wharf, later known as the Oakland Pier or the SP Mole was a massive railroad wharf and ferry pier in Oakland, California. It was located at the foot of Seventh Street....
as well as with the Central Pacific main line starting in 1876. The Berkeley Branch line was extended from Shattuck and University to Vine Street ("Berryman's Station") in 1878. Starting in 1882, Berkeley trains ran directly to the Oakland Pier. In the 1880s,
Southern PacificThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company , and usually simply called the Southern Pacific, was an American railroad. The railroad was founded as a land holding company in 1865, later acquiring the Central Pacific Railroad by lease...
assumed operations of the Berkeley Branch. In 1911, Southern Pacific electrified this line and the several others it constructed in Berkeley, creating its
East Bay Electric LinesThe East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad which operated a system of electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
division. The huge and heavy cars specially built for these lines came to be called the "Red Trains" or the "Big Red Cars". The Shattuck line was extended and connected with two other Berkeley lines (the Ninth Street Line and the California Street line) at Solano and Colusa (the "Colusa Wye"). It was at this time that the Northbrae Tunnel and the Rose Street Undercrossing were constructed, both of which still exist (the Rose Street Undercrossing is not accessible to the public, being situated between what is now two backyards). The last Red Trains ran in July, 1941.
The first electric rail service in Berkeley was provided by several small streetcar companies starting in 1891. Most of these were eventually bought up by the
Key SystemThe Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
of Francis "Borax" Smith who added lines and improved equipment. The Key System's streetcars were operated by its East Bay Street Railways division. Principal lines in Berkeley ran on Euclid, The Arlington, College, Telegraph, Shattuck, San Pablo, University, and Grove (today's Martin Luther King Jr. Way). The last streetcars ran in 1948, replaced by buses.
The first electric commuter interurban-type trains to San Francisco from Berkeley were put in operation by the Key System in 1903, several years before the Southern Pacific electrified its steam commuter lines. Like the SP, Key trains ran to a pier serviced by the Key's own fleet of
ferryboatsSan Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and...
which also docked at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. After the Bay Bridge was built, the Key trains ran to the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco, sharing tracks on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge with the SP's red trains and the Sacramento Northern Railroad. It was at this time that the Key trains acquired their letter designations, which were later preserved by Key's public successor, AC Transit. Today's F bus is the successor of the F train. Likewise, the E, G and the H. Before the Bridge, these lines were simply the Shattuck Avenue Line, the Claremont Line, the Westbrae Line, and the Sacramento Street Line, respectively.
After the Southern Pacific abandoned transbay service in 1941, the Key System acquired the rights to use its tracks and
catenaryOverhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
on Shattuck north of Ward Street and through the Northbrae Tunnel to The Alameda for the F-train. The SP tracks along Monterey Avenue as far as Colusa had been acquired by the Key System in 1933 for the H-train, but were abandoned in 1941. The Key System trains stopped running in April 1958. In 1963, the Northbrae Tunnel was opened to auto traffic.
Major streets
- Shattuck Avenue passes through several neighborhoods, including the downtown business district
Downtown Berkeley is the central business district of the city of Berkeley, California, United States, around the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, and extending north to Hearst Avenue, south to Dwight Way, west to Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and east to Oxford Street...
in Berkeley. It is named for Francis K. ShattuckFrancis Kittredge Shattuck was the most prominent civic leader in the early history of Berkeley, California, and played an important role in the creation and government of Alameda County as well. He also served as mayor of the city of Oakland in 1859, and represented the 4th District in the...
, one of Berkeley's earliest influential citizens.
- University Avenue runs from Berkeley's bayshore and marina to the University of California campus.
- Ashby Avenue (Highway 13), which also runs from Berkeley's bayshore to the hills, connects with the Warren Freeway and Highway 24
State Route 24 in the U.S. state of California is a heavily-traveled east-west freeway in the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California that runs from the Interstate 580/Interstate 980 interchange in Oakland to the Interstate 680 junction in Walnut Creek...
leading to the Caldecott TunnelThe Caldecott Tunnel is a three bore highway tunnel in Oakland, California. The east-west tunnel is signed as a part of State Route 24, which is also known as the William Byron Rumford Freeway from Interstate 580 to Walnut Creek, and connects Oakland to communities in Contra Costa County, through...
, named for a former Berkeley mayor.
- San Pablo Avenue (Highway 123
State Route 123 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Named San Pablo Avenue for virtually its entire length, SR 123 is a major north-south state highway along the flats of the urban East Bay in the U.S. state of California...
) runs north–south through West Berkeley, connecting OaklandOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
and EmeryvilleEmeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
to the south and AlbanyAlbany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 16,447 at the 2000 census.-History:...
to the north.
- Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California...
, which runs north-south from the University Campus to Oakland, historically the site of much of the "hippie" presence in Berkeley.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Way, which until the early 1970s was called Grove St, runs north-south a few blocks west of Shattuck Avenue, connecting Oakland and the freeways to the south with the neighborhoods and other communities to the north.
- Solano Avenue
Solano Avenue is a two mile long east-west street in Berkeley and Albany, California. Solano Avenue is one of the larger shopping districts in the Berkeley area...
, a major street for shopping and restaurants, runs east-west near the north end of Berkeley, continuing into Albany.
Freeways
- The Eastshore Freeway
The Eastshore Freeway is a segment of Interstates 80 and 580 along the northeast shoreline of San Francisco Bay in northern California. It begins at the Carquinez Bridge and ends at the MacArthur Maze interchange just east of the eastern end of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. Interstate 580...
(I-80 & I-580Interstate 580 is an 80-mile north-south Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 connects the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 in the state's Central Valley, providing access from San Francisco to the southern San Joaquin Valley and...
) runs along Berkeley's bayshore with exits at Ashby Avenue, University Avenue and Gilman Street.
Bicycle and pedestrian paths
- Ohlone Greenway
The Ohlone Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle path in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.The path is named for the Ohlone Indians who originally lived in the area....
- San Francisco Bay Trail
The San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail in the San Francisco Bay area that is intended eventually to be a continuous network of trails that will encircle San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. As of 2005 it consisted of approximately of somewhat discontinuous trail sections...
- Berkeley I-80 bridge
The Berkeley I-80 bridge is a -wide bridge spanning the Eastshore Freeway in Berkeley, California to allow bicycles, pedestrians, and wheelchair users access to the Berkeley Marina, Eastshore State Park, and the city...
– opened in 2002, an arch-suspension bridge spanning Interstate 80, for bicycles and pedestrians only, giving access from the city at the foot of Addison Street to the San Francisco Bay TrailThe San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail in the San Francisco Bay area that is intended eventually to be a continuous network of trails that will encircle San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. As of 2005 it consisted of approximately of somewhat discontinuous trail sections...
, the Eastshore State ParkEastshore State Park is a state park and wildlife refuge along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of the East Bay between Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland. It encompasses remnant natural wetlands, restored wetlands as well as landfill west of the Eastshore Freeway. It is long...
and the Berkeley MarinaThe Berkeley Marina is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California, located west of the Eastshore Freeway at the foot of University Avenue on San Francisco Bay...
.
- Berkeley's Network of Historic Pathways – Berkeley has a network of historic pathways that link the winding neighborhoods found in the hills and offer panoramic lookouts over the East Bay. A complete guide to the pathways may be found at Berkeley Path Wanderers Association
- Maps of Berkeley's network of bicycle routes can be accessed from the City of Berkeley web site: Bicycling and Walking Maps and Guides
Neighborhoods
Berkeley has a number of distinct neighborhoods.
Surrounding the
University of California campusThe University of California, Berkeley campus and its surrounding community are home to a number of notable buildings by early 20th-century campus architect John Galen Howard, his peer Bernard Maybeck , and Maybeck's student Julia Morgan...
are the most densely populated parts of the city. West of the campus is
Downtown BerkeleyDowntown Berkeley is the central business district of the city of Berkeley, California, United States, around the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, and extending north to Hearst Avenue, south to Dwight Way, west to Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and east to Oxford Street...
, the city's traditional commercial core; home of the
civic centerA civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building...
, the city's only public
high schoolBerkeley High School is the only public high school in Berkeley, California. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short blocks south of University Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, and is recognized as a Berkeley landmark...
, the busiest BART station in Berkeley, as well as a major transfer point for
AC TransitAC Transit is a regional bus agency serving parts of Alameda County and Contra Costa County in the western coastal area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, headquartered in Oakland...
buses. South of the campus is the
SouthsideSouthside, also known by the older names South of Campus or South Campus, is a neighborhood in Berkeley, California. Southside is located directly south of and adjacent to the University of California, Berkeley campus...
neighborhood, mainly a
student ghettoA student ghetto is a residential neighbourhood, usually in proximity to a college or university, that houses mostly students. Due to the youth and relative poverty of the students, most of the the housing is rented, with some cooperatives. Landlords have little incentive to properly maintain the...
, where much of the university's
student housingThe University of California, Berkeley has various student housing facilities, some run by the office of Residential and Student Service Programs, and others by off-campus entities.-UCB Housing and Dining facilities:...
is located. The busiest stretch of
Telegraph AvenueTelegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California...
is in this neighborhood. North of the campus is the quieter
NorthsideNorthside is a principally residential neighborhood in Berkeley, California, located north of the University of California, Berkeley campus, east of Oxford Street, and south of Cedar Street. There is a small shopping area located at Euclid and Hearst Avenues, at the northern entrance to the...
neighborhood, the location of the
Graduate Theological UnionThe Graduate Theological Union is a consortium of nine independent seminaries and schools of theology and eight program centers mainly in Berkeley, California as well as San Anselmo, CA. The close relationship among these schools is meant to encourage ecumenical and interfaith dialogue...
.
Further from the university campus, the influence of the University quickly becomes less visible. Most of Berkeley's neighborhoods are primarily made up of detached houses, often with separate in-law units in the rear, although larger apartment buildings are also common in many neighborhoods. Commercial activities are concentrated along the major avenues and at important intersections. In the southeastern corner of the city is the
Claremont DistrictThe Claremont district is a neighborhood straddling the city limits of Oakland and Berkeley in the East Bay section of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 266 feet . The main thoroughfares are Claremont and Ashby Avenues.The name was given in the...
, home to the
Claremont HotelClaremont Hotel may refer to:*Claremont Hotel , listed on the NRHP in Maine* Claremont Resort, in Oakland, California...
; and the
Elmwood DistrictThe Elmwood District is a neighborhood of the City of Berkeley, California. It is primarily residential, with a small commercial area. The district does not have set lines of demarcation, but is focused around College and Ashby Avenues...
, with a small shopping area on College Avenue. West of Elmwood is
South BerkeleySouth Berkeley is a neighborhood in the city of Berkeley, California. It extends roughly from Dwight Way to the city’s border with Oakland, between Telegraph Avenue in the east and either Sacramento Street or San Pablo Avenue in the west. It lies at an elevation of 102 feet .This neighborhood is...
, known for its weekend
flea marketA flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
at the Ashby BART station. West of (and including) San Pablo Avenue, a major commercial corridor, is
West BerkeleyWest Berkeley is generally the area of Berkeley, California which lies west of San Pablo Avenue, abutting San Francisco Bay. It includes the area which was once the unincorporated town of Ocean View, as well as the filled-in areas along the shoreline west of I-80 including, mainly, the Berkeley...
, the historic commercial center of the city, and the former unincorporated town of Ocean View. West Berkeley contains the remnants of Berkeley's industrial area, much of which has been replaced by retail and office uses, as well as residential live/work loft space, with the decline of manufacturing in the United States.
The areas of South and West Berkeley are in the midst of redevelopment. Some residents have opposed redevelopment in this area.
Along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay at the foot of University Avenue is the
Berkeley MarinaThe Berkeley Marina is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California, located west of the Eastshore Freeway at the foot of University Avenue on San Francisco Bay...
. Nearby is Berkeley's
Aquatic ParkAquatic Park is a public park in Berkeley, California, located just east of the Eastshore Freeway between Ashby and University Avenues. The park was created in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, simultaneous with its work on the nearby Berkeley Yacht Harbor...
, featuring an artificial linear lagoon of San Francisco Bay. North of Downtown is the North Berkeley neighborhood, which has been nicknamed the "Gourmet Ghetto" because of the concentration of well-known restaurants and other food-related businesses. Further north are Northbrae, a master-planned subdivision from the early 20th century, and
Thousand OaksThousand Oaks is a neighborhood of Berkeley in Alameda County, California. Located at the base of the Berkeley Hills, it lies at an elevation of 239 feet .The principal shopping area is Solano Avenue, along the southern edge of the neighborhood...
. Above these last three neighborhoods, in the northeastern part of Berkeley, are the
Berkeley HillsThe Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges which overlook the northeast side of the valley in which San Francisco Bay is situated...
. The neighborhoods of the Berkeley Hills such as Cragmont and
La Loma ParkLa Loma Park is the historic name, no longer in common use, of a tract of land located in the Berkeley Hills section of the city of Berkeley, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Spanish word loma means "rise/low hill". It was the property of Captain Richard Parks Thomas, a veteran of the ...
are notable for their dramatic views, winding streets, and numerous public stairways and paths.
Points of interest
- University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
- Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is associated with the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California. The Director of BAM/PFA is Lawrence Rinder, who was appointed in 2008.-Collection:...
- Berkeley Marina
The Berkeley Marina is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California, located west of the Eastshore Freeway at the foot of University Avenue on San Francisco Bay...
- Berkeley History Center
The Berkeley Historical Society is a non profit association in Berkeley, California dedicated to the preservation and archiving of the history of the city. It was founded in 1976. Its primary activity is the operation of the Berkeley History Center, located in the Veterans Memorial Building at...
(1931 Center St.)
- Berkeley Public Library
The Berkeley Public Library is the public library system for Berkeley, California. It consists of the Central Branch, the North Branch, Claremont Branch, South Branch, and West Branch.-History:...
(Shattuck Avenue at Kittridge Street)
- Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. Founded in 1968 as the East Bay’s first resident professional theatre. Michael Leibert was the founding artistic director, who was then succeeded by Sharon Ott in 1984. The company runs seven productions each...
- Berkeley Rose Garden
The Berkeley Rose Garden is a city-owned park in Berkeley, California. The Rose Garden is situated in a residential area of the Berkeley Hills between the Cragmont and La Loma Park neighborhoods, occupying most of the block between Eunice Street and Bayview Place along the west side of Euclid...
- Cloyne Court Hotel
The Cloyne Court Hotel, often referred to simply as Cloyne, is a student housing cooperative at 2600 Ridge Road in Berkeley, California on the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus, on Ridge Road at Leroy Avenue. It is part of the Berkeley Student Cooperative system...
, a member of the University Students' Cooperative AssociationThe Berkeley Student Cooperative is a student housing cooperative serving primarily the University of California, Berkeley but open to any full-time post-secondary student. The BSC houses over 1300 students in 17 houses and 3 apartment buildings...
- Hearst Greek Theatre
The William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, known locally as simply the Greek Theatre, is an 8,500-seat amphitheater owned and operated by the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, USA....
(home of the annual Berkeley Jazz FestivalThe Berkeley Jazz Festival is held once a year at the outdoors Hearst Greek Theatre on the University of California, Berkeley campus. The theatre overlooks the San Francisco Bay at Hearst & Gayley Road. The festival is now being produced by "Bay Area Productions", and Gregg W...
)
- Judah L. Magnes Museum
The Judah L. Magnes Museum is a Jewish museum in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1962 and named not for its founders, Seymour and Rebecca Fromer, but for Judah L. Magnes, an Oakland native who became a Jewish activist...
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus. It is managed and...
- Lawrence Hall of Science
The Lawrence Hall of Science is a public science center featuring hands-on exhibits and activities. Located in the hills above the University of California, Berkeley campus, LHS is also a resource center for preschool through high school science and mathematics education.Established in 1968 in...
- Regional Parks Botanic Garden
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a 10 acre botanical garden located in Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley Hills, east of Berkeley, California, in the United States. It showcases California native plants, and is open to the public in daylight hours every day of the year except New Year's Day,...
- Tilden Regional Park
Tilden Regional Park, also known as "Tilden" is a 2,079-acre regional park in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California...
- University of California Botanical Garden
The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34 acre botanical garden located on the University of California, Berkeley campus. The Garden is in the campus's Strawberry Canyon which overlooks the San Francisco Bay...
Other notable places include:
- The Campanile (Sather Tower
Sather Tower is a campanile on the University of California, Berkeley campus. It is more commonly known as The Campanile due to its resemblance to the Campanile di San Marco in Venice, and serves as UC Berkeley's most recognizable symbol. It was completed in 1914 and first opened to the public in...
) in the University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
campus.
- Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California...
and People's ParkPeople's Park in Berkeley, California, USA is a park off Telegraph Avenue, bounded by Haste and Bowditch Streets and Dwight Way, near the University of California, Berkeley. The park was created during the radical political activism of the late 1960s....
, both known as centers of the counterculture of the 1960sThe counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural protest movement that developed in the United States between 1960 and 1973 as a reaction against the political conservatism and perceived social repression that prevailed during the 1950s. The movement gained momentum during the US government's...
.
- Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California restaurant known as the birthplace of California cuisine, a style credited to its co-founder, Alice Waters....
- founded in 1971 and the birthplace of California cuisineCalifornia Cuisine is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in "fusion" – integrating disparate cooking styles and ingredients – and in the use of freshly prepared local ingredients....
.
- Cody's Books
Cody's Books was an independent bookstore based in Berkeley, California. It "was a pioneer in bookselling, bringing the paperback revolution to Berkeley, fighting censorship, and providing a safe harbor from tear gas directed at anti-Viet Nam War protesters throughout the 1960s and...
- founded in 1956 and closed in 2008, Cody's was "a pioneer in bookselling, bringing the paperback revolution to Berkeley, fighting censorship, and providing a safe harbor from teargas for student activists during the Free Speech Movement and throughout the 1960s and 70s."
- The Freight and Salvage
The Freight and Salvage is a nonprofit musical performance venue in Berkeley, California, that primarily hosts folk music and world music acts. It was founded in 1968 and derived its name from the used furniture store that previously occupied the same space on San Pablo Avenue...
- founded in 1968, this is a nonprofit musical performance venue that primarily hosts folk musicThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
and world musicWorld music is the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians that is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin.-Terminology:...
acts
- The Cheese Board
The Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley, California, comprises two collectively owned and operated businesses: a cheese shop/bakery commonly referred to as "The Cheese Board," and a pizzeria known as "Cheese Board Pizza." The Cheese Board is located at 1504 Shattuck Ave and Cheese Board Pizza is...
- founded in 1967/71, this business comprises two collectively ownedA worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically controlled by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. In 'pure' forms of worker co-operative, all shares are held by the workforce with no outside or consumer owners, and each member has one voting share...
and operated businesses.
- Whole Earth Access
The Whole Earth Access was a countercultural retail store in Berkeley, California. Two more shops were later opened in San Francisco and San Rafael . All three stores closed in 1998...
- founded in 1969 and closed in 1998, this was initially established as a countercultural retail storeRetailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals...
inspired by Stewart BrandStewart Brand is an author, editor, and creator of The Whole Earth Catalog and CoEvolution Quarterly.Brand is best known for the Whole Earth Catalog...
's Whole Earth CatalogThe Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog that granted "Access to Tools" published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. Apple Inc...
.
- The Claremont Resort
The Claremont Resort & Spa is a historic hotel that straddles the border between Berkeley and Oakland, California. It is located at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills, providing the resort with scenic views of San Francisco Bay. The Claremont currently has 279 guest rooms,...
- founded in 1906, this historic site was originally the Claremont Hotel. (The Claremont claims a Berkeley mailing address even though the property is located almost entirely with the Oakland city limits.)
- 924 Gilman
The 924 Gilman Street project, alternately the Alternative Music Foundation, is an American all-ages, non-profit, collectively organized music club usually referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman." It is located in the West Berkeley area about a mile and a half west of the North Berkeley BART...
- founded in 1986,this is an all-ages, non-profit, collectively organized music club where Berkeley natives Operation IvyOperation Ivy was an influential ska punk band formed in Albany, California. The band is well known as the pioneers of ska-core, a genre that fuses elements of hardcore with ska punk...
, Pansy DivisionPansy Division is an American rock/punk band that formed in San Francisco, California in 1991. Featuring primarily gay musicians and focusing mostly on gay-related themes, Pansy Division is one of the more mainstream-oriented bands to emerge from the queercore movement that began in the...
, Green DayGreen Day is an American rock trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tré Cool for the majority of its existence....
, RancidRancid is an American punk rock band from Albany, California, formed in 1991. Founded by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, both of whom previously played in ska punk group Operation Ivy, the band is credited with helping to revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the United States during...
, Tiger ArmyTiger Army is an American psychobilly band that was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California. Its constant member and lead song writer is Nick 13. The band has released a total of 4 studio albums, some of them having gained considerable airplay.-History:...
and AFIAFI is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998, lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute backup vocals..AFI...
started out.
- Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center - founded in 1973 in response to "the San Francisco Bay Area's strong interest in international folk dance." It is also a city-designated historical landmark.
- Moe's Books - Founded in 1959 by Moe Moskowitz, one of the first second-hand bookstores to assign real value to paperback books. Moe died in 1997 and remains a Berkeley icon.
- The Other Change of Hobbit
The Other Change of Hobbit is a bookstore that began in Berkeley, California in 1977, opening the same weekend as Star Wars. Specializing in science fiction and fantasy books, it has been the site of many popular events over the years. Dave Nee and Tom Whitmore along with Debbie Notkin were the...
- A Science Fiction and Fantasy bookstore first opened in 1977.
- Caffe Mediterraneum
Caffe Mediterraneum, often referred to as Caffe Med or simply the Med, is a famous café located on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California, near the University of California, Berkeley...
- Birthplace of the caffe latteA latte is a type of coffee drink made with hot milk. Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as chai, mate or matcha...
in 1959 - invented by owner Lino Meiorin. Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet. Ginsberg is best known for the poem "Howl" , in which he celebrates fellow members of the Beat Generation and critiques what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States.-Early life and family:Ginsberg was born into...
wrote part of Howl"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the principal works of the Beat Generation along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
at "Caffe Med".
Landmarks and Historic Districts
165 buildings in Berkeley are designated as local landmarks or local structures of merit. Of these, 49 are listed in the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, including:
- Berkeley High School
Berkeley High School is the only public high school in Berkeley, California. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short blocks south of University Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, and is recognized as a Berkeley landmark...
(the city's only public high school) and the Berkeley Community TheatreThe Berkeley Community Theatre is a theatre located in Berkeley, California on the campus of Berkeley High School. The theater has 3,400 seats, including a balcony section...
which is on its campus.
- Berkeley Women’s City Club, now Berkeley City Club
The Berkeley City Club, formerly known as the Berkeley Women's City Club, was organized by women in Berkeley, California in 1927, to contribute to social, civic, and cultural progress...
– Julia MorganJulia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
(1929–30)
- First Church of Christ, Scientist
First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Berkeley, California is a building designed by Bernard Ralph Maybeck. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977. The church is widely considered Maybeck's masterpiece.-External links:* - Official website...
– Bernard MaybeckBernard Ralph Maybeck was a prominent architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century.- Early life and education :...
(1910)
- Studio Building
The Studio Building is a historic building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and located at 2045 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California. It dates back to 1905, and at the time of its building was the tallest building in downtown Berkeley. It was built by Frederick H. Dakin, for...
– ? (1905)
- St. John’s Presbyterian Church, now Julia Morgan Center for the Arts – Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
(1908, 1910)
- William R. Thorsen House
The William R. Thorsen House, often referred to as the Thorsen House, was built in 1909 by William Randolph and Caroline Canfield Thorsen. Designed by Henry and Charles Greene, of the renowned Pasadena firm of Greene & Greene...
, now Sigma PhiThe Sigma Phi Society was founded on 4 March, 1827, on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York.it is the second oldest Greek social fraternal organization in the United States...
Society Chapter House – Charles Sumner Greene & Henry Mather Greene (1908–10)
Historic Districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places:
- Berkeley Historic Civic Center District – Roughly bounded by McKinney Avenue, Addison Street, Shattuck Avenue, and Kittredge Street .
- George C. Edwards Stadium – Located at intersection of Bancroft Way and Fulton Street on University of California, Berkeley campus .
- Panoramic Hill, also known as University Terrace – Located at Panoramic Way, Canyon Road, Mosswood Road, Orchard Lane, and Arden Road .
- Site of the Clark Kerr Campus, UC Berkeley - until 1980, this location housed the State Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind, also known as The California Schools for the Deaf and Blind – Bounded by Dwight Way, the City line, Derby Street, and Warring Street . The school was closed in 1980 and the Clark Kerr Campus was opened in 1986.
See
List of Berkeley Landmarks, Structures of Merit, and Historic Districts
Annual events
- Jewish Music Festival website – March
- Cal Day University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
Open House website – April
- Berkeley Arts Festival website – April and May
- Himalayan Fair website – May
- Berkeley Kite Festival website – late July weekend
- How Berkeley Can You Be!? Parade and Festival website – September
- Solano Stroll – September
Schools
The first public school in Berkeley was the Ocean View School, now the site of the Berkeley Adult School located at Virginia Street and San Pablo Avenue. The public schools today are administered by the
Berkeley Unified School DistrictBerkeley Unified School District is the public school district for the city of Berkeley, California.-Schools:* Berkeley Adult School* Berkeley Alternative High School * Berkeley High School...
. In the 1960s, Berkeley was one of the earliest US cities to voluntarily desegregate, utilizing a system of buses, still in use. The city has only one public high school,
Berkeley High School (BHS)Berkeley High School is the only public high school in Berkeley, California. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short blocks south of University Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, and is recognized as a Berkeley landmark...
, established in 1880. The Berkeley High campus was designated a historic district by the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on January 7, 2008. Saint Mary's College High School, a Catholic school, has its street address in Berkeley, although most of the grounds and buildings are actually in neighboring Albany. Berkeley has eleven elementary schools and three middle schools. There is also the Bay Area Technology school, the only school in the whole Bay Area to offer a technology- and science-based curriculum, with major connections to leading universities. In addition,
Berkeley City CollegeBerkeley City College , formerly Vista Community College, one of the California Community Colleges, is part of the Peralta Community College District. Berkeley City College is centrally located in downtown Berkeley, only two blocks from the UC Berkeley campus...
is a
community collegeThe term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through grade 12. Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka however, have a system of junior colleges where, after taking the 10th grade board exams ,...
in the
Peralta Community College DistrictThe Peralta Community College District is the community college district serving northern Alameda County, California. The district operates four community colleges: Berkeley City College, Laney College and Merritt College in Oakland, and College of Alameda. From 1968 to 1988, non-contiguous Plumas...
.
Notable people
Mayors
City of Berkeley Mayor's Office
- Presidents, Town Board of Trustees (1878–1909)
- Abel Whitton (Workingman's Party
The Workingman's Party was a California labor organization led by Dennis Kearney in the 1870s. The party took particular aim against Chinese immigrant labor and the Central Pacific Railroad which employed them. Its famous slogan was "The Chinese must go!" They held large Sunday afternoon rallies...
) 1878–1881
- A. McKinstry 1881–1883
- W.C. Wright (Republican) 1883–1885
- J.B. Henley 1885–1887
- Henry L. Whitney 1887–1889
- Samuel Heywood
Samuel Heywood was a prominent early resident of Berkeley, California. He served as the President of the Town Board of Trustees during 1889-1890....
/ Joseph L. Scotchler (Republican) 1889–1891
- Reuben Rickard
Reuben Rickard was a mining engineer who served as President of the Town Board of Trustees in Berkeley, California from 1891 to 1893, and again for about one month during 1895....
(Republican) 1891–1893
- Byron E. Underwood / Martin J. Acton / Charles S. Preble 1893–1895
- Reuben Rickard (Republican) 1895
- John W. Richards 1895–1899
- William H. Marston
Captain William Harrington Marston was an early resident of Berkeley, California. He served as President of the Town Board of Trustees from 1899 to 1903....
1899–1903
- Thomas Rickard
Thomas Rickard was an early resident of Berkeley, California, and served as the last President of the Town Board of Trustees from 1903 to 1909, before the new city charter went into effect, creating the office of Mayor....
(Republican) 1903–1909
- Mayors
- (Mr.) Beverly L. Hodghead
Beverly Lacy Hodghead was the first mayor of the City of Berkeley, California, serving from 1909 to 1911. Although Berkeley had been incorporated since 1878 as a Town, the office of mayor did not exist until the adoption of a new charter which transformed Berkeley into a City.Mr...
(Democrat) 1909–1911
- Jackson Stitt Wilson
Jackson Stitt Wilson was a leading Christian Socialist in America and the mayor of the city of Berkeley, California from 1911 to 1913.-Background and Ideas:...
(SocialistThe Socialist Party of America was a democratic socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization in 1899.In the...
) 1911–1913
- Charles D. Heywood
Charles Dingley Heywood was a member of a family prominent in the early history of Berkeley, California. He served as mayor of the City of Berkeley from 1913 to 1915. In 1925, he was appointed as the local Postmaster, serving until 1933. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress on the Republican...
(Republican) 1913–1915
- Samuel C. Irving
Samuel C. Irving served as mayor of the City of Berkeley, California from 1915 to 1919.Irving was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1858. He came to Berkeley to attend the University of California from which he graduated in 1879. Samuel Irving married his wife Laura Sell in 1886. They had two sons,...
(Democrat) 1915–1919
- Louis Bartlett
Louis A. Bartlett was an attorney and Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1919 to 1923.Bartlett was noted for his work to promote public utilities, especially water and power....
(Republican) 1919–1923
- Frank D. Stringham
Frank D. Stringham was Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1923 to 1927. Mayor Stringham was notable for leading the effort to adopt the city manager form of government. Prior to his becoming Mayor, Stringham served as Berkeley's City Attorney. In 1928, Stringham was appointed to serve as a...
(Republican) 1923–1927
- Michael B. Driver
Michael Branner Driver was Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1927 to 1930, and Sheriff of Alameda County from 1930 to 1939. He resigned as Mayor of Berkeley when he was appointed Sheriff, replacing Sheriff Burton Becker, a member of the local Ku Klux Klan , who was convicted for corruption and...
(Republican) 1927–1930
- Thomas E. Caldecott
Thomas Edwin Caldecott was a politician in Alameda County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area in the first half of the 20th century. The Caldecott Tunnel which is a key highway link through the Berkeley Hills is named after him....
(Republican) 1930–1932
- Edward N. Ament
Edward Newton Ament was Mayor of Berkeley, California, United States from 1932 to 1939.Ament was born in Arcata, California July 30, 1860. He 1889, he married Florence Moody...
(Republican) 1932–1939
- Frank S. Gaines
Frank S. Gaines was the Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1939 to 1943.Gaines was noted for his involvement in the Berkeley-based Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, a group which addressed the plight of Japanese Americans during World War II...
(Republican) 1939–1943
- Fitch Robertson
Fitch Robertson was Mayor of Berkeley, California, United States, from 1943 to 1947.He was born February 12, 1896 in Pueblo, Colorado.Robertson was a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines. He served during World War I in a U.S. Army engineering battalion. He came to Berkeley in 1929...
(Republican) 1943–1946
- Carrie L. Hoyt
Carrie L. Hoyt was the Mayor of Berkeley, California from January 20 to circa May, 1947. She is notable for having been Berkeley's first female mayor....
(Republican) 1947 (January–April)
- Laurance L. Cross
Laurance L. Cross was a Presbyterian minister and Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1947 to 1955.Cross was born in Gastonburg, Alabama. His father and two brothers were also pastors. One of his nephews is Frank M...
(Democrat) 1947–1955
- Claude B. Hutchison
Claude Burton Hutchison was a botanist, agricultural economist, educator, and Mayor of the City of Berkeley, California from 1955 to 1963....
(Republican) 1955–1963
- Wallace Johnson (Republican) 1963–1971
- Warren Widener (Democrat) 1971–1979
- Gus Newport, (Berkeley Citizens [sic] Action) 1979–1986
- Loni Hancock
Loni Hancock is currently serving in her first term as the representative of California State Senate District 9. The 9th Senate District currently includes Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Dublin, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Livermore, Oakland, Piedmont, Richmond, and San Pablo...
, (Berkeley Citizens Action) 1986–1994
- Jeffrey Shattuck Leiter, 1994 (March–December)
- Shirley Dean
Shirley Ann Dean , considered moderate in Berkeley politics, is an American politician who served as the Mayor of Berkeley, California from 1994 to 2002...
, (Berkeley Democrat Club) 1994–2002
- Tom Bates
Thomas H. Bates is an American politician and is currently serving as the Mayor of Berkeley, California. He previously served 20 years as a member of the California State Assembly before being termed out in 1996. Bates is married to Loni Hancock, a former mayor of Berkeley who currently...
, 2002–
Sister cities
Berkeley has thirteen sister cities:
Gao||-||-||}Gao is a city in Mali and capital of the Gao Region on the River Niger, with a population of 57,978 in 2005. It is also the capital of the surrounding cercle of Gao.- History :...
,
MaliMali, officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west...
DmitrovDmitrov is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow. It is located on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal, which connects the Russian capital with the Volga River. Population: 61,500 ; 62,219 ....
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Blackfeet Nation,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
JenaJena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. With a population of 103,000 it is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
Ulan-UdeUlan-Ude is the capital city of the Buryat Republic, Russia, is located about 100 km south-east of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...
,
BuryatiaBuryatia, officially the Buryat Republic , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is slightly over 350,000 km² with a population of almost one million...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Yurok TribeThe Yurok, whose name means "downriver people", are Native Americans whose ancestors, by some estimates, have lived for at least 10,000 years near the Pacific Ocean coast of Northern California , United States....
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Uma-Bawang,
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
Sakai, Osakais a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the Medieval era.Following the February 2005 annexation of Mihara Town in Minamikawachi District, the city has grown further and is now the fourteenth most populous city in Japan, with...
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Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
San Antonio Los RanchosSan Antonio Los Ranchos is a municipality in the Chalatenango department of El Salvador....
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El SalvadorEl Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as does Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 5.7 million people as of 2009 on...
Oukasie,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
YondóYondó is a town and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia. The first settlers arrived around 10000 BC, archaeological site. The town was founded in 1941 for lodge the, at that time, discovered Casabe oilfield's workers. The town became into a municipality in 1979...
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ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
Palma Soriano"Palma Soriano is a municipality in the Santiago de Cuba Province of Cuba.The municipality is divided into the localite of Alto Cedro, Caney del Sitio, Guaninao, José Martí, Juan Barón, La Concepción, Las Cuchillas, Los Dorados, Norte, Palmarito de Cauto, San Leandro, San Ramón, Santa Filomena and...
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CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
León, NicaraguaLeón is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
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