Observatory Hill at risk

Haviland Hall seen from Observatory Hill

The University of California’s 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) includes plans for two new large buildings in the classic core of the campus.

Phase 1 and phase 2 of the Chang-Lin Tien Center for East Asian Studies are to be prominently sited on the northern edge of the Central Glade, across from the Doe Library (see Campus planning schizophrenia):

The Tien Center is envisioned as a composition of two rectangular buildings. Phase 1 will be located at the south base of Observatory Hill on the site of the existing parking lot, facing Memorial Glade and Doe Library, and aligned with the central axis of the Glade.

Phase 2 will be sited at the west base of Observatory Hill adjacent to Haviland Hall, oriented 90° to Phase 1.

The siting affects two key resources on campus—the landmark Haviland Hall (John Galen Howard, 1924) and historic Observatory Hill with its unique nature areas—and is directly at odds with the university’s New Century Plan and its stated principles and goals.

Take a virtual tour from the rear of Haviland Hall to the ruin of the former Students’ Observatory on the Hill. Every tree, shrub, stick and stone in the photos is slated to disappear.