Two East Bay churches mark Christmas centennials

Christmas Eve children’s concert at St. Joseph the Worker (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2007)

In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, East Bay population ballooned practically overnight, absorbing 200,000 refugees of which three-quarters remained permanently. To accommodate their burgeoning communities, Berkeley and Oakland acquired new housing developments, factories, and transportation routes, as well as a good number of churches.

Three of the earliest churches to be constructed after the earthquake were completed one hundred years ago this month. One of the three—First Presbyterian Church at Dana St. and Channing Way—was demolished in 1973. The other two—St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church at 1640 Addison Street and Shattuck United Methodist Church at 6300 Shattuck Avenue—are still standing..

Read the stories of these centenarian churches.