Berkeley Historical Society Fall 2013 Walking Tours

Tours start at 10 am and end at approximately 12 noon. Sometimes they are slightly longer, so some extra time should be allowed in case the walk meets an informative passerby or dwells at an interesting site. Tours are limited to 30 paying participants unless noted otherwise. Pre-paid reservations are required and tickets are not refundable. Tours are conducted in rain, shine, or Berkeley fog and are wheelchair accessible unless otherwise noted.

Tickets: BHS members $8, general $10
Order tickets here.

Civic Center Park (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004)

Saturday, 21 September 2013
New Deal Nexus in Berkeley
Led by Harvey Smith

The walk will explore Berkeley High School, Community Theater, Civic Center Park, Post Office art, The Old Farm Credit Bank Building, and a remarkable mosaic mural on the U.C. campus.

Bonita Hall (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2009)

Saturday, 28 September 2013
Architectural Tour of North-Central Berkeley
Led by Daniella Thompson

The neighborhood north of University Avenue between Shattuck Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr., Way (formerly Grove Street) began as farmland, subdivided after train service to downtown Berkeley was inaugurated in 1876. With the arrival in 1891 of electric streetcars on Grove Street, the area’s development received a boost, accelerating as the line was extended from University to Cedar in 1902. The architecture spans the gamut from Victorian to modern, but the dominant style is Colonial Revival, fashionable between 1895 and 1905. We’ll visit notabale buildings and learn about the colorful characters who made their home in this neighborhood.

Normandy Village (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004)

Saturday, 12 October 2013
Normandy Village
Led by Bill Roberts

A walk through Normandy Village, the first building of which was designed by W.R. Yelland for Jack Thornburg, the owner. Thornburg went on to design other buildings himself to create a village surrounding an open space that was eventually filled by other apartment buildings. Now a City of Berkeley landmark, the complex is known for its unusual architecture, often referred to as Storybook Style.

Halcyon neighborhood

Saturday, 16 November 2013
Cultivating a Sense of Place and a Place for a Commons: A Walking Tour of the (New) Halcyon Neighborhood
Led by John Steere

A walking tour of one of Berkeley’s oldest neighborhoods and one of its newest as well. Learn how the Halcyon Neighborhood was born in bringing neighbors together to create a common out of a parking lot, in building micro-parks, and in planting over a 100 street trees. Find out about other hidden gems of artful houses and gardens and the fascinating residential lore of neighbors who’ve experienced the changes in Halcyon across five decades. Halcyon is a quiet, quirky, and practically unknown neighborhood, tucked away between some of Berkeley’s best known and busiest streets: Ashby, Telegraph and Shattuck. The tour will be led by John Steere, the co-chair of the Halcyon Neighborhood Association and a couple of long-time residents who will share intriguing stories of its human and natural history—a place with a unique fabric, even by Berkeley standards.

Doe Memorial Library (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004)

Saturday, 14 December 2013
The Campus of John Galen Howard
Led by Steven Finacom

A century ago, John Galen Howard was in the midst of an architectural heyday and a two-decade tenure as U.C.’s Supervising Architect. Many of the grand buildings of the Berkeley campus, including Doe Library and the Hearst Mining Building, were finished and much admired; the Campanile was soon to rise, and Howard had a thriving private practice and was the head of a successful school of architecture. We’ll tour the campus core and see Howard’s buildings—from brown shingles to magnificent academic temples—and explore the campus master plan he refined in 1914 and 1917.