09 September 2022

Villa Maybeck at 101

A Musical & Gustatory Centennial Celebration
to Benefit BAHA

Sunday, 9 October 2022
2:30–5:30 pm
1408 Hawthorne Terrace, Berkeley

Get tickets
Admission $100 ($75 is tax-deductible)
Space is limited to 80 participants.

Bernard Maybeck designed this Italian villa in 1921 for wealthy New Yorker Estelle P. Clark. Now the home of writer, artist, publisher, and raconteur L. John Harris, the house has undergone a wonderful transformation in recent years.

Participants in the centennial celebration will enjoy delectable edibles and potables in the colonnaded courtyard, listen to live music played on a classical guitar from the host’s renowned collection, tour this magnificent house and its charming garden, and see recently completed improvements that blend beautifully with Maybeck’s design.

The host, who has written about his house and collections for Reinventing Home, will be on hand to regale you with stories in his inimitable style.

Help BAHA recover from the pandemic by participating in this fundraiser. We look forward to seeing you there!

06 September 2022

Saving Our Civic Center’s Crown Jewel

A Free Online Presentation & Discussion

Thursday, 6 October 2022
6:00 pm
Zoom webinar

Register on Eventbrite

10 October 2022 is the first day for mailing Vote-by-Mail ballots and Early Voting in the November Election. On the ballot is Berkeley’s Measure L, which allocates $100 million for infrastructure improvements, including revitalizing the historic Civic Center.

Renamed the Maudelle Shirek Building in March 2007, our historic City Hall, the defining feature of Berkeley’s Civic Center, has been for many years in serious need of a seismic upgrade, without which it is in grave danger of demolition by neglect.

Measure L may offer the answer. Please attend this free event to learn about the history of this landmark building and find out what is being done to preserve it.

Speakers

  • Daniella Thompson, architectural historian and BAHA’s website editor, will discuss the history of Berkeley City Hall through its various iterations from 1884 to the 21st century.

  • John Caner, CEO of the Downtown Berkeley Association and chair of the Community for a Cultural Civic Center, will describe what the CCCC has been doing in concert with City staff to plan improvements for Civic Center Park and to save Old City Hall and the Veterans Memorial Building, both of which are City of Berkeley Landmarks and listed in the National Register of Historic Places as contributors to the Civic Center Historic District.

  • Marc Steyer, SE, LEED AP is principal at Tipping Structural Engineers. His firm was engaged by CCCC to undertake seismic studies of Old City Hall and the Veterans Memorial Building. The studies established that the cost to retrofit the two landmarks would be only half of the amount estimated in the past. The retrofit plans include space behind the buildings that will protect the historic interiors with buttresses while adding square footage for future uses.
  • We count on your participation! Please register today!