“Steamboat ’round the Bend”

Joe Harris on his balcony, 1937
(photo courtesy of Billie Jean Harris D’Anna)

On 29 August 2004, BAHA hosted an afternoon of Art Deco glamour at the Joseph W. Harris house, 2300 Le Conte Avenue, Berkeley.

As a result of that event, we learned a great deal about Berkeley’s most prominent Streamline Moderne residence. The results of this research are presented on four pages in Berkeley Landmarks and complement our article about the House of Harris men’s clothing store, better known as Call Me Joe.

Joseph Stubbs’ Berkeley Southside

Trinity Methodist Church
(photo: Joseph Stubbs)

Designer Joseph Stubbs has given Berkeley a tremendous present: the online version of his Berkeley Southside interactive photo survey, until now available only on CD-ROM.

When you click the View Full Resource button in Berkeley Southside, you get a large map of the Southside, peppered with symbols representing the architectural styles of the entire built environment in the 40-block area south of the U.C. campus, from Fulton St. on the west to College Ave. on the east, and from Bancroft Way on the north to Derby St. on the south.

The 138 buildings indicated in red are historic or significant architectural resources. Clicking on any red symbol will open a pop-up window with one or more of Stubbs’ high-quality photographs and information such as the building’s address, its architect (if known), year of construction, and architectural style.

Beautifully designed, Berkeley Southside is an extremely valuable resource for all of us who care about architectural preservation.

Joseph Stubbs continues to sell the CD-ROM on his website, and so does BAHA.

Art Deco walking tours

Photo: Daniella Thompson, 2007

The Art Deco Society of California is offering four walking tours in the Bay Area.

Saturday, 13 November: Berkeley
Meet your guide at 11:00 am in front of the United Artists Theater,
2274 Shattuck Avenue. Tour lasts 90 minutes.

Sunday, 21 November: Downtown Oakland
Meet at 11:00 am on the corner of 13th and Broadway.
Tour lasts two hours.

4 & 5 December: San Francisco
Downtown on Saturday and the Marina on Sunday.
Tours begin at 10:00 am and last two hours.

All tours are free to Art Deco Society members, $10 general.
Tours cancelled in inclement weather.
Phone (415) 982-3326 on day of tour to confirm.

A Frank Lloyd Wright haven

Photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004

On Wednesday, 13 October, BAHA thanked its regular volunteers and members in the Patron and Benefactor categories by way of a private reception in an opulent Frank Lloyd Wright home.


Photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004

Built in 1948, the house wraps around a lushly landscaped pool fed by a waterfall. Dramatic redwood and concrete-block interiors feature widely varying ceiling heights, culminating with the butterfly-roofed living room. Two creeks traverse the three-and-a-half-acre lot, where native oaks cohabit with oriental landscaping, displaying to good advantage a rustic gazebo over a pond, a Japanese teahouse, and large-scale Chinese statuary.


Photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004

Berkeley Landmarks author Susan Cerny, who is currently working on a Bay Area architectural guidebook, arranged the event.

See additional photos from the visit in the BAHA Photo Gallery.

Berkeley City Club

Berkeley City Club (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004)

In April 1927, a group of Berkeley women, long having felt the need of a center for women’s activities and long having cherished the plan of bringing this into being in their city, called a meeting of delegates from various women’s clubs in Berkeley. A temporary chairwoman, Dr. Kate Gompertz, was authorized to appoint committees to complete the organization of a Women’s City Club for Berkeley.

Thus begins an article in the Berkeley, California Year Book of 1930, where the young Berkeley Women’s City Club, 4,000-members strong after a mere three years of existence, announced its new building, then under construction and entirely financed by the members. It was a feat the likes of which will never be seen in Berkeley again.

With the help of the Berkeley City Club, we have mounted the first three pages of a series dedicated to the club, its history, and its building. More will come.