Heinz Emigholz: Architecture as Autobiography

Here is a film series that no architecture lover would want to miss. It’s beginning tomorrow evening, 1 April, at the Pacific Film Archive with Goff in the Desert, an examination of the work of Kansas-born architect Bruce Goff.

Yet to come are Schindler’s Houses (15 April), Sullivan’s Banks and Loos Ornamental (17 April). Visit the BAM/PFA website for additional information.

BAHA Spring House Tour

Westenberg House (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2007)

Sunday, 4 May 2008, 1 to 5 pm. See details.

South Berkeley Community Church in the National Register

Photo: Daniella Thompson, 2004

Volume 1, Issue 1 (Winter 2008) of Preservation Matters, the newsletter of the California Office of Historic Preservation, reports that the South Berkeley Community Church (Hugo W. Storch, 1912) was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 15 November 2007.

The church was listed at the local leverl for its architectural qualities and for its important role as one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s first integrated churches.

Camron-Stanford House is looking for docents

Camron-Stanford House, the celebrated Victorian house museum on the shore of Oakland’s Lake Merritt, is looking for volunteers to join its docent program.

Docents undergo an intensive training process, which teaches good communicative and interpretive skills, and provides thorough learning about the house’s historical significance and its collections. Reading lists are provided to add to the information offered during training. Experienced docents assist and give feedback as new docents develop and practice their tours before ultimately conducting a tour on their own. A graduation celebration will be held at the conclusion of the training.

The training course lasts 9 weeks, beginning 27 February 2008 (makeup classes are available on video). Classes take place at the Camron-Stanford House on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. Each class lasts two to two-and-a-half hours. There is also one Saturday morning optional field trip. Docent training requires the purchase of a $35 annual membership and a one-time course fee of $65.

To apply for the docent program, download an application form (pdf format). You can then either print, fill out, and fax it it to (510) 595-0886 or copy the contents to a word-processing document or your e-mail program, fill it out, and e-mail it to cshousedocent@yahoo.com.

If you have questions, contact Valerie Corvin, Docent Training Coordinator, (510) 604-0078.

Outings on Fridays

Our popular series of guided tours, organized by Sally Sachs, returns this spring and summer. The tours take place on the first Friday of the month at 11:00 am (we meet at the tour location at 10:45 am). Lunch is optional.
$15 per tour or $40 for all three

Friday, 4 April 2008
Charles S. Greene Library,
now African-American Museum & Library of Oakland

Courtesy of Oakland California Landmarks

This Beaux-Arts Carnegie library was designed in 1900 by Bliss & Faville, with murals by Arthur Matthews. Designated Oakland Landmark #43, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Since 2002, the library has been the home of the African-American Museum & Library of Oakland, dedicated “to discover, preserve, interpret and share the historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in California and the West for present and future generations.”
Lunch in Old Oakland.

Friday, 2 May 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals Building
Seventh & Mission Streets, San Francisco

Courtesy of som.com

This imposing granite edifice was designed in the 1890s by James Knox Taylor, chief architect for the U.S. Treasury Department, to house the federal courts and the main San Francisco post office. When it opened in 1905, Sunset magazine called it the Versailles of the West. This tour is free but requires a reservation before 30 April.
Lunch in San Francisco.

Friday, 6 June 2008
Blake Garden Sold out
Kensington


The Anson S. Blake House (Walter Bliss, 1920s) serves as the home of the Univesity of California president. The extensive landscaped grounds surrounding the house, which we will tour, are used as a teaching facility for the U.C. Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning.
Lunch in Kensington.

Friday, 11 & 25 July 2008
Tao House
Danville


The Eugene and Carlotta O’Neill House (Frederick Confer, 1937) has a Spanish Colonial Revival exterior, but its interior reflects the O’Neills’ passion for Oriental thought, art, and design. This National Historic Site is administered by the National Park Service. The tour will last approximately 2 hours. The 11 July tour is sold out. Tickets are still available for the 25th.
Lunch in downtown Danville.

To order tickets, send a check made out to BAHA and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
BAHA
Outings on Fridays
P.O. Box 1137
Berkeley, CA 94701

You can also pay for tickets by credit card via PayPal. Please specify your outing date[s].