21 July 2016

Gray Brechin lectures on park architecture


Yosemite Museum, designed by Herbert Maier (National Park Service)

The Hillside Club Round Table presents

A New Deal for the Arts & Crafts: Herbert Maier and the California Boys in the National and State Parks

An illustrated lecture by Gray Brechin

Wednesday, 24 August 2016
7:30 pm
The Hillside Club
2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley

Donation requested; BHC members free

Now celebrating its centennial, the National Park Service was largely created by graduates of the University of California at Berkeley. Among its most important early designers was architect Herbert Maier, who transmitted the Arts and Crafts ethos and aesthetic so prevalent in the town in 1916 to the myriad of rustic structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps twenty years later.


Herbert Maier

For additional information about the Hillside Club Round Table, see the club’s website.

19 July 2016

When Architects and Artists had Big Dreams for BART


An early, unrealized design for the El Cerrito BART station by Vernon DeMars (Vernon DeMars Collection, U.C. Berkeley Environmental Design Archives)

Wednesday, 24 August 2016
7:00 pm
El Cerrito Community Center
7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito

Free admission

Back in the mid-1960s, planners envisioned a rapid transit system that would link the entire Bay Area, with stations in Napa, Fairfield, Santa Rosa, Brentwood, Livermore, Campbell, San Jose, and Los Altos, among other spots. Every station was to have art. BART’s architects hoped that the new system would not only provide transportation but aid in “controlling and directing future urban growth and development, and [...] upgrading economically and physically depressed and stagnant sections of the urban complex.”

What happened to BART’s art and architecture, and to these dreams?

Writer Dave Weinstein will discuss BART’s original artistic and architectural plans. Jennifer Easton, BART’s art program manager, will discuss current plans for art on BART.

Sponsored by the El Cerrito Historical Society. Wheelchair accessible. Light refreshments.

Information: Dave Weinstein, (510) 524-1737, davidsweinstein@yahoo.com

06 July 2016

A Maybeck Afternoon, 7 August 2016


Jacomena Maybeck and her twin daughters, 1931

Sunday, 7 August 2016
2 pm ~ 4 pm
$40, advance purchase only

Sold out!

In the late 1920s, Bernard Maybeck’s most prominent client was Earle C. Anthony (1880–1961), a pioneer of broadcasting, gas stations, and bus lines, as well as the Packard distributor for all of California. Maybeck designed opulent Packard showrooms in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles, as well as Anthony’s famed Los Feliz estate.

In partial payment for architectural services, Anthony had a special-order Packard 640 Dual Cowl Phaeton made for Maybeck. This luxurious and magnificently restored car, one of only three in existence, has its home-base outside California and will be brought to Berkeley for one day only, to serve as the centerpiece of the Maybeck Afternoon reception and open house.

Two of the Maybeck family homes and a third iconic Maybeck-designed house will be open. Light refreshments will be served in a garden.

Capacity is limited to 75 participants! Order your tickets now! Ticket buyers will be notified of the location.

Order tickets online or send a check, made payable to BAHA, to P.O. Box 1137, Berkeley, CA 94701.


The Maybeck Packard (photo courtesy of Bill Jabs)

Call for volunteers

Would you like to attend the event free of charge? Volunteer for 1.5 hours as a docent or refreshment helper, and have half the event’s time free to enjoy the Maybeck Afternoon.

Interested? Please e-mail BAHA, giving your phone number, and indicate whether you prefer to work the 1:30–3:00 shift or the 3:00–4:30 shift.