NPS Number: 07001350

Description:
Berkeley High School Campus Historic District is situated on four consolidated city blocks in Berkeley’s downtown area. The district is comprised of five contributing buildings, one of which is already listed on the National Register, and three non-contributing buildings. The oldest buildings, the Original Gymnasium and Natatorium and the Administration Building, were designed by William C. Hays in 1922 in the Beaux Arts style. Two additions to the Original Gymnasium and Natatorium were added in 1929 by Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr. Both buildings were modified again by Thomas Chace in 1936 when Berkeley Unified School District responded to the new Field Act. The other three buildings were designed in the 1930s by Gutterson & Corlett in the Art Deco style. The district was listed at the local level of significance under Criterion C in the area of architecture s architectural distinction as a collection of school buildings executed in the Beaux Arts tradition and the Art Deco/Moderne style. The period of significance begins in 1922 with the construction of the first two Hays designed buildings, and ends in 1950 with the completion of the Berkeley High School Community Theater. The high school represents manifestations of the changing attitudes towards school design that took place throughout the United States, namely the classical Beaux-Arts architectural style of the 1920s and the Art Deco/Moderne style of the 1930s. All of the contributing buildings in the district are good representative examples of their style and illustrate the architectural evolution of the campus.

Registration Date: 1/7/2008

Location:
Berkeley
County: Alameda

Directions:
1980 Allston Way

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