University House
University House (west end)
University House, Berkeley is located in Oakland, California
University House, Berkeley
University House, Berkeley is located in California
University House, Berkeley
University House, Berkeley is located in the United States
University House, Berkeley
LocationOxford St., Berkeley, California
Coordinates37°52′28″N 122°15′44″W / 37.8745°N 122.2623°W / 37.8745; -122.2623
Area2.6 acres (1.1 ha)
Built1911
ArchitectAlbert Pissis
Architectural styleMediterranean villa
MPSBerkeley, University of California MRA
NRHP reference No.82004652[1]
BERKL No.161
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 25, 1982
Designated BERKLFebruary 25, 1991[2]

The University House is a residence and venue for official events on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Designed by the architect Albert Pissis and completed in 1911, it was formerly named President's House while it served as the home of the president of the University of California, starting with Benjamin Ide Wheeler and ending with Robert Gordon Sproul. Since 1965, it has been the home of the Chancellor of the Berkeley campus.

Design

Western and southern facades, featuring topiary clock

The exterior of the building is designed as a classical Mediterranean villa; the front fascia faces south onto the main campus axis, which runs east into the Berkeley Hills from the Crescent Lawn on Oxford Street.[3] The front entrance is in a triple-arched, recessed portico, and the east and west ends of the mansion have round bays with balustrades.[3] The interior and grounds were designed by John Galen Howard in 1910 after it was decided to finish it as a residence for the President.[3] The grounds surrounding University House are 2+1⁄2 acres (1.0 ha) and include a rose garden, greenhouse, and cutting garden.[4] The formal gardens lie east of the structure.[3] One of the features added later is a large topiary clock, southwest of the residence, donated by the Swiss government.[3][5]

The front door opens onto a reception hall with a stairway to the second floor; a living room lies to the west and drawing and dining rooms lie to the east.[3] The Chancellor (and their spouse) usually live in the private quarters on the second floor of the home, while the ground floor is used for receptions and other events. The home features art on loan from the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

It is the only actual residence in the historic central core of the Berkeley campus, as all student housing lies outside the core campus, but within walking distance.

History

Under the original ROMA design by French architect Émile Bénard, there was to be a "jurisprudence" building at the present-day site.[6][7] Bénard had won a competition to design the entire University of California campus sponsored by wealthy benefactor Phoebe Apperson Hearst in September 1899 with his entry entitled ROMA.[6][8]: 34  However, he declined an appointment as the campus's supervising architect[5] and John Galen Howard, who had placed fourth in the competition, was appointed instead in December 1901.[9]: 57 

The commission for what would become President's House was let separately to Albert Pissis, who created a design in a classical Mediterranean style.[10]: 45  Construction began on the building with a groundbreaking ceremony on May 16, 1901, presided over by Mrs. Hearst; a budget of US$215,000 (equivalent to $7,560,000 in 2022) had been appropriated, which proved to be inadequate and work stopped after September 1902.[11]: 74  The building was completed in 1907.[5] With the overcrowded campus, it was finished temporarily "into seminar rooms as a measure of relief" to accommodate some of the 2,669 students attending UC.[12]

Of course I always have thought the President's House was beautifully proportioned. It had lovely big tall windows and high ceilings which give a sense of space. It was really a pleasure to live in it. You look out your window right through to the Golden Gate and Mt. Tamalpais. Oh, it's like a Maxfield Parrish [painting] with the beautiful light on it, that blue. It's beautiful. And it's exciting. The people you meet are exciting. You have such a variety of them. And in the President's House you were set up so that you could take care of them.

 — Ida Amelia Wittschen Sproul, 1960 interview[13]: 26–27 

President Benjamin Ide Wheeler moved there with his wife Amey (nee Webb) and their son, Benjamin Webb, just before Charter Day (March 23)[14] 1911, inaugurating its use as the official residence. According to Ida Sproul, the Wheelers lived at 1820 Scenic because they could not afford to furnish the house. After moving in, one of the east-facing rooms was furnished by the Regents of the University of California as a guest bedroom.[15]: 11  Amey Wheeler had a garden installed on the grounds to provide cut flowers for the House.[13]: 29 

Under Ida Sproul, married to Robert Gordon Sproul (UC President, 1930–58), the stove was converted from coal to gas, and stainless steel sinks were installed to accommodate the dishes, washed by hand, generated by the crowds measured in "hundreds and hundreds" she would entertain for tea.[13]: 27  The size of the parties kept growing, and to accommodate them, Ida Sproul initially rented, then purchased porcelain dishes; she never served a buffet meal during her leadership of President's House.[13]: 27  When Chiura Obata, professor of art at Berkeley, and his family were interned during World War II, Ida Sproul offered the attic space at President's House to store their art and furniture; Obata's wife Haruko (an ikebana artist and teacher) had arranged flowers for the Sprouls once, which Ida recalled as "the nicest little flower arrangement ... not elaborate and not gaudy, but a little bit of color and maybe a pretty red leaf or something. She was just very good."[15]: 100 

From president to chancellor

Front entrance with long staircase (2009)

Berkeley Chancellor Clark Kerr was named the President of the University of California in 1958 to succeed Sproul; instead of moving into President's House in accordance with tradition, the ex-professor preferred to remain in his private home in El Cerrito, and had the on-campus mansion remodeled to accommodate official events instead; it was renamed to University House.[16] The first chancellor to live there was Roger W. Heyns, who moved into University House in 1965, followed by Albert H. Bowker in 1971.[12]

University House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 1982 as part of a larger listing of contemporaneous structures on the Berkeley central campus defining its "formal, turn-of-the-century concept".[3]

🌍

Selected locations on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley 
  •  Buildings and venues 
  •  Landmarks 

1
University House (1911)
2
North Gate Hall (1906) and North Gate (1990)
3
Founders' Rock (1860)
4
Evans Hall (1971)
5
Hearst Memorial Mining Building (1907)
6
Hearst Greek Theatre (1903)
7
Crescent Lawn (1929) and Springer Plaza (1964)
8
Valley Life Sciences Building (1930)
9
Doe Memorial Library (1917)
10
South Hall (1873)
11
Sather Tower (1914)
12
Haas School of Business (1995)
13
Haas Pavilion (1933)
14
Sather Gate (1908)
15
Sproul Plaza (1962)
16
Hearst Memorial Gymnasium (1927)
17
College of Environmental Design (Bauer Wurster Hall, 1964)
18
School of Law (Boalt Hall, 1951)
19
California Memorial Stadium (1923)
20
People's Park (1969)

Rosebud Denovo was shot and killed by an Oakland Police Department officer after breaking into University House in the early morning of August 25, 1992. She was protesting the construction of sand volleyball courts at People's Park.[17]

University House and fence (2023)

In 2009, protestors threw flower pots and a lit torch at the mansion,[18] prompting round-the-clock police protection;[19] eight were arrested, including two students.[20] No charges were filed.[21] A security fence was added in 2015 to exclude unauthorized people and police presence was planned to be decreased, but the fenceline also would close a popular route used by students to reach their classes;[22] the fence was relocated closer to University House to avoid this.[19] Protesters hopped over the incomplete fence that fall and demonstrated on the steps for workers' rights.[23] Records showed the completed security fence cost nearly US$700,000, 21⁄2 times the original planned budget.[24] When Carol T. Christ became chancellor in 2017, she chose to live in her private home near campus instead of University House.[25]

Residents

As "President's House" for the President of the University of California
As "University House" for the Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Berkeley Landmarks". Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "National Register Information System – University House (#82004652)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ "University House". UC Berkeley, Office of the Chancellor. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "University House". UC Berkeley, Disability Access & Compliance.
  6. 1 2 Jones, William Carey (November 17, 1899). "Architectural Plans for the University of California". Science. X (255): 721–724.
  7. ↑ Jones, William Carey (1901). "Appendix: Revised Plans for the University Buildings". Illustrated History of the University of California (Revised ed.). Berkeley, California: Students Cooperative Society.
  8. ↑ The International Competition for the Phoebe Hearst Architectural Plan for the University of California. 1899. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  9. ↑ Woodbridge, Sally Byrne (2002). "5 | Supervising Architect for the Hearst Architectural Plan: 1901–1903". John Galen Howard and the University of California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 57–67. ISBN 0-520-22992-4.
  10. ↑ Woodbridge, Sally Byrne (2002). "4 | Postcompetition Reversals: 1900–1901". John Galen Howard and the University of California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 39–56. ISBN 0-520-22992-4.
  11. ↑ Woodbridge, Sally Byrne (2002). "7 | The President's House, California Hall, and the Hearst Memorial Mining Building: 1901–1907". John Galen Howard and the University of California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 74–88. ISBN 0-520-22992-4.
  12. 1 2 University House: Its history and residents (Report). University of California, Berkeley. 1979. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Ida Wittschen Sproul (January 1960). "Ida Amelia Sproul: Duty, Devotion, and Delight in the President's House, University of California" (Interview). Interviewed by Edna Tartaul Daniel. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  14. ↑ Stadtman, Verne A., ed. (1968). "Charter Day". The Centennial Record of the University of California, 1868–1968. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Ida Amelia Sproul (1980–1981). "Ida Amelia Sproul: The President's Wife" (Interview). Interviewed by Suzanne B. Riess. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  16. ↑ Edward W. Strong; Gertrude Strong (1988). "University House". "University History Series: Philosopher, Professor, and Berkeley Chancellor, 1961-1965: Edward W. Strong" (Interview). Interviewed by Harriet Nathan. Gertrude Strong: By the time Ed became Chancellor, University House had been set up by the Kerrs as a sort of a Blair House for entertaining and for keeping guests overnight. That suited us very well, because we had this house to live in. We didn't ever consider moving, but I thoroughly enjoyed using the house there. ... The Kerrs and the Strongs shared the house. Of course, it being on our campus, we were mostly responsible for things. But any time the Kerrs wanted to use it, why, it was available for them. The program was pretty well set up, because Clark Kerr had been Chancellor on the campus, and a regular calendar of things that they did for the students was established.
  17. ↑ Gross, Jane (August 26, 1992). "Police Kill Protester at Berkeley In Break-In at Chancellor's Home". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Protesters attack Berkeley chancellor's home" (Press release). UC Berkeley News. December 12, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  19. 1 2 Edevane, Gillian (August 31, 2015). "Planned fence around chancellor's residence moved closer to property". The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  20. ↑ "8 Arrested in Protest at Berkeley Chancellor's Home". The New York Times. AP. December 12, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  21. ↑ Gordon, Larry (December 21, 2009). "No charges in vandalism of UC Berkeley chancellor's home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  22. ↑ "UC Berkeley Students Criticize New Security Fence Around Chancellor's Home". CBS News Bay Area. August 20, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  23. ↑ Platten, Andrea (November 8, 2015). "UC students rallying for worker rights march to Dirks' residence, hop gate". The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  24. ↑ Doumar, Karim (May 26, 2016). "Fence around chancellor's residence completed at 2 1/2 times original budget". The Daily Californian. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  25. ↑ Matier, Phil; Ross, Andrew (July 10, 2017). "New Cal chancellor shuns campus' pricey mansion". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 29, 2022.

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