Bernard Maybeck: eminent Bay Area architect who designed many buildings in Berkeley

More than 200 current students, faculty, staff, parents and alums gathered at Maybeck High School on College Avenue Wednesday to celebrate what would have been the 150th birthday of architect Bernard Maybeck who left an indelible mark on the architecture of Berkeley and the Bay Area.

Stan Cardinet, one of Maybeck High School’s founding teachers, delivered a lecture about Maybeck’s life as an artisan, architect and artist.

A selection of Bernard Maybeck’s original drawings were also hand to view, thanks to the generosity of art collector Foster Goldstrom, who happens to live in a beautiful Maybeck-designed home on the Berkeley-Oakland border.

Maybeck drawing belonging to collector Foster Goldstrom. Photo: Colleen Neff

Birthday cake was served as the community relished learning about their school’s namesake.

Berkeley’s only National Historic Landmark, First Church of Christ on Dwight Way, was designed by Bernard Maybeck, as were many homes, including his own in the north Berkeley hills.

For more information on Bernard Maybeck and his work in Berkeley, visit the website of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, whose 2009 annual House Tour, Maybeck Country, focused on many of the architect’s buildings.

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Tracey Taylor is co-founder of Berkeleyside and co-founder and editorial director of Cityside, the nonprofit parent to Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside. Before launching Berkeleyside, Tracey wrote for...