The blaze of Sept. 17, 1923, caught Berkeley firefighters completely unprepared, leaving nearly 4,000 homeless before a change in wind stopped it at the edge of downtown. Fire experts warn that a fire just as bad — or worse — could happen today.
Berkeley Historical Society
Posted inCity
Guardians of Berkeley’s historical plaques have passed the torch
A group of residents spent a quarter century installing 120 plaques at Berkeley’s most notable locations. The city’s historical society is now taking over its work.
Posted inCommunity
Her ancestors fought to live in Berkeley. Now, she’s showcasing Chinese American history here
White neighbors tried to block Aimee Baldwin’s great-grandparents from buying a home on McKinley Avenue. A show she’s co-curating tells their story, and others’.
Posted inObituaries
Remembering Margot Lind, editor, historic preservationist, loving mother and grandmother
Lind loved her children and grandchildren, local history, reading mysteries and researching family history and genealogy.
Posted inCity
Local groups want to fix up Berkeley’s Civic Center. Here’s what it looks like today.
What’s next for old city hall and Civic Center Park? The next few months could be pivotal.
Posted inCommunity
A Berkeley architect is obsessively tracking the East Bay’s backyard water towers
Aaron Goldstein has been peering over fences to admire the area’s remaining windmill-topped water towers, vestiges of an era before municipal water. Now he’s writing a book.
Posted inCommunity
A new look at Berkeley’s 1970s battles over policing, marijuana, apartheid
Activist and historian David Mundstock’s political archive was recently donated to the Berkeley Historical Society. A sampling of papers, posters and more will be on display starting Nov. 6.
Posted inArts
New exhibit showcases vital contribution of African Americans to Berkeley
The installation will feature businesses, churches, and the political and social scene from 1940-2000.
Posted inSchools
School Board considers name change at LeConte
Le Conte Elementary School could one day have a new name. Photo: Nancy Rubin Berkeley school officials are considering changing the name of Le Conte Elementary after community members raised concerns about its namesake, Joseph Le Conte, a deeply respected UC Berkeley faculty member and a passionate conservationist who helped found the Sierra Club. Le Conte was […]
Posted inEvents
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
Christina Seely’s “JUGIS, Helios Arcticus,” part of the exhibition, Speed of Light, at The Brower Center, during its first-ever Earth Day Festival on Saturday. Photo: Courtesy the artist EARTH DAY The Brower Center is hosting its first-ever Earth Day Festival, on Saturday, April 18 from noon to 6 p.m. There will be hands-on workshops, live […]
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? The former Rivoli Theatre
Former Rivoli Theatre, 1941 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley. Photo: John Storey I venture to say that most people who have driven by the 99¢ Only Stores on San Pablo Avenue just north of University Avenue have never stopped and gone inside. I further venture to say that most people who have shopped at the […]
Posted inArts, Events
3-D models bring Berkeley’s train history back to life
3D-printed trains created by Grizzly Peak Model Trains, a new Berkeley company exhibiting at Maker Faire on May 17-18. Photo: GPMT Before it housed a smoothie shop and an SAT prep building, the island on Shattuck Avenue and Center Street was a bustling train station. The trains and streetcars that ran along the avenue for […]
