What can you do on a Sunday afternoon in Berkeley? Go for a walk on the beach, go cycling, dig in the garden, or go for ice cream? But you can also explore historic houses of your unknown neighbors – even from the inside!
When my mother and I heard about the tour in early May, we couldn’t stay away.
The tour was organized by the local Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). I became a member of this organization when I was looking for information on the history of our home, which was built back in 1924. I will write about these suprising findings soon on my blog.
BAHA Spring House Tour was supervised by a large number of volunteers, carefully guarding entrances as well as each room. They were mostly retired ladies and gentlemen. What an interesting and effective idea to activate Berkeley seniors. Anyone who had bought a ticket received a special badge and a trail map. Guests could take their time and enjoy the tour at their own rate.
This year BAHA had decided on the area around the Rose Garden, located in the hills of Berkeley, to be precise at the El Valle de Los Codornices, the Valley of the Quails. The garden is an exceptional spot on the Berkeley map. For many years, roses were specially pruned in January so they could blossom beautifully for Mother’s Day. There are over 250 varieties of roses in the garden! The Rose Garden opened in 1937 under the public works program during the Great Depression. Today, it is unfortunately currently very run down.
The garden’s historical pergola was considered unsafe and is to be dismantled soon. Despite the consent of residents to raise taxes that included parks such as the Rose Garden, the funds have been insufficient. Part of the pergola is scheduled to be reconstructed in 2019.
The tour selection is based on aesthetic as well as historial features. Two out of the nine were extremely historic and well preserved. They were built even before the great fire of 1923. I liked some of them more than others. In one of them I would renovate the wooden panel walls, which had been very popular in the old Berkeley buildings. From the terrace, visitors admired the view of the sunny bay of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
In one we saw an old cabinet, which would not have been out of place in my grandfather’s apartment in Krakow. It had little dividers, envelopes, postcards, hand-written notes, and black and white photographs. Perhaps the owners of the house had European roots?
In another bedroom it was hard not to notice the chandelier made of twisted deer antlers. Apparently it is considered inapprioriate during tour to comment on such things, but it seemed this decoration was quite frightening and aesthetically daring!
During the break from touring, guests could cool off with lemonade, (spiked?) punch or snack on strawberries and biscuits on the front porch of a house built in 1921 for Mrs. Estelle Clark. This rich divorcée from New York had decided to move to sunny California to live a much more modest life.
The villa was designed in the Mediterranean style. There were even columns specially imported from Italy! This historic villa was designed by renowned architect Bernard Maybeck , who also suggested the construction of a pergola in the Rose Garden. Apparently, he was sensitive to the needs of women and was not surprised that a woman living alone with an adopted daughter and a servant and a chauffeur wanted to have a lot of space for herself!
I really liked exploring the interiors of the old houses. Thanks to the tour, I not only saw historic properties but also charming alleyways and hidden streets of Berkeley. Although not all parts of the house were open to the public, the owners must have had confidence in the organizers. The system is proven and has been running for over forty years!
I was not able to take many photographs as we wanted to respect the privacy of the owners.
Historical pergola at the Rose Garden
