Studio Building (Berkeley, California)

The Studio Building is a historic building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and located at 2045 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California.

Studio Building
Berkeley Landmark No. 23
Location2045 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, California
Coordinates37°52′18.41″N 122°16′3.16″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1905
NRHP reference No.78000645[1]
BERKL No.23
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 6, 1978
Designated BERKLMay 15, 1978[2]

Description and history

The Studio Building dates back to 1905. It stood as the tallest building in downtown Berkeley in the time of its construction. It was built by Frederick H. Dakin for use by his real estate investment company. The architect was probably Clarence Dakin.[3]

The top floor of the building was designed as artists' studios and included a gallery space. The building was the original location of the California College of the Arts, founded by Frederick Meyer in 1907.[4] The school, known originally as the School of the California Guild of the Arts and Crafts, moved to larger quarters after its first year. Other early tenants of the building included architect John Hudson Thomas, painters Henry J. Breuer and Evelyn A. Withrow, and photographers Oscar Maurer and Edwin James McCullagh.[2][3] A school of performing arts opened there in 1910.[5]

The building is five stories tall and built of masonry with a tiled mansard roof and rounded upper floor window bays. The first-floor bays, used as shop fronts, were originally built in the form of a series of alternating rounded and pointed arches, although some of these have since been covered. The building's name is set into the tile floor at the entrance, with the image of an artist's palette created by Frederick's brother, the well-known artist Edwin Deakin.[2][3] By the time of Frederick Dakin's death in 1917 the building was called the Berkeley Hotel.[6] The building was restored in the late 1970s, and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.[2]

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Berkeley Landmarks: The Studio Building". Berkeley Heritage. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  3. Edwards, Robert W. (2012). Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies, Vol. 1. Oakland, Calif.: East Bay Heritage Project. pp. 77, 84–87, 101, notes 57–58. ISBN 9781467545679. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website ("Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-06-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)).
  4. "Downtown Berkeley landmark to have historical plaque : CCAC news release, Sept. 2, 1982". CCA Libraries Vault. California College of the Arts. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. Berkeley Courier, November 5, 1910.
  6. "Berkeley Daily Gazette - Mar 26, 1917, p. 1". Retrieved 21 May 2014.


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