Features

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a three-part series on the history of Memorial Stadium. 

“Where once Strawberry Creek turned in its leisurely course to the bay, man has reared a great concrete bowl where more than seventy thousand people may gather to watch athletic contests and to see their sons and daughters graduate from college walls.” 

—Robert Sibley  

“The Romance of the University of  

California,” 1928  

Before Memorial Stadium was constructed, Strawberry Canyon was Berkeley’s most popular place to experience nature. It was a place for contemplation, bird-watching and walking in the woods, and a rustic neighborhood grew up on Panoramic Hill overlooking the canyon. 

Although the north side of the hill had been subdivided in 1888, it was not until 1904 when the entire hillside was purchased by Warren Cheney that the hill began to be developed for houses. Cheney was the former editor of the literary magazine The Californian and owner of the Warren Cheney Real Estate Company.  

Professor Charles Reiber’s house was one of the earliest built on the hill in 1904. The house, designed by noted architect Ernest Coxhead, is unique in that it wraps around the base of the hill where Panoramic Way intersects with Canyon Road. A sprawling shingle-style house, it was designed to blend with its natural rustic surroundings and look out over the canyon. 

As Panoramic Hill developed, many rustic yet sophisticated shingled houses were built, including 1 Canyon Road (1905), also designed by Coxhead for Frederic Torrey, a San Francisco art dealer. Other houses on the hill include several by Julia Morgan, Walter Steilberg, Walter Ratcliff, Bernard Maybeck and even one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright at 13 Mosswood. 

Most of the houses were built by university professors who wanted to live in the country, but within walking distance of the University and downtown. To this end, developer Cheney built the elegant Classic staircase, Orchard Lane, in 1909, and several footpaths and connecting staircases for pedestrian convenience.  

Even today, the hill has a remote unspoiled quality in spite of its proximity to the stadium and the bustle of the streets below. 

The special ambiance of this neighborhood is best experienced by walking, using the footpaths and staircases. Early 20th century homes of various sizes can be seen through a thick garment of greenery. A self-guided walking tour, giving the date and name of architect when known, is available for a small fee from Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (841-2242). 

The proposal to build the stadium into Strawberry Canyon provoked opposition not only from the neighborhood, but also from architects (see part one of this article in the Sept. 2-4 edition of the Daily Planet), the director of the California Academy of Sciences and the directors of the Greek Theater. 

Professor Reiber, whose house was designed expressly built to look over a wilderness, was so upset that he moved away. 

The university paid no attention to complaints, calling them “selfish,” planned the stadium in Strawberry Canyon and then declared in the 1923 Blue and Gold (Volume 49, page 42): “Surrounded by the natural beauties of Strawberry Canyon, the Stadium will be a monument which every Californian will be proud to have a part in the building.”  

Susan Cerny is author of the book “Berkeley Landmarks” and writes this in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.