East Bay Home and Gardens

East Bay Then and Now: Kingman Hall: a Microcosm of 20th-Century Berkeley History

By Daniella Thompson
Wednesday January 21, 2009
Kingman Hall today. The arched loggia has been enclosed in glass, and front-yard parking is now the norm.
Few houses in Berkeley (or anywhere, for that matter) can boast the picturesque setting and colorful history of Kingman Hall, the student co-op at 1730 La Loma Avenue. Perched above the oak-wooded canyon of Strawberry Creek, the building overlooks a sunken garden with a creekside amphitheater. Built in 1914 for Nu Chapter of the Theta Xi fraternity, the house has mirrored the history of Berkeley over the past 95 years. -more-