Sather Gate is a prominent landmark separating
Sproul Plaza
Sproul Plaza (pronounced ) is one center of student activity at the University of California, Berkeley. It is divided into two sections: Upper Sproul and Lower Sproul. They are vertically separated by and linked by a set of stairs.
History
S ...
from the bridge over
Strawberry Creek
Strawberry Creek is the principal watercourse running through the city of Berkeley, California. Two forks rise in the Berkeley Hills of the California Coast Ranges, and form a confluence at the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Th ...
, leading to the center of the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
campus. The
gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
was donated by
Jane K. Sather
Jane K. Sather (''née'' Krom; March 9, 1824 – December 11, 1911) was an American philanthropist and one of the University of California, Berkeley's most significant benefactors. She founded the Sather Professorship of Classical Literature and t ...
, a benefactor of the university, in memory of her late husband
Peder Sather
Peder Sather (September 25, 1810 – December 28, 1886) was a Norwegian-born American banker who is best known for his legacy to the University of California, Berkeley. His widow, Jane K. Sather, donated money in his memory for two of the sch ...
, a trustee of the
College of California
The College of California was a private college in Oakland, California. It is a predecessor of the public University of California system. It was established in 1853 as the Contra Costa Academy. In 1868, it merged with the nascent Agricultural, ...
, which later became the University of California. It is
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
No. 946 and No. 82004649 in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
History
![Urn-sather-gate-berkeley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Urn-sather-gate-berkeley.jpg)
Designed by
John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard (May 8, 1864 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts – July 18, 1931 in San Francisco, California) was an American architect and educator who began his career in New York before moving to California. He was the principal architect at in ...
and built by Giovanni "John" Meneghetti in the
Classical Revival
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
Beaux-Arts style, Sather Gate was completed in 1910. Atop the gate are eight panels of bas-relief figures: four nude men representing the disciplines of law, letters, medicine, and mining, and four nude women representing the disciplines of agriculture, architecture, art, and electricity. They were sculpted by Professor
Earl Cummings. From 1910 to 1977, the panels were removed due to differences with Jane Sather. By 1979 they were all reinstalled.
Originally, the gate served as the terminus of
Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campu ...
, and marked the university's south entrance. (The circle in front of the gate served as a turning point for the trolleys coming from
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
.) The university later expanded further south of Strawberry Creek, and the gate is now well separated from
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
's city streets by Sproul Plaza.
Sather Gate has undergone restoration beginning in October 2008 that focused on its bronze and steel metal work, which had deteriorated over time. During its restoration it remained open to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Restoration of Sather Gate was completed in April 2009.
Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., coordinated the restoration of Sather Gate; a 2010 Design Award recipient from the California Preservation Foundation.
Free Speech Movement
Sather Gate is part of the historic
Sproul Plaza
Sproul Plaza (pronounced ) is one center of student activity at the University of California, Berkeley. It is divided into two sections: Upper Sproul and Lower Sproul. They are vertically separated by and linked by a set of stairs.
History
S ...
, a major center for student activity that housed many protests throughout the
Free Speech Movement
The Free Speech Movement (FSM) was a massive, long-lasting student protest which took place during the 1964–65 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The Movement was informally under the central leadership of B ...
. The gate is a notable subject of one of the most recognizable and iconic photographs of the movement, a shot of students carrying the Free Speech banner walking through it in Fall of 1964.
References
{{University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley buildings
Gates in the United States
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in California
National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley, California
California Historical Landmarks
Bridges completed in 1910
Beaux-Arts architecture in California
Neoclassical architecture in California
John Galen Howard buildings