The John Hopkins Spring Estate is a large estate in Berkeley, California. The associated Spring Mansion was built in the 1910s by East Bay developer John Hopkins Spring and designed by architect

John Hudson Thomas John Hudson Thomas (1878-1945) was an American architect who practiced in the northern California area. Biography John H. Thomas was born in Nevada in 1878. His family relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area when he was still young. He attended Y ...

. It later became the site of a school founded by educator

Cora Lenore Williams Cora Lenore Williams (1865December 14, 1937) was a writer and educator known for pioneering new approaches to small-group instruction for children. She founded the A-Zed School and the Institute for Creative Development, later renamed Williams Col ...

. It has been a City of Berkeley Landmark since 2000.

Location

The estate currently occupies 3.25 acres in

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 ...

in the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la C ...

. Formerly covering 20 acres, it was associated with three separate addresses: 639 Arlington Avenue, 1960 San Antonio Ave., and 1984 San Antonio Ave. The latter address was the carriage house, which was at some point sold off as a separate property. It faces west onto Arlington Avenue and at the time it was built had a sweeping view of San Francisco Bay.

History

, the two-story, 12,000-square-foot Spring Mansion was built in 1912-14. Though modeled after the Achilleion Palace in Corfu that was built by

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

in the 1890s, it was constructed entirely of steel-reinforced concrete. The Beaux Arts-influenced exterior conceals an eclectic interior with elements drawn from the American Arts and Crafts movement and the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

. Balustraded terraces lead down into the grounds, which were originally designed by

Mark Daniels Mark Roy Daniels (1881 – 1952) was an architect, landscape architect, civil engineer, and city planner active in California. He was known for creating plans that incorporated existing natural features in order to preserve a sense of local char ...

and include a fountain and a reflecting pool. The house was built by East Bay developer John Hopkins Spring, best known for being one of the investors behind the Claremont Hotel. Spring didn't live there very long, moving out after his 1915 divorce. At that time, his financial difficulties caused him to sell off parts of the 20-acre property, leaving the mansion with less than 4 acres. In 1917, the property was sold to

, who established a new school in the mansion called the Institute for Creative Development (later expanded into Williams College). The school remained there for five decades before closing in 1966. In 1975 the estate was purchased as a private residence and remained so until 2005, when it passed to a consortium of investors. It has been on the market intermittently since then. In 2000, the John Hopkins Spring Estate was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark. It is listed in the California State Historic Resources Inventory.

External links

Zillow listing for 1960 San Antonio Ave

Zillow listing for 645 Arlington Ave

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John Hopkins Spring Estate Buildings and structures in Berkeley, California Houses in Alameda County, California