Sather Gate is a prominent landmark separating Sproul Plaza 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. ...

, 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 un ...

campus. The gate was donated by Jane K. Sather, a benefactor of the university, in memory of her late husband Peder Sather, 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 ...

History

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, 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.) The university later expanded further south of Strawberry Creek, and the gate is now well separated from Berkeley'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. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE) is an American corporation of architects, engineers, and materials scientists specializing in the investigation, analysis, testing, and design of repairs for historic and contemporary buildings and stru ...

, 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, a major center for student activity that housed many protests throughout the Free Speech Movement. 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