The University House is a residence and venue for official events on the campus 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 ...

. Designed by the architect

Albert Pissis Albert Pissis (1852–1914) was a prolific Mexican-American architect in San Francisco who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France and is credited with introducing the Beaux-Arts architectural style to San Francisco, California, des ...

and completed in 1911, it was formerly named President's House while it served as the home of the president of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

, starting with

Benjamin Ide Wheeler Benjamin Ide Wheeler (July 15, 1854– May 2, 1927) was a professor of Greek and comparative philology at Cornell University, writer, and President of the University of California from 1899 to 1919. Life and career Early years Benjamin ...

and ending with

Robert Gordon Sproul Robert Gordon Sproul (May 22, 1891 – September 10, 1975) was the first system-wide president (1952–1958) of the University of California system, and the last president (11th) of the University of California, Berkeley, serving from 1930 to ...

. Since 1965, it has been the home of the Chancellor of the Berkeley campus.

Design

University House (Berkeley, California) 02

The exterior of the building is designed as a classical Mediterranean villa; the front fascia faces south onto the main campus axis, which runs east into 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 ...

from the Crescent Lawn on Oxford Street. The front entrance is in a triple-arched, recessed portico, and the east and west ends of the mansion have round bays with balustrades. The interior and grounds were 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 ...

in 1910 after it was decided to finish it as a residence for the President. The grounds surrounding University House are and include a rose garden, greenhouse, and cutting garden. The formal gardens lie east of the structure. One of the features added later is a large

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

, southwest of the residence, donated by the Swiss government. The front door opens onto a reception hall with a stairway to the second floor; a living room lies to the west and drawing and dining rooms lie to the east. The Chancellor (and their spouse) usually live in the private quarters on the second floor of the home, while the ground floor is used for receptions and other events. The home features art on loan from the

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...

. It is the only actual residence in the historic central core of the Berkeley campus, as all student housing lies outside the core campus, but within walking distance.

History

Under the original ''ROMA'' design by French architect

Émile Bénard Henri Jean Émile Bénard (June 23, 1844 – October 15, 1929) was a French architect and painter. Bénard was the winner of the 1899 International Competition for the Phoebe A. Hearst Architectural Plan to design the campus of the University o ...

, there was to be a "jurisprudence" building at the present-day site. Bénard had won a competition to design the entire University of California campus sponsored by wealthy benefactor

Phoebe Apperson Hearst Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson Hearst (December 3, 1842 – April 13, 1919) was an American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist. Hearst was the founder of the University of California Museum of Anthropology, now called the Phoebe A. Hearst M ...

in September 1899 with his entry entitled ''ROMA''. However, he declined an appointment as the campus's supervising architect and John Galen Howard, who had placed fourth in the competition, was appointed instead in December 1901. The commission for what would become President's House was let separately to Albert Pissis, who created a design in a classical Mediterranean style. Construction began on the building with a groundbreaking ceremony on May 16, 1901, presided over by Mrs. Hearst; a budget of had been appropriated, which proved to be inadequate and work stopped after September 1902. The building was completed in 1907. With the overcrowded campus, it was finished temporarily "into seminar rooms as a measure of relief" to accommodate some of the 2,669 students attending UC. President

moved there with his wife Amey (nee Webb) and their son, Benjamin Webb, just before Charter Day (March 23) 1911, inaugurating its use as the official residence. According to Ida Sproul, the Wheelers lived at 1820 Scenic because they could not afford to furnish the house. After moving in, one of the east-facing rooms was furnished by the

Regents of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sy ...

as a guest bedroom. Amey Wheeler had a garden installed on the grounds to provide cut flowers for the House. Under Ida Sproul, married to

(UC President, 1930–58), the stove was converted from coal to gas, and stainless steel sinks were installed to accommodate the dishes, washed by hand, generated by the crowds measured in "hundreds and hundreds" she would entertain for tea. The size of the parties kept growing, and to accommodate them, Ida Sproul initially rented, then purchased porcelain dishes; she never served a buffet meal during her leadership of President's House. When

Chiura Obata was a well-known Japanese-American artist and popular art teacher. A self-described "roughneck", Obata went to the United States in 1903, at age 17. After initially working as an illustrator and commercial decorator, he had a successful career a ...

, professor of art at Berkeley, and his family were interned during World War II, Ida Sproul offered the attic space at President's House to store their art and furniture; Obata's wife Haruko (an ''

ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

'' artist and teacher) had arranged flowers for the Sprouls once, which Ida recalled as "the nicest little flower arrangement ... not elaborate and not gaudy, but a little bit of color and maybe a pretty red leaf or something. She was just very good."

From president to chancellor

University House, Berkeley south side 2009-11-07

Berkeley Chancellor

Clark Kerr Clark Kerr (May 17, 1911 – December 1, 2003) was an American professor of economics and academic administrator. He was the first chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and twelfth president of the University of California. B ...

was named the President of the University of California in 1958 to succeed Sproul; instead of moving into President's House in accordance with tradition, the ex-professor preferred to remain in his private home in El Cerrito, and had the on-campus mansion remodeled to accommodate official events instead; it was renamed to University House. The first chancellor to live there was

Roger W. Heyns Roger William Heyns (January 27, 1918, Grand Rapids, Michigan – September 11, 1995, Volos, Greece) was an American professor and academic who served as chancellor of the University of California. Education He received his A.B. degree from ...

, who moved into University House in 1965, followed by Albert H. Bowker in 1971. University House was listed on 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 ...

on March 25, 1982 as part of a larger listing of contemporaneous structures on the Berkeley central campus defining its "formal, turn-of-the-century concept".

Rosebud Denovo Rosebud Abigail Denovo (August 10, 1973 – August 25, 1992), known as Rosebud, was a protester who was killed by police following a break-in of University House, the on-campus home of the Chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley. Ear ...

was shot and killed by an

Oakland Police Department The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is a law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city of Oakland, California, United States. As of May 2021, the department employed 709 sworn officers and 371 civilian employees. The department is div ...

officer after breaking into University House in the early morning of August 25, 1992. She was protesting the construction of sand volleyball courts at People's Park. University House, Berkeley

In 2009, protestors threw flower pots and a lit torch at the mansion, prompting round-the-clock police protection; eight were arrested, including two students. No charges were filed. A security fence was added in 2015 to exclude unauthorized people and police presence was planned to be decreased, but the fenceline also would close a popular route used by students to reach their classes; the fence was relocated closer to University House to avoid this. Protesters hopped over the incomplete fence that fall and demonstrated on the steps for workers' rights. Records showed the completed security fence cost nearly US$700,000, 2 times the original planned budget. When

Carol T. Christ Carol Tecla Christ (born 1944) is an American academic administrator. In March 2017, she was named the 11th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, the first woman to hold that position. She succeeded outgoing Chancellor Nicholas ...

became chancellor in 2017, she chose to live in her private home near campus instead of University House.

Residents

;As "President's House" for the President of the University of California: * 1911–1919:

* 1919–1923:

David Prescott Barrows David Prescott Barrows (June 27, 1873 – September 5, 1954) was an American anthropologist, explorer, and educator. Born in Chicago in 1874, his family moved to California. He showed a keen interest in the life and customs of Native Americans, ...

* 1923–1930:

William Wallace Campbell William Wallace Campbell (April 11, 1862 – June 14, 1938) was an American astronomer, and director of Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. He specialized in spectroscopy. He was the tenth president of the University of California from 1923 to 1 ...

* 1930–1958:

;As "University House" for the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

: * 1965–1971:

* 1971–1980: Albert H. Bowker * 1980–1990:

Ira Michael Heyman Ira Michael Heyman (May 30, 1930 – November 19, 2011) was a Professor of Law and of City and Regional Planning, and was Chancellor of University of California, Berkeley, and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Life Heyman was born i ...

* 1990–1997:

Chang-Lin Tien Chang-lin Tien (; July 24, 1935 – October 29, 2002) was a Chinese-American professor of mechanical engineering and university administrator. He was the seventh chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley (1990–1997), and in that ...

* 1997–2004: Robert M. Berdahl * 2004–2013:

Robert J. Birgeneau Robert Joseph Birgeneau (born March 25, 1942) is a Canadian-American physicist and university administrator. He was the ninth chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley from 2004-13, and the fourteenth president of the University of Tor ...

* 2013–2017: Nicholas B. Dirks

References

External links

{{University of California presidents National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley, California University of California, Berkeley buildings Houses completed in 1911 Houses in Alameda County, California University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California Official residences in California