Edwards Stadium
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The University of California, Berkeley Edwards Stadium Historic structure report The University of California, Berkeley Edwards Stadium HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT Contents IntroductIon .................................................................................07 descrIptIon & condItIons assessment ...................65 purpose and scope ................................................................. 10 site and Landscape .................................................................66 subject of this study ............................................................. 10 Landscape Around the stadium .......................................67 Methodology .................................................................................11 Landscape inside the stadium ..........................................75 exterior Description ................................................................78 HIstorIcal context ..................................................................17 interior Description ..................................................................87 early History of Berkeley: 1820-1859 ...............................18 Materials and Features ...........................................................92 college of california: 1860-1868 ........................................19 condition ......................................................................................99 early physical Development of the Berkeley campus ..................................................................... 20 analysIs of HIstorIcal sIgnIfIcance .....................103 early Athletic Facilities ...........................................................21 existing Historical status ................................................... 104 the Hearst plan .........................................................................23 evaluation of significance ................................................. 104 Growth of Athletic Facilities ...............................................25 integrity .......................................................................................105 university Funding and campus expansion ...............28 Areas of significance ............................................................108 planning, Design and construction significance of Features and Materials .........................113 of edwards stadium ................................................................33 completion and use of the stadium ..............................39 recommendatIons ....................................................................119 changes to the stadium .......................................................43 Landscape ..................................................................................120 construction chronology .................................................... 46 exterior ........................................................................................120 George cunningham edwards ...........................................48 interior ..........................................................................................123 Warren perry .............................................................................. 50 conclusIon ....................................................................................127 stafford Lelean Jory................................................................52 coaches Walter christie and Brutus Hamilton ..........53 appendIces Modern track and Field sports .........................................54 i Bibliography classical and Historic stadia ...............................................56 ii original Drawings Art Deco and Moderne styles ............................................57 iii Drawings for Alterations reinforced concrete ...............................................................59 iV Significance Diagrams V Additional photographs VI Survey of selected rooms Vii National register Nomination Form Introduction Edwards Stadium, 1932, looking southeast. Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley. eorge C. Edwards Stadium, completed in 1932, is a prominent Ghistoric feature of the University of California campus. Readily visible as a strong edge of the campus on Bancroft Way and Oxford and Fulton Streets, it recalls the southwest expansion of the campus in the 1920s which also included the adjacent Evans Diamond and Harmon Gym and culminated in the construction of the Student Center decades later. An unusually large venue dedicated to track and field, it played an important role in college athletics regionally and nationally. The moderne style illustrates an important movement in pre-World War II design and is notable in the evolution of concrete from a structural material to an architectural finish. While the property has been reduced in size with the construction of tennis courts at its north end in the 1930s and the later elimination of the north track straight-aways when the Hellman Tennis Center was built, and then reduced in visibility when the Kleeberger Field House and Recreational Sports Facility were added tight to its eastern boundary, it retains its basic footprint and a high degree of visibility. The track, although rebuilt in recent decade, retains its essential form and function, and the East and West Bleachers have been modified very little since their completion. Edwards Stadium, placed in the National Register of Historic Places twenty years ago, retains a high degree of integrity. While preservation concerns limit the options for any future reductions in size or revolutionizing its form or appearance, the field is in good condition and is amply used. The East and West Bleachers can accommodate significant programmatic improvements without suffering a loss of integrity if they are rehabilitated in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. EDWARDS STADIUM HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT KNAPP ARCHITECTS 9 PEURPOS AND SCOPE Knapp Architects prepared this historic structure report (HSR) for the Capital Projects (and for the Office of Physical and Environmental Planning) of the University of California, Berkeley. The purpose of this HSR is to provide a single reference resource for the property, and to inform and assist its future development and use. An HSR is commonly prepared to evaluate the existing conditions and historic status of a potential historic resource prior to the commencement of any major rehabilitation, restoration, or any other work that may affect the resource. According to the National Park Service’s cultural management guidelines: A Historic Structure Report (HSR) is prepared whenever there is to be a major intervention into historic structures or where activities are programmed that affect the qualities and characteristics that make the property eligible for inclusion in the National Register. The report consists of the collection, presentation, and evaluation of anthropological/archeological, historical and architectural/engineering research findings on a historic or pre- historic structure, and their setting…It analyzes and records all periods of construction (not just significant periods), modifications, source materials, building techniques, other evidence of use, and setting.1 This HSR includes five chapters, a bibliography, and an appendix. Following the Introduction is the Historical Context, which provides historical background on the founding of the University of California, athletics and track and field, a history of the site, and the design of the stadium complex. This chapter also includes brief biographies of the designers, George Edwards, and two early coaches. The Description & Conditions Assessment contains a concise description of the building and its landscaping. The following chapter, Analysis of Historical Significance, describes the significance of each section of the property as well as its constituent materials, features, and spaces. This chapter also analyzes the eligibility of the property for listing in local, state and national registers. The final chapter, Recommendations, discusses how to retain the most significant aspects of Edwards Stadium, as well as general maintenance information. SB U JECT OF THIS STUDY As mentioned above, the subject of this HSR is Edwards Stadium itself. This includes the East and West Bleachers, the field, and the landscaping up to the sidewalks south and west of the stadium. This report does not include the Hellman Tennis Center 1 “NPS-28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline:” UC Berkeley 2020 LRDP EIR Continuing Best Practice CUL-2-a states in part: “If a project could cause a substantial adverse change in features that convey the significance of a primary or secondary resource, an Historic Structures Assessment (HSA) would be prepared.” University of California, Berkeley 2020 LRDP EIR, Volume 1, 4.4-54. 10 KNAPP ARCHITECTS EDWARDS STADIUM HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT north of Edwards Stadium, except for specific features which were originally part of the stadium, the Evans Diamond baseball field or Kleeberger Field House east of the stadium, or the former Federal Land Bank Building at 2223 Fulton Street designed by James Plachek and renovated by Michael Goodman, slated for demolition. MT E HODOLOGY The information contained in this report was compiled from site observations conducted by the primary preparers, background documents and information provided by the University of California, Office of Physical and Environmental Planning (PEP),