Historical Resource Evaluation

ATTACHMENT 2 LPC 11-05-15 Page 1 of 44

HISTORICAL RESOURCE EVALUATION

2556 TELEGRAPH AVENUE BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA

TIM KELLEY CONSULTING, LLC

HISTORICAL RESOURCES 2912 DIAMOND STREET #330 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131 415.337-5824 [email protected]

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I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tim Kelley Consulting (TKC) was engaged to conduct an Historical Resource Evaluation (HRE) for 2556 Telegraph Avenue, a steel frame brick faced commercial building constructed circa 1946, with a 1962 addition, in Berkeley’s LeConte neighborhood.

TKC conducted a field survey, background research of public records, and a literature and map review to evaluate the subject property according to the significance criteria for the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) and the City of Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. Subsequent sections of this report present the detailed results of TKC’s research.

Based on that research, TKC concludes that 2556 Telegraph is not eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources, nor does it appear eligible for listing as a City Landmark, Structure of Merit, or contributor to an identified historic district.

Accordingly, 2556 Telegraph does not appear to be a historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act.

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II. METHODS A records search, literature review, archival research, consultation, field survey, and eligibility evaluation were conducted for this study. Each task is described below.

A. Records Search

At the request of TKC, staff at the Northwest Information Center (NWIC) conducted a cultural resources records search of the study area and a 500-foot radius. The NWIC is an affiliate of the State of California Office of Historic Preservation and the official state repository of cultural resource records and reports for Alameda County. The records search was done to identify previous cultural resources and associated documentation in and adjacent to the study area. The records search included a review of the following federal, state, and local inventories: • California Points of Historical Interest (California Office of Historic Preservation 1992); • California Historical Landmarks (California Office of Historic Preservation 1996); • Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California (California Office of Historic Preservation 1988); • Directory of Properties in the Historic Property Data File (California Office of Historic Preservation, April 15, 2012). The directory includes the listings of the National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Landmarks and the California Register of Historical Resources; • Berkeley Landmarks: An Illustrated Guide to Berkeley, California’s Architectural Heritage (Cerny 2001); • City of Berkeley Designated Landmarks (City of Berkeley 2004); • City of Berkeley Historic Resources (City of Berkeley 2009);

The California State Historical Resources Inventory rates the subject property as 6Y: “determined ineligible for National Register by consensus through Section 106 process; not evaluated for CR or Local Listing.” That Section 106 evaluation was part of the historical survey elements of the AC Transit East Bay Bus Rapid Transit EIR, first conducted in 2005. The subject property was not listed specifically; it was (by consensus) deemed ineligible for the National Register. A copy of the SHPO Section 106 concurrence letter from that survey and the corresponding assignment of the 6Y rating is included in this report.

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Literature Review TKC reviewed the following publications, maps, and websites for historical information about the study area and its vicinity: Southside Plan (City of Berkeley 2011); A History of Berkeley, From the Ground Up (Cohen 2008) at http://historyofberkeley.org/index.html; Oakland West, Calif., 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle (U.S. Geological Survey 2012); Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Maps for Berkeley (1903, 1911, 1929, 1950, 1980); Transit Times, Vol. 6, No. 5, by AC Transit (September 1963); Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association at http://www.berkeleyheritage.com/; Online Archive of California at http://www.oac.cdlib.org; Oakland Museum of California Collections at http://collections.museumca.org/; and Calisphere at http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu.

Archival Research In March and April of 2014, TKC conducted research in the archives room at the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA), the Berkeley Historical Society History Center, the Berkeley History Room in the Berkeley Public Library, the City of Berkeley Planning & Development Department, and the UC Berkeley Earth Sciences Library. The archival research examined local histories, maps, images, government records, and previous survey evaluation forms for historical information about the building at 2556 Telegraph Avenue. Information identified included former owners, past land use activity, and the architectural context of the neighborhood.

Consultation On March 19, 2014, TKC sent a letter describing the study area with maps depicting the study area to the Berkeley Historical Society History Center and the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA) requesting any information or concerns they may have regarding the building at 2556 University Avenue.

Field Survey

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TKC conducted a field survey of the study area and a cursory visual review of the surrounding neighborhood on March 20, 2014. The exterior of the building at 2556 Telegraph Avenue was reviewed and photographed, as was the architectural context of the surrounding neighborhood.

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III. PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

A. Site

2556 Telegraph Avenue is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Telegraph and Blake Street. The parcel, APN 55-1837-1, is bounded by Telegraph Avenue to the east, Blake Street to the north, a service alley to the west, and the neighboring commercial building (2566 Telegraph) to the south. The lot is a parallelogram measuring 102 feet on its east and west sides and 100 feet on its north and south sides. The total area of 10,200 square feet is entirely occupied by a structure, with no setbacks from any of the lot lines.

Figure 1: USGS 7.5 minute Oakland West Quadrangle Map (detail)

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Figure 2: Site Area Detail (from Google Earth)

B. Structure

The structure at 2556 Telegraph was constructed in two phases. The division between the two is clear from both interior and exterior observation and in Sanborn maps (see “Literature and Map Review” below for more detail). The main, earlier portion of the structure is an L-plan building with a roof consisting of three parallel shallow gables. It occupies all but the northwest quarter of the lot. This building dates from 1946 and is depicted in the 1950 Sanborn Map (figure 3). As indicated on that map, the structure is framed with steel columns and girders and topped with a bowstring steel truss roof with rectangular skylights. The 14-foot height depicted in the map is not uniform; as the parcel

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slopes down toward the south, the building gains height above street level. (The doorways that once connected this building to the one next door, depicted in the map, have been filled in.)

The portion of this structure that occupies the northeast quarter of the lot (identified as a showroom in the 1950 Sanborn Map) is a single story with one entrance facing

Figure 3: 1950 Sanborn Map Telegraph and another corner entrance deeply recessed within an arcade at the Telegraph/Blake intersection, where the building has a slightly rounded corner (see figure 4; this was the location of the auto showroom and likely featured large display windows). The roof of this portion of the structure is supported by a separate set of steel trusses from those supporting the roof of the main part of the building. Fenestration in the northeast portion consists of large, single-pane fixed windows (see esp. figure 5). This portion of the structure is clad in a mix of brick and some wood siding below the one-story height line, and wood shingles on the parapet above that line.

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Figure 4: Northern Elevation, showing corner portion of structure

Figure 5: Eastern Elevation

The part of the older structure that occupies the lot’s southerly half has a vehicular proportioned entrance and mixed fenestration facing Telegraph Avenue (see figure 6). Like the northeast corner portion, it is clad mostly in brick with some diagonal wood siding below the one-story height line, and a wood shingle parapet above that line.

Figure 6: Eastern Elevation, showing southerly portion of structure

The building presents a single-story face to the street, with windows only on the ground floor, but the lot slopes down to the south, and the floor of the building is cut below sidewalk level. Subsequent alterations have carved the interior into two stories of small commercial spaces (shown in figures 7 and 8), with false roofs constructed over some of those spaces.

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Figure 7: Two-story structure inside main portion of building

Figure 8: Two-story structure inside main portion of building, steel trusses

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The northeast quarter of the lot, left vacant in the original 1946 construction, was filled with a 1962 addition. The resulting structure is visible in a 1980 Sanborn map (figure 9). It is constructed of reinforced concrete block and has a flat roof with skylights. The parapet wall extends two-to-three feet above the parapet on the older portion of the building. This northwest portion of the building is clad entirely in wood shingles on its Blake Street (north) side; the concrete

Figure 9: 1980 Sanborn Map block is exposed on the western side facing the service alley. There are no windows facing Blake Street in this portion of the building, though there are two windows facing the service alley: multi-light industrial metal sash. (Similar windows remain in the alley-facing wall of the original portion of the structure.) This portion of the building has a vehicular sized entrance facing Blake that has been filled in to a standard door size. Interior passages connect this portion directly to the main portion of the building. The interior uses are similar.

Figure 10: North Elevation, showing 1962 addition

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Figure 11: Western Elevation, showing windows and alley

IV. HISTORIC CONTEXT

A. Area and Neighborhood History

The subject property was once a part of Rancho San Antonio, land granted by Spanish authorities to Luis Maria Peralta in 1820 as a reward for his military service. Peralta’s nearly 45,000-acre Rancho contained all of the present-day cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont, plus the northernmost portion of San Leandro. Peralta divided the land among his four sons in 1842, with Jose Domingo Peralta receiving the northernmost quarter of the original grant, roughly comprising present-day Berkeley and Albany. After the United States took possession of California from Mexico in 1848 and granted it statehood in 1850, the Spanish and Mexican land grant titles came under contest. By the time the Supreme Court ruled several years later that Domingo Peralta was in fact the legal owner of his land, he had sold much of it away, including large tracts to the early developers of what would become the city of Berkeley.

One of those early Berkeley developers was James Leonard. Working with Francis Kittredge Shattuck, William Hillegass, and George Blake, in 1852 Leonard purchased a full square mile of

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mostly vacant Peralta land bounded by present-day College Avenue, Addison Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and Russell Street. Over the next few years, the four men carved up their square mile into personal estates. James Leonard’s portion ran roughly from present-day Dwight Way in the north to Russell Street in the south, and from just east of Humboldt (now Telegraph) to just west of Ellsworth. Leonard also divorced, and in the 1868 settlement, his Berkeley land was awarded to his ex-wife, Margaret.

In 1873, the University of California moved from Oakland to its Berkeley campus, and a horse- drawn railway began operation what is now Telegraph Avenue (AC Transit 1963). This drew new residents, businesses, and real estate speculators to the area, and Margaret Leonard seized the opportunity by subdividing the eponymous “Leonard Tract.” The block containing the subject property became Block K on her subdivision map, bounded by Humboldt (now Telegraph), Blake, Dana, and Parker. Within a few years, a steam dummy replaced the horse pulling the Telegraph rail cars, speeding up the trip – and speeding up development in the area. By 1878, the City of Berkeley was incorporated, including all of the Leonard Tract (Cohen 2008).

As the University grew through the last quarter of the 19th Century, so did the neighborhoods south of it, with low-density, single-family residential development gradually filling in the blocks surrounding Telegraph Avenue. Telegraph itself became an important commercial corridor, lined with businesses of all kinds serving the growing population.

Development in Berkeley, and in the East Bay generally, accelerated dramatically after the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco displaced so many of that city’s residents. Larger commercial and apartment buildings, some with steel frames, came to replace the wood-frame houses and stores along Telegraph that had characterized the first wave of building in the area. Large estate lots were subdivided to accommodate denser development. As the population grew, so did the transportation system. The Key Route System acquired and electrified the Telegraph Avenue streetcar line; East Bay Electric Lines (owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad) built another line on Ellsworth, two blocks west of the subject property.

The streetcar lines in the area were demolished in the 1930s as Berkeley followed the rest of the nation toward more auto-centric patterns of living, which in turn influenced the land uses in the area, including on the subject property (more on this below). Over the following decades, the neighborhood saw gradual densification through the replacement of older single-family homes

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with apartments, continuing until the 1970s when the City of Berkeley enacted its Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and more generally tightened its posture toward such development.

Since the 1970s, the development along Telegraph south of the University Campus has tended toward reuse of existing buildings favoring retail and food establishments serving the local population, especially students. Occasional site redevelopments have increased residential density in the area, though that has been limited almost exclusively to parcels along Telegraph itself, with very little change in the built environment of the surrounding neighborhood streets. The four blocks of Telegraph closest to campus, north of Dwight, form of a cohesive, pedestrian-oriented commercial district. South of Dwight, however, in the block including the subject property, that cohesion dissolves, and the area “receives far less pedestrian traffic and feels slightly disconnected from the rest of the district due to distinct differences in the streetscape” (City of Berkeley Southside Plan 2011).

B. Project Site History

Margaret Leonard sold the easternmost two acres of Block K of her tract in 1875 to Dr. José María Montealegre Fernández, a former president of Costa Rica who had fled the country a few years earlier and entered business as a merchant in San Francisco (BAHA 2009). Dr. Montealegre built a home for his family on his two acres, along with a barn and a windmill for drawing well water. (The house is now at 2601 Dana St., where it was moved in 1909; Fig. 14.)

Figure 12: 1903 Sanborn Map showing Montealegre House still on site (highlights by BAHA)

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The two-acre Montealegre lot in Block K of the Leonard Tract passed through the hands of several different owners after the Montealegres sold it in 1884, though it stayed intact until the post-earthquake boom. In 1909, Oakland-based realtor George Austin further subdivided the lot on behalf of the owners, the Haight family. Austin cut a new north-south street through the property, now Chilton Way. He also platted the small service alley that defines the western boundary of the subject property.

Figure 13: Austin's Resubdivision The 1911 Sanborn Map of the block (figure 14) shows the new lots facing Chilton rapidly filling with houses, while the Telegraph-facing lots are still vacant. The Blake/Telegraph corner would remain vacant for the next 35 years. As land use patterns and business needs along Telegraph Avenue changed, developers required larger lots for larger buildings. The nine relatively narrow Telegraph-fronting lots in Austin’s resubdivision were combined into three larger lots.

Figure 14: 1911 Sanborn Map showing house in new location (highlights by BAHA)

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Around 1921, Clarence J. Felt and J. L. Millet constructed an automobile garage on the middle of the three combined Telegraph-facing lots. The business was called University Garage, and its address was 2566 Telegraph. City directories show Felt operating the business for 13 or 14 years, during which time the name changed to University Motors and expanded from auto repair to auto sales – specifically Pontiacs. In 1935, Felt sold the business to Harry T. Doten, a recent immigrant from North Dakota (Doten 2001).

In 1944, Harry Doten purchased the subject property, 2556 Telegraph, at the corner of Blake and Telegraph for the purpose of expanding University Motors. Within a year, he had obtained permits to build a new garage, joined to his existing building next door. Around this time, Harry Doten also changed the name of the business to Doten Pontiac. In 1952 his son Don took over the management of the dealership. The concrete block addition on the northwest corner of the lot was built in 1962. Don Doten entered a partnership with Ed Cunha in the early 1960s, and Cunha took over the business in 1966, with the name changing to Cunha Pontiac shortly thereafter. The dealership operated there until 1969 or 1970, after which there was a short-lived motorcycle repair business on the site. The building was renovated in 1971-72, with the interior carved into small retail and restaurant spaces, the use that continues today. The permits (listed in detail below) are not entirely conclusive and no earlier photographs of the building could be located, but 1970-72 is likely the period of the building’s most significant façade alterations. The building is largely unchanged since that renovation, aside from the addition and updating of restaurant equipment and restrooms.

C. Permit Record

The following permits were found in the Berkeley Department of Planning and Development microfiche files for the subject property. (Permits are for building unless otherwise noted.) • Permit 57690 – August 13, 1945 – For new construction, 1 story, 2 rooms, for use as “shop.” Owner: University Motors. Designer: Irwin Johnson. Builder: Budd Reininghaus. Final inspection not completed until Jun 10, 1946. • Permit 72307 – November 10, 1952 – For addition of “mezzanine according to plans presented” (no plans exist in record). Owner: Harry Doten. Designer: Irwin M. Johnson. Builder: R. F. Johnson & Sons. Work valued at $3000. Final inspection in May 1953. • Permit 96576 - December 3, 1962 – For “addition and remodeling to existing building as per plans” (no plans in record). Owner: Doten Pontiac. Designer: Frank Essert. Builder: Raffi

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Bedayn. Current use: auto showroom & shops; continuing same use. Work valued at $31,000. Included the concrete block addition on northwest corner of lot. • Permits 107180 and 107693 – September and November 1966 – For installation of large signs on roof and face of building and revamp existing neon letters on face of building. (Resigning corresponded to business name change.) Owner: Cunha Pontiac. Corresponding electrical permits also obtained for lighting of new signs. • Permit 072870464 – July 28, 1970 – For construction of parts bin in retail area of shop, and for “alteration of facing per plans” (no plans in record). Owner: Don Doten. • Use Permit – August 1970 – Issued to Harlow St. Vrain Daugherty DBA North Bay Cycles “to operate a motorcycle sales and service establishment,” with many noise and other restrictions. Valid for one year. Not clear that motorcycle shop ever operated in the space. • City Council Resolution 44,014 – September 1, 1970 – Council resolved to grant permit to owners Harry T. and Marion E. Doten, per their request dated August 4, 1970 for right-of- way encroachment associated with alterations of building face. Granted permission to:

o install planters on the building face o install planters & seating on curb side of Telegraph Ave. opposite garage door o extend Telegraph Ave. curb across old driveway into garage (close curb cut) o mount a wall sign/bulletin board on face of building o Initial city staff comments raised concerns about closure of Telegraph curb cut in light of motorcycle shop use permit previously issued. No resolution of this concern is on file, but the permission was granted, indicating a possibility that the motorcycle shop never opened. • Permit 111671861 – November 15, 1971 – For “renovation of area into shops as per plans” (no plans in record). Owner: Vanguard Financial, 1425 Pine St., Walnut Creek. Work valued at $15,000. Subsequent electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits granted for associated facilities work.

After this major renovation, numerous use permits were issued for the operation of food businesses in the building. The city also required the owners to restore certain skylights that had been altered (turned into dormer windows) without permits during the renovations. The 1970-72 period is also when the building likely saw its most significant façade alterations, especially along the north (Blake Street) façade, such as the replacement of the north-side garage door with a pedestrian-scaled door and recladding of certain portions of the façade. However, the permit record does not entirely capture the myriad alterations now visible.

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• Permit 041475953 – April 14, 1975 – Change skylight to meet code per instructions from City. Owner: Vanguard Financial. Cost of repair: $500. • Permit 040176879 – April 1, 1976 – New wooden floor and wall paneling. Owner: Vanguard Financial c/o Larry Brooding. Work valued at <$500. • Permit 21478073 – February 15, 1978 – Reroofing: 1 layer 40-lb felt, 2 layers #11 fiberglass, asphalt coating. Owner: Rene Babington. Contractor: Malott & Peterson. Work valued at $3300. • Permit 031478614 – March 14, 1978 – Install sign for Japanese restaurant. Work valued at $200. • Permit 0226795953 – March 26, 1979 – For “Door opening” (opening an interior partition). Owner: John J. Greene. Work valued at $800. Associated electrical permits for relocation of electrical outlets. • Permit 0116804311 – January 16, 1980 – Addition of new illuminated signs denoting building as “The Village”. Owner (representative): John J. Green, 77 Jack London Square. Work valued at $1900. • Permit 0820801381 – August 19, 1980 – To install hood grill, sink, counter for restaurant use. Owner: Irene Speliotopoulos. (Was tenant of space, not owner of building.) Contractor: L. Cerveau Plumbing Co. Work valued at $4000. Associated electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits also granted. • Mechanical Permit 0308815619 – March 8, 1981 – Install air conditioning. Owner (rep): John J. Green. • Permit 0819819121 – August 19, 1981 – Addition of interior closet, two windows along back wall. Owner (rep): John J. Green. Work valued at $1000. • Electrical Permit 0125838194 – January 25, 1983 – To repair wiring damage from a small fire. Owner: Rennie Babbington • Permit 103183-4739 – October 31, 1983 – For conversion of 800 sq. feet of storage and open space into offices above restaurant. Owner: Rennie Babbington. Work valued at $13,500. Permit issued after long dispute with City about application of “conversion” language in Neighborhood Commercial Preservation Ordinance to the project. City ultimately prevailed. Final inspection January 13, 1984. • Permit 0306847270 – March 6, 1984 – To install “one handcrafted wall sign.” Work performed prior to obtaining required permit, permitted after the fact. Work valued at $500.

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• Permit 924842204 – September 18, 1984 – To change copy of sign on existing structure; rename for “Marisa Le Petit Restaurant.” Owner (tenant): Jeanne Liu. Work valued at $200. • Permit 0808868109 – August 8, 1986 – For “Addition of small bathroom to include sink & toilet.” Permit later extended through August 8, 1987 per owner’s request. Owner: Babington, R. Work valued at $1500. Final inspection July 29, 1987. • Mechanical Permit 1006869584 – October 6, 1986 – To install two radiant gas heaters. • Permit 1107860391 – November 7, 1986 – To install “finger sign” in one of two existing sign boards, 4’ x 9.25”, for “Tweet Music.” Applicant: David Warstein DBA Tweed Music. Owner: Rene & Jerilynn Babbington. Work valued at $200. • Permit 10128818760 – May 26, 1988 – To add a non-bearing partition in restaurant to create new gallery space. Owner: illegible. Applicant: Mrs. Mary Moore(?). d • Permit issued July 5, 1995 for reroofing. Later canceled after time expired. Owner: Rennie F. & Jerilynn Babington. • Permit 97-3205 – July 31, 1997 – Add accessible bathroom & janitor closet. Tenant: Sangita Kumar. Owner: John J. Greene. (Architect also listed as Sangita Kumar.) Work valued at $4000. Final inspection Oct. 27, 1997.

D. Architectural Style

The building at 2556 Telegraph displays a utilitarian style that befits the purpose for which it was built: a garage and showroom for a car dealership. There is little discernible ornament on either the 1945/46 portion of the structure or on the 1962 concrete block addition. The façade of the building, including the original fenestration pattern, has been altered significantly since its construction, most likely in 1970-72, including: the partial or complete filling-in of garage entrances and windows, addition of signage, and application of wood shingle cladding to portions of the façade. However, the building retains the overall shape common to other garages or light industrial spaces from the World War II and mid-century era.

E. Nearby Cultural Resources

No previous studies or reports have identified the subject property as a cultural resource. There are four cultural resources within 500 feet of the subject property.

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J. Gorman and Son Building: Berkeley Landmark #234, designated December 2000. Also listed in the California State Historic Resources Inventory. Located at 2599 Telegraph Avenue (northeast corner of Telegraph and Parker), approximately 200 feet south of the subject property. Three-story wood-frame commercial building constructed in 1877; additional wing constructed to the north in 1906. Distinctive corner turret with “witch’s cap.” Operated as family- owned furniture store until 1997. Restored to original appearance in 2005-06. (BAHA 2006)

Soda Water Works Building: Berkeley Landmark #271, designated April 2004. Located at 2509-2513 Telegraph Avenue, approximately 375 feet north of the subject property. Commercial-residential building constructed in 1888, with extensive renovations in 1904. Ground floor retail, residential apartments on upper two floors. Site of killing of UC student James Rector by Alameda County Sherriff’s Deputies on May 15, 1969, during People’s Park protests. (BAHA 2004)

Mrs. Edmund P. King Building: Berkeley Landmark #267, designated January 2004. Also listed in the California State Historic Resources Inventory. Located at 2502 Dwight Way/2501 Telegraph Avenue (southeast corner of Dwight/Telegraph), approximately 400 feet north of the subject property. Commercial-residential building constructed 1901. Ground floor retail, apartments above. Designed by Albert Dodge Coplin. Well-preserved example of Colonial Revival corner store building. (BAHA 2004)

James Edgar House: Berkeley Structure of Merit, designated December 1981. Located at 2437 Dwight Way, approximately 500 feet north of the subject property. Two-story folk Victorian house constructed in 1869, addition or accessory building constructed in 1880. Currently in use as restaurant. (BAHA 2014)

All are historical resources for purposes of CEQA. V. EVALUATION OF HISTORIC STATUS

A. State Criteria

TKC evaluated the subject property in light of the findings described above to determine if it was eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources The California Register is an authoritative guide to significant architectural, archaeological and historical resources in the

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State of California. Resources can be listed in the California Register through a number of methods. State Historical Landmarks and National Register-eligible properties (both listed and formal determinations of eligibility) are automatically listed. Properties can also be nominated to the California Register by local governments, private organizations or citizens. This includes properties identified in historical resource surveys with Status Codes of 1 to 5 and resources designated as local landmarks or listed by city or county ordinance. The evaluative criteria used by the California Register for determining eligibility are closely based on those developed for use by the National Park Service for the National Register. In order to be eligible for listing in the California Register a property must be demonstrated to be significant under one or more of the following criteria:

Criterion 1 (Event): Resources that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local or regional history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States.

Criterion 2 (Person): Resources that are associated with the lives of persons important to local, California, or national history.

Criterion 3 (Architecture): Resources that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values.

Criterion 4 (Information Potential): Resources or sites that have yielded or have the potential to yield information important to the prehistory or history of the local area, California or the nation.

The following section examines the eligibility of the subject property for listing in the California Register under those criteria.

Criterion 1 (Events) The property is not eligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 1. The building was constructed circa 1946 and replaced a previous building that predated and survived the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. That original building was moved to another location in 1909, and the subject property lay vacant until the 1946 construction. The 1946 building does not correspond with the trends or patterns that characterized the pre-earthquake development of

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the neighborhood. Its closest correspondence is to the similarly-constructed garage building next door, as the subject property was constructed as an expansion of the same business operating in the adjacent building. While there were a few automotive uses along Telegraph, they did not define the development pattern of the neighborhood, as they did on sections of University Avenue and San Pablo Avenue, for example.

There is no evidence the subject building made a significant contribution to the development pattern of the neighborhood or to the broad patterns of local or regional history, or the cultural heritage of California or the United States. Thus, the building is not eligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 1.

Criterion 2 (Persons) The building does not appear to be eligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 2. It is not associated with significant persons in the history of Berkeley or the State of California. The parcel was at one point owned by an early developer of Berkeley, James Leonard, and subsequently by his ex-wife Margaret, but the Leonards’ roles in the development of the area were minimal. They held the land long enough to subdivide it and sell it at a profit. Thus, the property is not eligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 2.

Criterion 3 (Architecture) This property is not eligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 3. The building exhibits no distinct architectural style, and in any case has been heavily modified since its construction circa 1946. It does not embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or possess high artistic value. The architect and builder are known, but the building does not appear to be the work of a master. Thus, the property is not eligible for listing in the California Register under Criterion 3.

Criterion 4 (Information Potential) This criterion ordinarily refers to potential archeological value. A full analysis of archeological value is beyond the scope of this report, but the existing structure gives no indication of important information potential about architecture, the development of the area, or the history of Berkeley. This property does not appear eligible for listing on the California Register under Criterion 4.

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B. Local Criteria

TKC also evaluated the subject property in light of the findings described above to determine if it was eligible for local listing under the City of Berkeley Landmark Protection Ordinance (LPO).

In considering evaluation of potential Landmarks, the Ordinance applies the following criteria:

1. Architectural Merit: a) First, last, only, or most significant architectural property of its type in the region; This building is not the first, last, or most significant architectural property of its type in the region. Numerous buildings of similar style and use remain in and around Berkeley, including a similar garage building immediately next door at 2566 Telegraph. b) The prototype, or outstanding example, of a period, style, architectural movement, or construction, or is an example of the more notable works of the best surviving work in a region of an architect, designer, or master builder; The building does not constitute a prototype or outstanding example of any particular period, style, or architectural movement, nor is it an example of the notable work of any particular designer or builder. c) A property is an architectural example worth preserving for the exceptional values it adds as part of the neighborhood fabric. The subject property does not appear to add exception value to the neighborhood. It is a mid- century light industrial building of common type that has undergone significant renovations and façade alterations. It has not been home to a business that is strongly associated with the neighborhood fabric.

2. Cultural Value: a) A structure, site, or area associated with the movement or evolution of religious, cultural, governmental, social, and economic development of the City. This building is loosely associated with the rise of the automobile in Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area, in that it was constructed as an expansion of an existing auto-oriented business dating from that period. However, as the subject building dates from 1946, it does not have the same strength of association as similar auto-oriented buildings from the 1920s. In

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addition, due to its alterations, the building is no longer able to convey even its weak association with this context.

3. Educational Value: a) A structure worth preserving for its usefulness as an educational force. Background research and field survey did not indicate that this building is worth preserving for its usefulness as an educational force. It is a typical example of mid-20th century design that uses materials and construction techniques common to that era, and it possesses no distinguishing or distinctive elements. Further study of the building will not result in new information about construction techniques or architecture of the period.

4. Historic Value: a) A structure that represents the preservation and enhancement of structures, sites, and areas that embody and express the history of Berkeley/Alameda County/California/United States. (History may be social, cultural, economic, political, religious, or military.) The building does not constitute a structure, site, or area that expresses the history of the City of Berkeley or any wider geography. It is of a common type of mid-century construction, and has been altered significantly from its original form. It lacks sufficient historic value to qualify under this criterion.

5. Historic Property:

Any property listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This building is not listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In considering evaluations for the Structure of Merit designation, the Ordinance applies the following criteria:

1. General Criteria:

A structure shall be judged on its architectural merit and/or cultural, educational, or historic interest or value. If a structure does not meet Landmark criteria, it may be designated a Structure of Merit if it is worthy of preservation as part of a neighborhood, a block or street frontage, or as part of a group of buildings that includes Landmarks.

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For all of the reasons outlined above under the Landmark criteria, the building does not meet the significance criteria alone. This building is located within 500 feet of a small number Berkeley Landmark properties and a Structure of Merit property as outlined above. However, the Landmark properties differ in age, style, and context from the subject property. The Landmark properties are Victorian or Colonial Revival in style, massing, ornamentation, and setback. The building at 2556 Telegraph is more modern in style and has minimal decoration. Its general façade is different from those found on the Landmark properties. Also, the subject property is not now nor ever was part of a historically significant grouping of buildings related to automobile service and/or sales. Neither does it comport with any significant part of the neighborhood, block, or street frontage nearby.

2. Specific Criteria a) The age of the structure is contemporary with: (1) a Landmark within its neighborhood, block, street frontage, or group of buildings; or (2) a historic period or event of significance to Berkeley, or to the structure’s neighborhood, block, street frontage, or group of buildings; The structure at 2556 Telegraph was built in 1946, with a later addition in 1962. The Landmark and Structure of Merit buildings in the area were constructed from 1869 to 1901. The era of the building’s construction does not correspond to one of particular significance to Berkeley or the area ear the building. b) The structure is comparable in size, scale, style, materials, or design with a Landmark structure within its neighborhood, block, street frontage, or group of buildings; The structure at 2556 Telegraph is not comparable in size, scale, style, materials, or design with the Landmark and Structure of Merit properties nearby. It was constructed 40 years after the youngest of those Landmark buildings, and is of very different design and materials. c) The structure is a good architectural design example; The structure at 2556 Telegraph is not a good example of architectural design. It was utilitarian in design and construction, and subsequent alterations have robbed it of much of the harmony its façade may have once presented.

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VI. INTEGRITY In addition to being determined eligible under at least one of the four California Register criteria, a property deemed to be significant must also retain sufficient historical integrity. The concept of integrity is essential to identifying the important physical characteristics of historical resources and hence, evaluating adverse change. For the purposes of the California Register, integrity is defined as “the authenticity of an historical resource’s physical identity evidenced by the survival of characteristics that existed during the resource’s period of significance” (California Code of Regulations Title 14, Chapter 11.5). A property is examined for seven variables or aspects that together comprise integrity. These aspects, which are based closely on the National Register, are location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. National Register Bulletin 15, How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation defines these seven characteristics:

• Location is the place where the historic property was constructed. • Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plans, space, structure and style of the property. • Setting addresses the physical environment of the historic property inclusive of the landscape and spatial relationships of the building/s. • Materials refer to the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern of configuration to form the historic property. • Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history. • Feeling is the property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time. • Association is the direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property.

Since this building is not eligible for listing in the California Register, no period of significance is established and integrity cannot be determined. The following discussion is therefore provided for informational purposes only.

• The building at 2556 Telegraph has not been moved and retains integrity of location.

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• The building at 2556 Telegraph does not retain integrity of design, workmanship, or materials. While the frame and mass of the building remains unchanged since construction, the 1971-72 renovation significantly reconfigured the interior of the building from its initial design to serve as a garage. The façade has also been changed significantly: street-facing windows replaced or covered over, sections of brick were redone in different styles, stretches of diagonal wood siding were added, and the garage entryways were altered to accommodate the passage of people in and out instead of cars. The building now expresses a hodgepodge of different periods and materials. • The building at 2556 Telegraph does not retain integrity of setting and feeling. This is due to the reconfiguration of the interior spaces to remove the openness of the garage, the reconfiguration of the garage entrance (including removal of the curb cut), and the removal of signs and display windows that would have once marked the building as an automobile dealership. Other changes to setting and feeling are reflected in the gradual transformation of the surrounding neighborhood from the 1940s through today, including the character of the commercial buildings along Telegraph Avenue. • The building at 2556 Telegraph retains integrity of association with the rise of the automobile culture in Berkeley, Alameda County, California, and nationwide, though, as described above, that association is not significant. The subject building was essentially a later addition to a pre-existing auto-oriented use (dating from the 1920s).

VII. CONCLUSION 2556 Telegraph Avenue is not eligible for listing in the California Register of Historic Resources, nor for listing as a City of Berkeley Landmark or Structure of Merit.

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VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. 1963. Transit Times, Volume 6, No. 5. AC Transit, Oakland, California.

Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). 2004. “Berkeley Landmarks designated in 2004.” Electronic document, http://berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/2004_landmarks.html, accessed April 3, 2014.

BAHA. 2006. “J. Gorman & Son Building.” Electronic document, http://berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/gorman_bldg.html, accessed April 3, 2014.

BAHA. 2014. “Structures of Merit.” Electronic document, http://berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/structures-of-merit.html, accessed April 3, 2014.

BAHA and Jerry Sulliger. 2009. "The Montealegre House.” Electronic Document, http://berkeleyheritage.com/essays/montealegre.html, accessed April 3, 2014.

California Digital Library & Regents of the University of California. 2011. Calisphere. Electronic document, http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu, accessed April 7, 2014.

California Digital Library & Regents of the University of California. 2009.The Online Archive of California. Electronic document, http://www.oac.cdlib.org, accessed April 7, 2014.

City of Berkeley. 1945-2004. Building permit records. Microfiche on file at City of Berkeley Planning and Development Department, Berkeley, California.

City of Berkeley. 2011. Southside Plan. Electronic document, http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/southsideplan/, accessed April 14, 2014.

City of Berkeley. 2012. Berkeley Municipal Code, Chapter 3.24. Electronic document, http://codepublishing.com/ca/berkeley/, accessed April 7, 2014.

Cohen, Alan. 2008. A History of Berkeley, From the Ground Up. Electronic document, http://historyofberkeley.org/index.html, accessed April 4, 2014.

California Office of Historic Preservation. 2009. California Historical Landmarks: Alameda. Electronic document http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21388, accessed April 2, 2014.

Doten, Bob. 2001. “Zero to GTO in 35 Years.” Electronic document, http://www.gggoats.com/ComArchive/carmonth1101.htm, accessed April 4, 2014.

Polk-Husted Directory Company. 1920-1942. Oakland/Berkeley/Alameda City Directory and Berkeley City Directory. Polk-Husted Directory Co., Oakland, California.

Sanborn Map Company. Berkeley, Alameda County, California, Volume 3. 1903, 1911, 1929, 1950, 1980. Sanborn Map Company, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 2002. National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Geological Survey. 2012. Oakland West 7.5 Minute topographic quadrangle map. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.

Wood, M.W. 1History 883 of Alameda County, California. M.W. Wood, Publishers, Oakland. Reprinted 1969, Holmes book Company, Oakland, California.

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