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77-601: The West Berkeley Shellmound, in West Berkeley, California , sits at the site of the earliest known habitation in the San Francisco Bay Area , a village of the Ohlone people on the banks of Strawberry Creek . The shellmound , or midden, was used for both burials and ceremonial purposes, and was a repository for shells, ritual objects, and ceremonial items. It is listed as a Berkeley Landmark . Part of

154-629: A Crate & Barrel Outlet , Restoration Hardware , Bette's Oceanview Diner, Builder's Booksource (an architectural bookstore), Aveda , Bare Escentuals and Peet's Coffee and Tea . Since 2016, the neighborhood has included Urban Adamah , a 2.2-acre (0.89 ha) not-for-profit Jewish farm and education center that donates produce and meals to local food banks. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, rapid gentrification swept through West Berkeley. The primary land-use issue became how to re-use vacated, large industrial sites. Conversions of industrial spaces drove up rents, and gentrification began to drive out

231-518: A collaboration with the State of California that culminated in 1868 with the creation of the public University of California . As construction began on the new site, more residences were constructed in the vicinity of the new campus. At the same time, a settlement of residences, saloons, and various industries grew around the wharf area called Ocean View . A horsecar ran from Temescal in Oakland to

308-473: A crucial role in facilitating the outcome, it was not a typical urban planning process. Stakeholder constituencies debated the issues. In earlier decades residents and manufacturers had usually been competitors, but now many residents supported retaining and encouraging light and green industry City policies were to maintain the historic, architectural, and use character while retaining historic industrial structures. Tours of West Berkeley – conducted since

385-667: A film and music production company. The drug manufacturer Bayer , who bought Cutter Labs, has a large manufacturing facility in West Berkeley and is the city's largest private-sector employer. In 2009, it contemplated leaving the Berkeley campus to reduce costs, but as of 2014 it has instead expanded its facilities and job footprint. On 9 July 1892 a nitroglycerine explosion at the Giant Powder Company located at Fleming Point, adjacent to West Berkeley, set off

462-691: A halt. Facing rising housing costs, residents voted to enact rent control and vacancy control in 1980. Though more far-reaching in their effect than those of some of the other jurisdictions in California that chose to use rent control where they could, these policies were limited by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act , a statewide ban on rent control that came into effect in 1995 and limited rent control to multi-family units that were built (or technically buildings that were issued their original certificate of occupation) before

539-503: A recent $ 20 million gift. Gould's plan is to uncover the creek and use the site for a park surrounding a vegetated mound 40 feet (12 m) tall housing an educational and memorial center. West Berkeley, Berkeley, California West Berkeley is generally the area of Berkeley, California , that lies west of San Pablo Avenue (though sometimes it may also refer to the larger area west of Sacramento Street though this includes Westbrae ), abutting San Francisco Bay . It includes

616-480: A series of three huge explosions in the company store-houses. These consisted of, respectively, 350 tons of giant powder (blasting powder based on dynamite ), 150 tons of black powder , and a large quantity of dynamite. Several smaller explosions occurred and hundreds of tons of sulphur stored on the wharf caught fire. Rivers of nitric and sulphuric acid ran out of the factory. Six people were killed and many injured. Buildings all around were destroyed as well as

693-413: A share in the parcel in 2000 and total ownership in 2022. The company proposed a mixed-use development to include 135 apartments and 33,000 square feet (3,100 m) dedicated to retail and food service; in 2018 the proposal was modified to include 260 residential units including below-market rate housing, to take advantage of the fast-track provisions of Senate Bill 35 . Protests against the development of

770-727: A small, though busy, wharf by the bay. In 1866, Oakland's private College of California looked for a new site. It settled on a location north of Oakland along the foot of the Contra Costa Range (later called the Berkeley Hills) on Strawberry Creek , at an elevation of about 500 feet (150 m) above the bay, commanding a view of the Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate . According to

847-471: A statewide referendum that proposed moving the California state capital to Berkeley was defeated by a margin of about 33,000 votes. The city had named streets around the proposed capitol grounds for California counties. They bear those names today, a legacy of the failed referendum. On March 4, 1909, following public referendums, the citizens of Berkeley were granted a new charter by the State of California, and

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924-482: A three-block area as a city landmark in 2000. In the early 1970s, a 2.2-acre (0.89 ha) area at 1900 Fourth Street within the site was paved and became a parking lot for Spenger's Fish Grotto , a restaurant that operated from 1890 to 2018. Whether this paved area is on the site of a shellmound is disputed, but it is within the area sacred to the Ohlone. Ruegg & Ellsworth LLC, a property developer, acquired

1001-737: Is home to the oldest campus in the University of California , the University of California, Berkeley , and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , which is managed and operated by the university. It also has the Graduate Theological Union , one of the largest religious studies institutions in the world. Berkeley is considered one of the most socially progressive cities in the United States. The site of today's City of Berkeley

1078-467: Is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley . It borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south and the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills . The 2020 census recorded a population of 124,321. Berkeley

1155-608: Is no evidence in the record that the Shellmound is now present on the project site in a state that could reasonably be viewed as an existing structure, nor even remnants recognizable as part of a structure" that would be disturbed by the development and that the project could proceed. The City of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan sought review from the California Supreme Court of

1232-733: The Berkeley Oak Grove Protest began protesting construction of a new sports center annex to Memorial Stadium at the expense of a grove of oak trees on the UC campus. The protest ended in September 2008 after a lengthy court process. In 2007–2008, Berkeley received media attention due to demonstrations against a Marine Corps recruiting office in downtown Berkeley and a series of controversial motions by Berkeley's city council regarding opposition to Marine recruiting. ( See Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center controversy .) During

1309-691: The Centennial Record of the University of California , "In 1866, at Founders' Rock , a group of College of California men watched two ships standing out to sea through the Golden Gate. One of them, Frederick Billings , thought of the lines of the Anglo-Irish Anglican Bishop George Berkeley , 'westward the course of empire takes its way,' and suggested that the town and college site be named for

1386-664: The Library of Congress website. Berkeley's slow growth ended abruptly with the Great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 . The town and other parts of the East Bay escaped serious damage, and thousands of refugees flowed across the Bay. Among them were most of San Francisco's painters and sculptors, who between 1907 and 1911 created one of the largest art colonies west of Chicago. Artist and critic Jennie V. Cannon described

1463-729: The Mexican War of Independence . However, the advent of U.S. sovereignty after the Mexican–American War , and especially, the Gold Rush , saw the Peraltas' lands quickly encroached on by squatters and diminished by dubious legal proceedings. The lands of the brothers Domingo and Vicente were quickly reduced to reservations close to their respective ranch homes. The rest of the land was surveyed and parceled out to various American claimants ( See Kellersberger's Map ). Politically,

1540-585: The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Shellmound as one of America's most endangered historic places. Ocean View was the name of a stagecoach stop established by former sea captain William J. Bowen along the Contra Costa Road (today's San Pablo Avenue) at what is now the northwest corner of San Pablo and Delaware Street in the 1860s. The name derived from the area's view of

1617-565: The Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate across San Francisco Bay . The moniker was adopted by the settlement that grew up between the stagecoach stop and the wharf built at the foot of what is now Delaware Street. Ocean View was ethnically diverse, and included many immigrants and some African-Americans, with jobs in nearby industries and farms. Early immigrants were from Scandinavia (especially Finland), Ireland, Mexico, Chile, Germany, Italy, Canada, Portugal, and China. Ocean View

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1694-516: The Vietnam Day Committee . Berkeley is strongly identified with the rapid social changes, civic unrest, and political upheaval that characterized the mid-to-late 1960s. In that period, Berkeley—especially Telegraph Avenue —became a focal point for the hippie movement, which spilled over the Bay from San Francisco. Many hippies were apolitical drop-outs, rather than students, but in the heady atmosphere of Berkeley in 1967–1969 there

1771-402: The 1880s Berkeley had segregated housing and anti-Chinese laws. The area near the university became known for a time as East Berkeley. Due to the influence of the university, the modern age came quickly to Berkeley. Electric lights and the telephone were in use by 1888. Electric streetcars soon replaced the horsecar . A silent film of one of these early streetcars in Berkeley can be seen at

1848-605: The 1950s in the downtown area during remodeling of a commercial building, near the upper course of the creek. The first people of European descent (most of whom were of mixed race and born in America ) arrived with the De Anza Expedition in 1776. The De Anza Expedition led to establishment of the Spanish Presidio of San Francisco at the entrance to San Francisco Bay (the " Golden Gate )." Luis Peralta

1925-498: The 1970s – feature the area's restored buildings. The main east-west thoroughfare in Ocean View was Delaware Street. In later years, it was eclipsed by University Avenue . The main north-south thoroughfare was San Pablo Road (initially called El Camino de la Contra Costa, Americanized to "The Contra Costa Road"). San Pablo Road was subsequently renamed " San Pablo Avenue ". In the early 20th century, San Pablo became part of

2002-560: The 425 shell mounds around San Francisco Bay. Archaeologists estimate that native people lived on or near the West Berkeley Shellmound for 4,500 years. They abandoned the West Berkeley Shellmound around 800 AD. However, where the people went is still a mystery. They may have associated with other mound dwellers or left the area entirely. The extant Ohlone tribe may be their descendants. In 2020,

2079-618: The Eastshore-University intersection as part of the overpass project. In 1954, the State of California began a project to convert the Eastshore Highway into a freeway, eliminating all street intersections, replacing them with access ramps at limited locations. Ashby, University and Gilman were the 3 interchange points chosen for Berkeley. During 1956, the University Avenue overpass was extended over

2156-541: The Ocean View Committee. The OVC, in association with Berkeley preservationists, assemblymen and congressmen, succeeded in saving Ocean View. The area later went on to experience a full revival of apartment building and commerce. Beginning in the late 1970s, the development of the retail commercial area along 4th Street led to a gradual gentrification of the surrounding residential area. Businesses located there have included Anthropologie , Cody's Books ,

2233-955: The Police Department to avoid escalation of violence and to protect bystanders during protests. During a protest against bigotry and U.S. President Donald Trump in August 2017, self-described anti-fascist protesters attacked Trump supporters in attendance. Police intervened, arresting 14 people. Sometimes called " antifa ", these ‘anti-fascist’ activists were clad in black shirts and other black attire, while some carried shields and others had masks or bandanas hiding their faces to help them evade capture after street fighting. . These protests spanned February to September 2017 (See more at 2017 Berkeley Protests ). In 2019, protesters took up residence in People's Park against tree-chopping and were arrested by police in riot gear. Many activists saw this as

2310-573: The Town of Berkeley became the City of Berkeley. Rapid growth continued up to the Crash of 1929 . The Great Depression hit Berkeley hard, but not as hard as many other places in the U.S., thanks in part to the university. In 1916, Berkeley implemented single-family zoning as an effort to keep minorities out of white neighborhoods. This has been described as the first implementation of single-family zoning in

2387-434: The U.C. campus began to build up to the recognizable activism of the sixties. In the 1950s, McCarthyism induced the university to demand a loyalty oath from its professors, many of whom refused to sign the oath on the principle of freedom of thought. In 1960, a U.S. House committee ( HUAC ) came to San Francisco to investigate the influence of communists in the Bay Area. Their presence was met by protesters, including many from

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2464-657: The U.S. was started by the Ecology Center in 1973. Styrofoam was banned in 1988. As the city leaned more and more Democratic, local politics became divided between "Progressives" and "Moderates". 1984 saw the Progressives take the majority for the first time. Nancy Skinner became the first UC Berkeley student elected to City Council. In 1986, in reaction to the 1984 election, a ballot measure switched Berkeley from at-large to district-based elections for city council. In 1983, Berkeley's Domestic Partner Task Force

2541-478: The United States By 2021, nearly half of Berkeley's residential neighborhoods were still exclusively zoned for single-family homes. On September 17, 1923, a major fire swept down the hills toward the university campus and the downtown section. Around 640 structures burned before a late-afternoon sea breeze stopped its progress, allowing firefighters to put it out. The next big growth occurred with

2618-609: The University of California and a high-demand housing market, Berkeley was relatively unaffected by the Great Recession . State budget cuts caused the university to increase the number of out-of-state and international students, with international enrollment, mostly from Asia, rising from 2,785 in 2007 to 5,951 in 2016. Since then, more international restaurants have opened downtown and on Telegraph Avenue , including East Asian chains such as Ippudo and Daiso . A wave of downtown apartment construction began in 1998. In 2006,

2695-404: The West Berkeley area is provided by AC Transit and Emery Go-Round . West Berkeley was one of the Bay Area's principal industrial zones up until about the 1960s, after which it began to decline. Several well-known companies such as Colgate-Palmolive , Heinz , Canada Dry , Pacific Steel Casting, and Cutter Labs had plants in West Berkeley. West Berkeley was also home to Fantasy Studios ,

2772-456: The acquisition cost, with the city paying the remainder. An artificial mound covered with vegetation and housing an educational and memorial center is planned. The shellmound sits within the territory of the Chochenyo people, a division of the indigenous Ohlone . Carbon dating puts the earliest additions to the shellmound at about 3700 B.C.E., with continuous additions from a village at

2849-415: The advent of World War II , when large numbers of people moved to the Bay Area to work in the many war industries, such as the immense Kaiser Shipyards in nearby Richmond . One who moved out, but played a big role in the outcome of the war, was U.C. professor and Berkeley resident J. Robert Oppenheimer . During the war, an Army base, Camp Ashby , was temporarily sited in Berkeley. The element berkelium

2926-425: The area that became Berkeley was initially part of a vast Contra Costa County . On March 25, 1853, Alameda County was created from a division of Contra Costa County, as well as from a small portion of Santa Clara County . The area that became Berkeley was then the northern part of the "Oakland Township" subdivision of Alameda County. During this period, "Berkeley" was mostly a mix of open land, farms, and ranches, with

3003-533: The area that was once the unincorporated town of Ocean View , as well as the filled-in areas along the shoreline west of I-80 (the Eastshore Freeway ), mainly including the Berkeley Marina . It lies at an elevation of 23 feet (7 m). The area's first inhabitants were indigenous people who settled along Strawberry Creek around 3700 BC. They built one of the largest – and possibly the first – of

3080-482: The causeway created a lagoon, Aquatic Park . The Eastshore Highway connected at intersections with several east-west streets in West Berkeley, including Ashby and University Avenues. US 40 was switched from San Pablo Avenue to the Eastshore Highway upon its opening in 1936. From 1926 to 1937, University Avenue served as a feeder route for US 40 via a ferry service at the end of the Berkeley Pier , located at

3157-658: The city near the university and downtown. Increasing enrollment also led the university to wanting to redevelop certain places of Berkeley, especially Southside, but more specifically People's Park. Preservationists passed the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance in 1973 by ballot measure and the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance in 1974 by the City Council. Together, these ordinances brought most new construction to

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3234-449: The dangers of alcohol. On April 1, 1878, the people of Ocean View and the area around the university campus, together with local farmers, were granted incorporation by the State of California as the Town of Berkeley. The first elected trustees of the town were the slate of Denis Kearney 's anti-Chinese Workingman's Party , who were particularly favored in the working-class area of the former Ocean View, now called West Berkeley. During

3311-402: The development of the parking lot proposed a park and memorial center. In March 2024, an agreement was reached under which Ruegg & Ellsworth will sell the land to representatives of the Ohlone for $ 27 million, of which $ 1.5 million will be paid by the city and the remaining $ 25.5 million by Sogorea Te' Land Trust, an organization for the return of Indigenous lands, facilitated by

3388-490: The eighteenth-century Anglo-Irish philosopher." The philosopher's name is pronounced BARK-lee , but the city's name, to accommodate American English , is pronounced BERK-lee . The College of California's College Homestead Association planned to raise funds for the new campus by selling off adjacent parcels of land. To this end, they laid out a plat and street grid that became the basis of Berkeley's modern street plan. Their plans fell far short of their desires, and they began

3465-474: The end of the Vietnam War in 1975. While the 1960s were the heyday of liberal activism in Berkeley, it remains one of the most overwhelmingly Democratic cities in the United States. After the 1960s, Berkeley banned most new housing construction, in particular apartments. Increasing enrollment at the university led to replacement of older buildings by large apartment buildings, especially in older parts of

3542-559: The end, the park remained undeveloped, and remains so today. A spin-off, People's Park Annex , was established at the same time by activist citizens of Berkeley on a strip of land above the Bay Area Rapid Transit ("BART") underground construction along Hearst Avenue northwest of the U.C. campus. The land had also been intended for development, but was turned over to the city by BART and is now Ohlone Park . The era of large public protest in Berkeley waned considerably with

3619-537: The factory. Buildings on the other side of the bay in San Francisco were also damaged and a ship 150 miles out to sea reported feeling the blast. A woman several miles from the blast was hit on the head by a piece of falling plaster and reportedly went insane. Berkeley, California Berkeley ( / ˈ b ɜːr k l i / BURK -lee ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County , California , United States. It

3696-773: The fall of 2010, the Berkeley Student Food Collective opened after many protests on the UC Berkeley campus due to the proposed opening of the fast food chain Panda Express . Students and community members worked together to open a collectively run grocery store right off of the UC Berkeley campus, where the community can buy local, seasonal, humane, and organic foods. The Berkeley Student Food Collective still operates at 2440 Bancroft Way. On September 18, 2012, Berkeley became what may be

3773-406: The first city in the U.S. to officially proclaim a day recognizing bisexuals: September 23, which is known as Celebrate Bisexuality Day . On September 2, 2014, the city council approved a measure to provide free medical marijuana to low-income patients. The Measure D soda tax was approved by Berkeley voters on November 4, 2014, the first such tax in the United States. In the fall of 2011,

3850-661: The foot of University. The ferry operated between the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and the pier, until the Bay Bridge opened. On January 6, 1940, an overpass was opened, carrying University Avenue over the tracks of the mainline of the Southern Pacific along 3rd Street in West Berkeley, eliminating a dangerous grade crossing and traffic bottleneck for traffic coming on and off the Eastshore Highway at University Avenue. Traffic lights were installed at

3927-663: The founding of the Berkeley Art Association and the rivalries of competing studios and art clubs. In 1904, the first hospitals in Berkeley were created: the Alta Bates Sanatorium (today Alta Bates Summit Medical Center) for women and children, founded by nurse Alta Bates on Walnut Street, and the Roosevelt Hospital (later Herrick Hospital ), founded by LeRoy Francis Herrick, on the corner of Dwight Way and Milvia Street. In 1908,

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4004-519: The mainline of the transcontinental railroad into Oakland was re-routed, putting the right-of-way along the bay shore through Ocean View. There was a strong prohibition movement in Berkeley at this time. In 1876, the state enacted the "mile limit law", which forbade sale or public consumption of alcohol within one mile (1.6 km) of the new University of California. Then, in 1899, Berkeley residents voted to make their city an alcohol-free zone. Scientists, scholars and religious leaders spoke vehemently of

4081-643: The name of what is now Albany, California , just north of Berkeley. Ocean View was primarily an industrial, working class community. The earliest school in what is now Berkeley was the Ocean View School located on the southeast corner of Virginia Street and San Pablo Avenue, established in 1856. The creek that flowed adjacent to the school was dubbed " Schoolhouse Creek ". The school was subsequently renamed The San Pablo Avenue School, and again later The Franklin Elementary School. Nothing of

4158-533: The nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement came to two Berkeley locations: on the campus of the University of California and as an encampment in Civic Center Park. During a Black Lives Matter protest on December 6, 2014, police use of tear gas and batons to clear protesters from Telegraph Avenue led to a riot and five consecutive days and nights of protests, marches, and freeway occupations in Berkeley and Oakland. Afterwards, changes were implemented by

4235-507: The new freeway, becoming part of the new interchange. In 1964, US 40 became Interstate 80 . See also 1964 state highway renumbering (California) The wharf at the foot of Delaware Street began as "Jacobs Landing", named for its builder and proprietor, James H. Jacobs. The wharf was improved and enlarged with the help of Zimri Heywood , the proprietor of a lumberyard at the wharf, and then renamed "Jacobs and Heywood Wharf". Lumber, soap, hay, and many other goods were transhipped from

4312-419: The order allowing the development to proceed, but only one, rather than the required four, Justices considered the case appropriate for further review, so the appellate decision allowing the development to proceed became law. A building permit was issued in 2022, but work has not begun at the site. The developer sued the city for financial damages, and a trial date was set for April 2024. Ohlone people opposed to

4389-481: The original Ocean View School building remains. In June 2002, The Franklin Elementary School was closed and transformed into the Berkeley Adult School which opened on September 7, 2004. The name "Ocean View" was revived during the 1970s when neighbors fought against the City's West Berkeley Redevelopment Project. Those struggling to save what remained of the old Victorian neighborhood coalesced to form

4466-578: The proposed development in either form, partly in response to Indigenous activists including Corrina Gould , a local Lisjan Ohlone leader, and organizations including the Coalition to Save the West Berkeley Shellmound and Indian People Organizing for Change . The developers sued the city; in 2019, a judge ruled in favor of the city, but on April 20, 2021, a three-justice panel of the California Court of Appeal unanimously declared that "[t]here

4543-603: The ranch to each of his four sons. What is now Berkeley lies mostly in the portion that went to Peralta's son Domingo , with a little in the portion that went to another son, Vicente. No artifact survives of the Domingo or Vicente ranches, but their names survive in Berkeley street names (Vicente, Domingo, and Peralta). However, legal title to all land in the City of Berkeley remains based on the original Peralta land grant. The Peraltas' Rancho San Antonio continued after Alta California passed from Spanish to Mexican sovereignty after

4620-681: The rest of the nation, fueled by spillover from the San Francisco housing shortage and population growth. South and West Berkeley underwent gentrification , with some historically Black neighborhoods such as the Adeline Corridor seeing a 50% decline in Black / African American population from 1990 to 2010. In the 1990s, public television's Frontline documentary series featured race relations at Berkeley's only public high school, Berkeley High School . With an economy dominated by

4697-529: The site until 800 C.E. The village, the earliest known habitation in the Bay Area, then relocated, but the mound remained in use for ceremonial purposes, including as a burial site and a repository for shells, ritual objects, and ceremonial items. There are no remains of the village. The aboveground portions of the mound, reportedly 300 feet (91 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) high, were removed between 1853 and 1910 and used for road construction and other commercial purposes. The Berkeley City Council designated

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4774-466: The site was paved in the twentieth century and for many years was a restaurant parking lot. In the 21st century, the lot was acquired by a developer, but development plans were stalled by the City of Berkeley and local Native American activists. In 2024 an agreement was reached for the land to be returned to the Ohlone, facilitated by a gift to the Sogorea Te' Land Trust , which will pay the majority of

4851-401: The site were strengthened after two sets of ancient human remains were discovered during construction at 1919 Fourth Street, outside the previously established boundaries of the shellmound. In September 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared the site one of the 11 "most endangered historic places" in the United States. The City of Berkeley did not grant permission for

4928-555: The state law came into effect in 1995. For cities such as Berkeley, where rent control was already in place, the law limited the use of rent control to units built before the local rent-control law was enacted, i.e. 1980. During the 1970s and 1980s, activists increased their power in local government. This era also saw major developments in Berkeley's environmental and food culture. Berkeley's last Republican mayor, Wallace J. S. Johnson , left office in 1971. Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971. The first curbside recycling program in

5005-473: The streets and projects to improve social service provision for this demographic, homelessness has continued to be a significant problem in Berkeley. A culture of anti-establishment and sociopolitical activism marked the 1960s. The San Francisco Bay Area became a hotspot for hippie counterculture , and Berkeley became a haven for nonconformists and anarchists from all over the United States. Most public discourse around homelessness in Berkeley at this time

5082-562: The transcontinental Lincoln Highway . For a time in the 1920s, it was part of US 101 -E, but finally was designated US 40 . A new north-south thoroughfare was constructed as part of the same project that built the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge . This was the Eastshore Highway which ran along a landfill causeway along the Berkeley waterfront west of the original shoreline. The emplacement of

5159-641: The university campus along what is now Telegraph Avenue . The first post office opened in 1872. By the 1870s, the Transcontinental Railroad reached its terminus in Oakland. In 1876, a branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad , the Berkeley Branch Railroad , was laid from a junction with the mainline called Shellmound (now a part of Emeryville) into what is now downtown Berkeley . That same year,

5236-458: The university preparing to develop the park. The city of Berkeley has historically been a central location for homeless communities in the Bay Area. Since the 1930s, the city of Berkeley has fostered a tradition of political activism. The city has been perceived as a hub for liberal thought and action and it has passed ordinances to oust homeless individuals from Berkeley on multiple occasions. Despite efforts to remove unhoused individuals from

5313-408: The university. Meanwhile, a number of U.C. students became active in the civil rights movement . Finally, in 1964, the university provoked a massive student protest by banning distribution of political literature on campus. This protest became the Free Speech Movement . As the Vietnam War rapidly escalated in the ensuing years, so did student activism at the university, particularly that organized by

5390-461: The very artists and artisans who had been the attraction. When in 1984 the Durkee Foods owners moved to convert their canning plant into offices and labs, their artist and industrial tenants staged a public fight against eviction. Artists and craftspeople feared being priced out. Mayor Loni Hancock and the City Council authorized the creation of an area plan to guide development. While professional planners and governmental decision-makers played

5467-508: The wharf. Ferry service was established between the wharf and San Francisco in 1874. In 1876, the Central Pacific Railroad constructed its new main line, part of the transcontinental overland route , along the shoreline. A passenger and freight depot was built at Delaware Street. This was replaced in 1911 by a depot at 3rd Street and University Avenue. Amtrak 's Berkeley Station is now located adjacent to this former depot and provides daily train service. Local public transportation in

5544-589: Was among the soldiers at the Presidio. For his services to the King of Spain , he was granted a vast stretch of land on the east shore of San Francisco Bay (the contra costa , "opposite shore") for a ranch, including that portion that now comprises the City of Berkeley. Luis Peralta named his holding " Rancho San Antonio ." The primary activity of the ranch was raising cattle for meat and hides, but hunting and farming were also pursued. Eventually, Peralta gave portions of

5621-550: Was considerable overlap between the hippie movement and the radical left. An iconic event in the Berkeley Sixties scene was a conflict over a parcel of university property south of the contiguous campus site that came to be called " People's Park ". The battle over the disposition of People's Park resulted in a month-long occupation of Berkeley by the National Guard on orders of then-Governor Ronald Reagan . In

5698-400: Was established, which in 1984 made policy recommendation to the school board, which passed domestic partner legislation. The legislation became a model for similar measures nationwide. In 1995, California's Costa–Hawkins Act ended vacancy control, allowing rents to increase when a tenant moved out. Despite a slow down in 2005–2007, median home prices and rents remain dramatically higher than

5775-586: Was included in the incorporation of Berkeley in 1878 and thereafter was known as West Berkeley. Incorporation was followed by rapid residential and industrial growth. The first mayor (technically, the President of the Board of Trustees) of the newly incorporated Town of Berkeley was elected from Ocean View, Abel Whitton of the Workingman's Party ; he served from 1878 to 1881. Ocean View was also, briefly (1908-9),

5852-475: Was synthesized utilizing the 60-inch (1.5 m) cyclotron at UC Berkeley, and named in 1949, in recognition of the university, thus placing the city's name in the list of elements. During the 1940s, many African Americans migrated to Berkeley. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported Berkeley's population as 11.7% black and 84.6% white. The postwar years brought moderate growth to the city, as events on

5929-667: Was the territory of the Chochenyo/Huchiun Ohlone people when the first Europeans arrived. Evidence of their existence in the area include pits in rock formations, which they used to grind acorns. wildflower seeds, grass seeds, and many different foods, including squirrel fat, and a shellmound , now mostly leveled and covered up, along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay at the mouth of Strawberry Creek . Human remains and skeletons from Native American burials have been unearthed in West Berkeley and on campus alongside Strawberry Creek . Other artifacts were discovered in

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