Architecture Along the Fire Line of the Sept.1923, N.Berkeley Hills Fire

The North Berkeley Hills fire, on Sept.17, 1923, destroyed 585 houses. Many students, dozens of professors and ordinary Berkeley citizens lost their homes. In some instances professors lost their life's work, up in flames. (Thankfully no one perished, but many were injured.)

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Today's walk will be about 3 miles. Some steep short uphills. Uneven pavements. Wear sturdy shoes. If you would like more background ahead of time please read the event description below or just come and soak up the info.
The housing on twenty-two blocks was completely destroyed by the fire.
We'll walk along some of the residential blocks that burned down.
The map and photos show the center of the devastation from the intersections of Cedar Ave. & Euclid Ave. to Virginia & Scenic Ave.

We'll set out on this comparative adventure to see what housing looked like in the neighborhoods affected and unaffected by the fire.

The fire map shows Arch St. from Glen Ave to about a third of a block past Vine St. was untouched by the fire. From that point to Hearst Ave. there was complete devastation. Here at mid-block on Arch St. we'll compare an untouched row of houses, to a directly adjoining rebuild of small apartment buildings and other post 1923, mostly period revival style houses and apartments. The photo shows a white victorian on the left and two smallish stucco apartment buildings on the right. The fire line between them. The post 1923 apts. fire-resistent, with red tile roofs and stucco exteriors.

Here is a short summary of the history of housing styles popular in Berkeley.

The 1st bay traditional (brown shingle, with Craftsman features), starting in the late 1890s, less popular by 1920. These craftsman and victorians were the predominant pre-fire houses. The influence of the, "save the hills", living with nature philosophy of the Hillside Club (The clubhouse building was lost in the fire. ) had a marked effect in North Berkeley. A tenet was that houses should blend into the hillsides in color and shape. And be made of natural materials, preferably redwood.

The next popular style (mainly after the fire) were the period revival homes, from the 1920s to 1940s. Period Revival such as Spanish-Mediterranean, English Cottage, Tudor, Classical and Colonial etc. We also see more fireproof, stucco facades used in these. Many with red tile roofs.
Today we may see a modernist home or two also. (3rd Bay Traditional or Bay Area Regional. The Eichler style houses.)
Berkeley has a sprawling variety of urban/suburban, residential architecture done in California. A good sampling of which, can usually be seen in a short walk.

As we walk along the tour route, identifying /house spotting, as we learn the following information for some of the BAHA (Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc.) researched houses we pass.

• Architect's name
• Year built & builder's name
• Original owner's name (name of the house)
• Architectural style (victorian, craftsman, period revival, modern etc.)
• Possibly a human interest story from the home's past and/or a unique architectural feature.

The exact ignition source of the fire is uncertain but apparently ignition occurred along the line of the PG&E high-tension line in Wildcat Canyon. A prior drought season and a period of very strong Diablo winds creating very dry conditions and 40mph winds during the fire combined with wood shingle roofs creating windblown fire embers that caused the rapid spread of incineration from house to house.
A footnote. The fact that in the aftermath of the fire, the wood shingle industry's successful campaign to prevent the banning of wood shingle roofs, led directly to the September, 1991, Oakland Hills fire, costing 25 lives and the loss of over 2500 homes, is tragic.

Meet at the intersection of Shattuck & Berryman Sts. Weekdays there is two hour street parking, no limit on weekends. But be sure to check the parking signs before locking up. Buses also run nearby on Shattuck. Walkable from BART.