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The Aberrant Nature of Buildings by Barton Ching A city is an ever-changing, ever-growing entity. Downtown Berkeley is no exception. In a matter of months, tenants that were once bastions of consumerism have come and gone. Ross, Barnes and Noble, Auto Zone and Eddie Bauer have all washed away with the city’s ebb and flow. It is comforting to know that Berkeley’s downtown has 96 buildings registered as historic landmarks. The shells of buildings are protected from being washed away unlike their interiors, which are routinely gutted, renovated and retrofitted. The historic protection placed on most of these buildings is now creating an interesting juxtaposition, not just with newer buildings around them, but within themselves. The ground floors, which are generally reserved for retail use, have modern storefronts and façades, while the second-storey and above have historic friezes and moldings.  |
S. J. Sill & Co. Grocery & Hardware Store (est. 1915) | 2145 University Avenue | 
Chamber of Commerce Building (est. 1905) | 2140-2144 Shattuck Avenue | 
Francis K. Shattuck Building (est. 1901) | 2108 Shattuck Avenue | 
Fine Arts Building (est. 2004) | 2451 Shattuck Avenue | 
University of California Press Building (est. 1939) | 2120 Oxford Street |