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Rows of early 20th century homes line early streetcar lines

By Susan Cerny
Saturday November 02, 2002

After the electric streetcar was introduced in 1891, and then consolidated and expanded in 1903, the streets along the routes, and within walking distance of a streetcar stop, were subdivided for homes. Martin Luther King, Jr. Way (formerly Grove Street) was the location of the earliest electric street car, and today is lined with 2 to 3 story houses called “Classic Boxes.”  

The Classic Box was so popular after the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, that streetcar suburbs across the United States and Canada were soon filled with them. They are quintessentially North American and were built with little regard for climate or location from Key West to Vancouver, British Cloumbia.  

With established electric streetcar lines, Berkeley became an increasingly popular residential community especially after the 1906 earthquake and fire which resulted in a sudden increase in Berkeley's population. Many who had lost their homes in San Francisco considered Berkeley a safer alternative and the city's population grew from 13,000 in 1900 to 42,000 in 1910.  

It was during this building boom that the Classic Box was so popular. There are many variations of this square or rectangular boxy style, but they usually are 2 to 3 stories high and have hipped roofs with central dormers. Some were designed by architects, some are wide and large, and some narrow and small. Some have elaborate classic details and others are plain and covered with brown shingles in the “Craftsman Style.” Some were designed to look like single family dwellings but were actually built with two to four units. They have a good flexible floor plan, and are easy to convert to multiple units or for making additions to the rear without changing the facade. In Berkeley they date from about 1895 to 1915, so they are rather old.  

Because these houses were built along major public transportation corridors, and in the now older sections of town closest to downtown, they are being lost at an alarming rate everywhere. Berkeley, over the years, has lost entire blocks of these large, handsome houses, particularly in central Berkeley.  

Buildings such as these Classic Boxes, and later the California bungalows, give Berkeley a special character not found in the newer communities of California where the majority of the population lives. They provide housing options that are more varied than the corporate alternative.  

Berkeley is a very nice and rather interesting older American city with layers of history in a real setting. It can never be a European city. Preserving Berkeley's homes and its neighborhoods protects those aspects of Berkeley, which make it unique, worth living in and exploring. 

 

Susan Cerny is the author of the book “Berkeley Landmarks” and writes this column in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.