Claremont Public Improvements
CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK
designated in 1984
Claremont Public Improvements
John Galen Howard, Architect, 1905
Claremont, a 1905 subdivision, was originally part of the 125-acre Edson
Adams ranch. Early advertisements for the tract enticed families to leave the
noisy, crowded city behind and head for "sunshine and the hills." University
of California architect John Galen Howard designed the entrance gates and
pillars, which are built of native stone quarried in North Berkeley. The plan
of the district was inspired by American landscape planner Frederick Law
Olmstead’s ideas for urban design of undeveloped land. His philosophy of
incorporating the landscape’s natural features is reflected in the layout of the
streets, retaining walls, tree plantings, and other public amenities. Homes were
planned around a creek’s meandering path through the tract. Most of the houses
of this "residence park" were built between 1905 and 1930.
Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
1998