Howard Automobile Company
CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK
designated in 1983
Howard Automobile Company
Frederick Reimers, Architect, 1930
Renovations and addition for the Buddhist Churches of America, Jodo Shinshu Center
Hayashida Architects, 2006
This Zig-Zag Moderne building, designed for the sale and servicing of Buick
automobiles, captures the glamour, rising affluence, and sophistication of the
post-World War I era. Charles Howard, who rose to prosperity through his
successful Bay Area auto dealerships, also owned the famous racehorse Seabiscuit.
Architect Frederick Reimers designed many period revival houses, as well
as schools and other commercial buildings in the Moderne Style. Five
unequal show-window bays are framed by fluted pilasters of rein-
forced concrete rising to scrolled, fountain-like capitals. Metal
grilles, scrollwork, and doors in art deco-relief patterns
further embellish the building.
Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2007