PRIMARY RECORD Page 1 of 6 *Resource Name or #: (Assigned by recorder) Hinkel Block P1. Other Identifier: Hulbert Block /Havens Block / Edy s Creamery / KPFA Radio Station *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Alameda and (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5 Quad Oakland West Date 1993 Township & Range No data c. Address 2108-2112 Allston Way (2201-2217 Shattuck Ave.) City Berkeley Zip 94704 d. UTM: (Give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone 10S; 564431mE/ 4191555mN e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate) Assessor s Parcel Number: 57-2030-1; Southeast corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way. *P3a Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries) *P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) NRHP Status Code Other Listings Review Code Reviewer Date A Streamline Moderne two-story commercial building that anchors the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way at its southeast corner, the 1895 Hinkel Block is no longer evident in the 1941 modernized version of the earlier building. The Hinkel Block had originally been built as a two- and possibly three-story building and was detailed in a Mission Revivalinspired Victorian style with features such as Spanish tile and arched openings. The 1941 reworking of this building included removal of the projecting bays of the facades, as well as creation of a new storefront that wraps the corner. A subsequent 1998 remodeling altered the Moderne façade elements. The 1998 renovation also included deconstruction of the interior, roof, and east wall, and replacement of the storefronts. HP6. 1-3 story commercial building *P4 Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.) 2S2 P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date, accession #) View facing east, January 2015. *P6. Date Constructed/Age & Sources: Historic Prehistoric Both 1895/120 years old, based on newspaper articles. *P7. Owner and Address: 2108 Allston LLC 200 Pine St. 8 San Francisco, CA 94104 *P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation, and address) F. Maggi, L. Dill, & S. Winder Archives & Architecture, LLC PO Box 1332 San Jose CA 95109-1332 *P9. Date Recorded: May 15, 2015 *P10. Survey Type: (Describe) Intensive *P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter none.) Archives & Architecture LLC: Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor Historic Context and Survey, 2015. *Attachments: NONE Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling State Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (List) DPR523A
Page 2 of 6 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Hinkel Block *Recorded by Franklin Maggi, Leslie Dill, & Sarah Winder *Date 5/15/2015 Continuation Update The 1941 remodeling maintained the earlier roof structure, which included a variety of pitched roofs and gable ends abutting the façade. The 1998 remodeling reconstructed the roof into the flat envelope that exists today, which is hidden by a simple parapet that rises above aluminum trim bands. The building today features stucco cladding and aluminum trim curved at the corner, with large glazed storefront panels. The 1997-1998 remodeling included a seismic upgrade of the brick walls and their footings, and a new interior structural system and wall elements. The storefronts, which had partially changed over time in a piecemeal way, were replaced in 1998 with a unified solid glass storefront system, and fixed awnings were attached above that wrap the corner of the building at the street intersection. The fenestration at the upper wall facades also were modified to a minor degree, but maintaining the general configuration from the 1941 remodeling. The building today appears to be in excellent condition. Shattuck Avenue façade, viewed facing north. DPR523L
Page 3 of 6 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Hinkel Block *Recorded by Franklin Maggi, Leslie Dill, & Sarah Winder *Date 5/15/2015 Continuation Update Detail of storefront at street corner, viewed facing east. Allston Way frontage, viewed facing southwest. DPR523L
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page 3 of 6 *NRHP Status Code 6z *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Hinkel Block B1. Historic Name: Hinkel Block B2. Common Name: FedEx Office / Verizon Wireless B3. Original use: Commercial B4. Present Use: Commercial *B5. Architectural Style: Streamline Moderne *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations) Constructed 1895. Remodeled 1941. Mostly deconstructed 1998. *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: n/a Original Location: n/a *B8. Related Features: None. B9a Architect: William Koenig (1895), Bliss and Fairweather (1941) b. Builder: Williamson Bros. *B10. Significance: Theme Commerce Area Downtown Berkeley Period of Significance 1895-1958 Property Type Commercial Architecture Applicable Criteria N/A The original Hinkel Block was constructed in 1895 on a property originally subdivided as the Blake Tract Map No. 3. Designed by architect William Koenig in a distinctive Victorian-era implementation of Mission Revival styled forms and details, the building was modernized in 1941 by the architectural firm of Bliss and Fairweather of San Francisco. An early large-scale commercial building within the downtown core, this building withstood the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. It was remodeled in 1941 as a part of the modernization program that began during The Great Depression, promulgated by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce with low-interest loans obtained from FHA in a program called Modernization for Profit. The 1941 version of the building has been found to be historically significant due to its architectural character and importance within patterns of development in downtown Berkeley. The building has housed a large cross-section of downtown businesses, including children s clothing, gourmet cooking equipment, travel services, groceries, toys, creamery, shoes, dry goods, restaurants, and a Montgomery Ward store. The most memorable commercial occupant was Edy s Creamery. (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) None *B12. References: Allen-Taylor, D., Berkeley Daily Planet, Eddie Bauer Closure Marks Sad Saga s End, 1/13/2004. Berkeley Gazette, To Modernize Havens Block: $20,000 Shattuck Av. Project. 7/9/1941. Herrick, J., DPR523 Update Sheet, Map No. 01-22, 2005. Marvin, B., Historical Resource Survey, 1978. B13. Remarks: Proposed historic district *B14. Evaluator: Franklin Maggi *Date of Evaluation: September 1, 2015 (This space reserved for official comments.) DPR523B
Page 5 of 6 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Hinkel Block *Recorded by Franklin Maggi, Leslie Dill, & Sarah Winder *Date 3/15/2015 Continuation Update The site is also significant as the first location of radio station KPFA, first of the Pacifica Foundation nationwide listener-sponsored stations, which was founded in Berkeley in 1949 by Elsa Knight Thompson and others as a voice of freedom during the Cold War era. The station has been identified with the Berkeley liberal-radical movements beginning with the U.C. loyalty oath controversy of the 1950s, Free Speech Movement, Third World Strike, People s Park, and the Anti-War Movement into the 1970s, as well as other social and political issues. The architects of the 1941 remodel, Bliss and Fairweather, began working together in 1925. Walter Danforth Bliss interned with McKim, Mead and White in New York after graduating from MIT, and for 30 years partnered with William Baker Faville in San Francisco. Bliss s early career with Faville and his later career with J. Stewart Fairweather produced a number of significant architectural works in the Bay Area, including Depression-era post offices in Hayward and Stockton, San Francisco s Balboa Building, Metropolitan Club, 1922 State Office Building #1 and Columbia Theater, libraries, and banks. The 1998 renovation was locally controversial. In 1997, permits were sought to bring the Eddie Bauer store into downtown Berkeley. The remodeled store was designed by architect Marcy Wong, who proposed to retain the façade and replace the storefronts. The City of Berkeley found the renovations to be under the City s threshold that would have required a Use Permit. The Design Review Committee approved the design modifications at their meeting of March 17, 1997. Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association appealed the decision to the Zoning Adjustments Board without success in changing the proposed project. By the end of 1997, the controversy erupted further when the demolition of the interior became evident at the construction site. On February 17, 1998, current Planning Manager Robert M. Brown found the façade work under the 50% threshold and clarified for the City of Berkeley that the project did not constitute demolition under the zoning ordinance. Prior Surveys The building was initially evaluated in 1978 by Betty Marvin for Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association prior to the 1998 renovations and listed in the State Historic Resources Inventory at that time and with a status code of 3S, which indicated that it was eligible for listing in the National Register as a separate property. In 2005, JRP Historical Consulting reevaluated the property for the East Bay Bus Rapid Transit Project. They field-checked the building and reviewed permit data. Evaluator Jessica Herrick found the alterations since the 1978 survey to be in keeping with the building s Moderne style, and thus they did not recommend any change in the historic status of eligibility for the National Register. This evaluation was forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register. The property was given a new status code of 2S2 on 15 March 2006 under Criteria A and C (Individual property determined eligible for the NR by a consensus through Section 106 process), and OHP listed of the property on the California Register of Historical Resources. Integrity The 1941 design of the Hinkel Block has not undergone significant modification since last evaluated in 2005. It has integrity of location and setting in Downtown Berkeley, but the integrity of the 1941 design was compromised in 1998, with significant parts now missing. It continues to have some visual associations with commercial Berkeley from mid-century. Evaluation The site is historically significant due to its association with important patterns of development in the downtown core and its architecture, however the building as it exists today is no longer readily identifiable as an historic entity within the downtown core. DPR 523L * Required information
Page 6 of 6 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Hinkel Block *Recorded by Franklin Maggi, Leslie Dill, & Sarah Winder *Date 3/15/2015 Continuation Update The property does not appear to be a Contributor to the establishment of a Shattuck Avenue Downtown Historic District. The building does not adequately represent, at the street, commercial forms and materials that were prominent in the downtown during the period of historical significance for this site, from 1995-1958. Early twentieth century postcard showing Hinkel Block in foreground to left. DPR 523L * Required information