MEMORANDUM DATE September 13, 2016 PROJECT NO. 16137 TO Dave Fiore PROJECT 2190 Shattuck Avenue OF Mill Creek Residential Trust 411 Borel Avenue, Suite #405 San Mateo, CA 94402 FROM Katherine Wallace, Architectural Historian REGARDING: 2190 Shattuck Avenue: Memorandum of Significance and Integrity INTRODUCTION This preliminary assessment of 2190 Shattuck Avenue has been prepared at the request of Dave Fiore of Mill Creek Residential Trust, LLC. The memorandum provides a summary of past evaluations, research on original design, the architect, a field survey, construction chronology, and an assessment of historic significance and integrity. Page & Turnbull conducted onsite research and made inquiries at the City of Berkeley Building Department, the Berkeley Environmental Design Archives, the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, the Berkeley Historical Society, and the Berkeley Bancroft Library. Online and in-house resources were also consulted. 2190 Shattuck Avenue is a two-story building located within Berkeley s Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor. The subject building sits at the northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, a site first developed in the late 1800s. In 1956, commercial architect Robert B. Liles designed a J.C. Penney Co. store in an ultra-modern style at this site to replace the previous J.C. Penney Co. in operation since 1929. The subject building is currently occupied by Walgreens and has undergone substantial alterations. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION 2190 Shattuck Avenue is a two story masonry building with a flat roof. According to the City of Berkeley Building Department, the building area is 54,385 square feet, and the lot area is 19,966 square feet. The building is largely rectangular in plan with a stucco clad ground level and a brick veneered second story. The ground level features full-height glass and black anodized aluminum-framed storefront windows along the east and south facades, and a recessed primary entry at the southeast corner. The entry consists of two automatic doors set at the south end of the Shattuck Avenue frontage. Above the entry and wrapping the east and south façade corners is a slightly offset, multi-panel colored glass steel framed unit.
Page 2 of 11 The south façade of the building includes a secondary entrance similarly topped with a multi-panel glass and steel framed unit. The entry is defined by slate colored tiles at the ground level. The far west portion of the south façade features a metal roll-up door and a recessed metal single swing door (a recessed metal single swing door is also located at the far north portion of the east façade). The Downtown Berkeley BART station is located directly east of the building. The building is adjacent to 2176 Shattuck Avenue to the north, and is separated from 2050 Center Street to the west by a narrow alley. PAST EVALUATIONS 2190 Shattuck Avenue is not currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historic Resources. The building is also not listed in the California Historic Resources Information System (CHRIS) database. The subject property was inventoried in 1977 by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. Although included on a Berkeley Urban Conservation Survey form, the building was not fully evaluated or photographed. In 2005, JRP Historical Consulting evaluated the property for the East Bay Bus Rapid Transit Project. They determined that the building lacked historical significance and did not embody distinctive architectural characteristics. JRP also emphasized that the integrity of the 1958 design had been compromised with the addition of stucco over the ground floor tile veneer. Based on the evaluation, the building was given a status code of 6Y by OHP Determined ineligible for NR, not evaluated for CR or local listing. The Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor was surveyed in 2015 by the San Jose-based firm Archives & Architecture. 1 The survey area consists of, but is not limited to, properties fronting and adjoining Shattuck Avenue between University Avenue and Durant Avenue. The period of significance for the commercial corridor is 1895 to 1958. Completed in 1958, 2190 Shattuck Avenue falls within the final year of the defined period of significance. Archives & Architecture wrote a State of California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) 523A (Primary Record) form. While they did not produce a DPR 523B (Building, Structure, and Object Record) form, historic context for the building was included in the DPR 523A form. The survey form did not include an evaluation of individual significance, but repeated JRP Consulting s 2005 finding that the building is not an individual historic resource. The Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor Historic Context and Survey considers 2190 Shattuck Avenue a Non-Contributor. ORIGINAL DESIGN The subject building was originally designed and constructed as a J.C. Penney Co. department store. However, the site had been developed since the late 1800s and occupied by numerous tenants. The first known building on the site was a domed two-story masonry building, which served as a library and a Town Hall. This first building later housed the Water Company and the Roos Bros. department store. 1 Archives & Architecture, Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor Historic Context and Survey. (2015).
Page 3 of 11 J.C. Penney Co. moved into the building in 1929. Permit records indicate that the building underwent a significant remodel in 1937, with the resulting building exhibiting a Streamline Moderne style. According to the subject property s existing State of California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) 523 survey evaluation form, By the late 1950s, the popularity of regional shopping malls during the post-war period of suburban expansion caused many downtown chain department stores to abandon their urban locations, but in Berkeley the chain decided to remain downtown but construct a new building. 2 Needing to expand, J.C. Penney Co. demolished their existing building in 1955. They continued to lease the site from Woolsey Properties, Inc. and commissioned commercial architect Robert B. Liles to design a new store. In the interim period, J.C. Penney Co. operated out of the neighboring Shattuck Garage. ARCHITECT Robert B. Liles, AIA (1909-1987) graduated from Colorado College and the University of California with a B.A. and M.S. in Architecture. Liles was an established architect who received commissions for large commercial buildings and malls throughout California. His firm, Robert Liles Inc., was based in San Francisco and Oakland. Prior to designing 2190 Shattuck Avenue, Liles had designed J.C. Penney stores in Ukiah, Chico, Eureka, and Sacramento. Liles projects were often announced in local newspapers. They include: the Kent Woodlands commercial buildings in Marin (1950s), a shoe store in San Anselmo (1953), the 20,000 square-foot General Insurance Co. building in Burlingame (1957), the 90,000 square-foot retail center in Terra Linda, San Rafael (1960), the Wells Fargo Bank in the Linda Mar Shopping Center, Pacifica (1964), the Novato Fair Shopping Center (1970s), a 138,000 square-foot store at the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane in Sacramento (1972), and the 350,000 square-foot Redding Mall in Shasta County (1974). In 1974, Robert B. Liles, Inc. partnered with Rohr Industries to design a monorail (along with a guideway and two stations) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The monorail, completed in 1977, was built to provide transport between the Pearlridge Mall and its parking structure. Liles was elected president of the East Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1967. Liles designed 2190 Shattuck Avenue as a two-story building with a green tiled veneer at the ground level and a brick veneer at the second story. The mid-century building originally featured a windowless second story. The uninterrupted span of second story brick allowed for prominent J.C. Penney Co. signage. The building was well-received; it was considered one of Berkeley s most attractive stores at the time, described by The Berkeley Gazette as beautiful and ultra-modern. 3 CONSTRUCTION CHRONOLOGY The following provides a brief building history and construction chronology of the project site based on available building permits, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, and newspaper articles. 2 Archives & Architecture, 2190 Shattuck Avenue DPR523 Form. (2015). 3 Business District Will Get New Look; Penney s to Shift During Construction. Berkeley Gazette. (10/20/1955).
Page 4 of 11 1897: The northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way featured a domed masonry building that served as a public library. 1904-09: The building was used as a library and temporary Town Hall. 1910-29: Following its use as Town Hall, the building was known to have housed the Water Company and Roos Bros. (a San Francisco based department store). 1929: J.C. Penney Co. purchased the building and opened a department store. 1937: The building underwent significant alterations to reflect a Streamline Moderne aesthetic. Most notably, the corner dome and parapet were removed. 1955-56: The building was demolished. Construction began for the replacement J.C. Penney Co. on the same site. The new building was designed by architect Robert B. Liles in an ultra-modern style. 1958: The building was completed and the J.C. Penney Co. store returned from its interim location (Shattuck Garage). 1990: The green tile veneer at the ground level was recorded as damaged. Loose sections of the veneer were removed. It is unknown when the remainder of the tiles were replaced with stucco. 1992: J.C. Penney Co. vacated the building and Ross Dress For Less moved in. The building was renovated and a corner tower structure (typical of Ross Dress For Less locations) was added. Additionally, a new entrance was built on Allston Way for basement access (separate basement tenant with a new Allston Way address). 2011: New tenant Walgreens implemented interior improvements and façade alterations. The Ross Dress For Less tower was removed and replaced with a multi-panel colored glass and steel framed unit. Windows were inserted into the second story. 2012: The second floor interior was remodeled for office use. ASSESSMENT OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE AND INTEGRITY The subject building at 2190 Shattuck Avenue was completed in 1958, in the final year of the defined period of significance of the Shattuck Avenue Downtown Historic District (1895-1958). The original design of the building featured minimal artistic value or merit. In comparison to other Modern buildings constructed in the mid-twentieth century, 2190 Shattuck Avenue is generally simple in design. The San Francisco Modernism Context Statement defines the architecture of the period (1945-1965) as an expressive,
Page 5 of 11 often exuberant style. 4 2190 Shattuck Avenue lacks typical Midcentury design elements such as cantilevered overhangs, projecting eaves, or an asymmetrical façade. Although it does feature a characteristic stacked brick veneer and a flat roof, the building is not a significant example of the Midcentury style. While the local newspaper touted the design as beautiful and ultra-modern at the time, historical perspective does not compare this building favorably within the context of Midcentury Modern design. The building has been greatly altered since its construction. The storefront systems along Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way have been modified, and ornamental design features have been added above both the primary and secondary entrances. Window openings have been added throughout the originally windowless second story. The prominent J.C. Penney Co. signage that stretched along both visible facades and projected from the southeast corner of the building was removed. As a result, the architectural integrity of the building namely, the integrity of design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association has been significantly compromised Additionally, based on Robert B. Liles body of work that Page & Turnbull has researched for this memorandum, he cannot be considered a master architect. The shopping centers and commercial buildings designed by Liles were typically simple box/strip mall designs lacking high artistic value. It appears that several, much like 2190 Shattuck Avenue, have been modernized. Original storefront systems and signage have been lost. CONCLUSION Upon initial evaluation, Page & Turnbull concurs with the previous findings of Archives & Architecture and JRP Historical Consulting that this building does not appear to be historically significant or eligible for listing in a historic register, nor does it contribute to the Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor Historic District. Research has failed to suggest that the building is notable for its architectural design or architect. The J.C. Penney Co. department store was one of many in the Bay Area and is not significant in association with the company. Furthermore, the building does not appear to be exemplary of a type, period or method of construction. It has undergone significant changes, including new storefront systems, modern ornamental additions, and new window openings. Given the original design s lack of artistic merit, even if the building was restored to its original design and its architectural integrity improved, 2190 Shattuck Avenue would not be found to be a historic resource. 4 San Francisco Modernism Context Statement. San Francisco Planning Department. (2011).
Page 6 of 11 IMAGES Figure 1. Building at the northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, 1897. (Source: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association). Figure 2. Town Hall building, 1906. (Source: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association). Figure 3: Town Hall building, date unknown. (Source: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association). Figure 4: The streamlined J.C. Penney Co. building, 1940 s. (Source: Berkeley Daily Gazette).
Page 7 of 11 Figure 5: The streamlined J.C. Penney Co. building with scaffolding installed prior to demolition, December 1955. (Source: Berkeley Daily Gazette). Figure 6: Demolished J.C. Penney Co., March 1957. (Source: Berkeley Daily Gazette). Figure 7. Rendering of the replacement J.C. Penney Co. store, 1955. View looking northwest. (Source: Berkeley Daily Gazette)
Page 8 of 11 Figure 9. Shoe Store in Anselmo, 1953. Designed by Robert B. Liles. (Source: Newspapers.com. Daily Independent Journal, San Rafael) Figure 8. Architect Robert B. Liles, 1966. (Source: Newspapers.com. Daily Independent Journal, San Rafael) Figure 10. J.C. Penney Co. building, date unknown. (Source: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association). Figure 11. J.C. Penney Co. building, November 1962. (Source: Berkeley Daily Gazette).
Page 9 of 11 Figure 13. Ross Dress For Less rendering, date unknown. (Source: Berkeley Department of Building Permits). Figure 12. Shattuck Avenue, 1966. J.C. Penney s Co. building at far left. (Source: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association). Figure 14. Main entry to subject property, view looking west. (Source: Archives & Architecture DPR Form, 2015). Figure 15. East façade, view looking southwest. (Source: Page & Turnbull, 2016).
Page 10 of 11 Figure 16. Eastern portion of south façade, view looking north. (Source: Page & Turnbull, 2016). Figure 17. Western portion of south façade, view looking northwest. (Source: Page & Turnbull, 2016) Figure 18. Subject block aerial. 2190 Shattuck Avenue is starred. (Source: Google Maps, 2016).
Page 11 of 11 Figure 19. Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor with Contributors and Non-Contributors. The noncontributing 2190 Shattuck Avenue is starred. (Source: 2015 Shattuck Avenue Commercial Corridor Historic Context and Survey, p73).