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Visit the History Center, browse the exhibits and publications and join us in preserving Berkeley's heritage.

Current Exhibit

Berkeley! How We Got Our Name

In 1866, the private College of California, predecessor to the University of the California, was getting ready to subdivide and sell some of the land it owned north of Oakland and south of the University site to pay for building. They knew a name was needed if they were to sell home sites. The Trustees had turned to Frederick Law Olmsted for guidance. Would we have been better off living in "Shelterdue," "Havensholme" or even "Billingsgate" as Olmsted suggested?  How did we end up with Berkeley?

This new exhibit at the Berkeley Historical Society commemorates the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the official selection of the name “Berkeley” on May 24, 1866. Curators Steven Finacom and Phyllis Gale, using documents, manuscripts, diaries, maps, images and other sources, follow a committee of Trustees as they gathered on "Founders Rock," an outcropping now found at Hearst and Gayley Road, to name the hamlet. It will re-tell the story of George Berkeley, how his name came to be attached to our campus and town, and who was involved in the naming.

Exhibit runs April 17 through September 24, 2016, during the Center's regular hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1 to 4 pm

Admission free, donations welcome; wheelchair accessible

Berkeley Historical Society and Berkeley History Center
1931 Center Street, Berkeley 
Telephone: 510-848-0181

Mailing address: P.O. Box 1190, Berkeley, CA 94701

E-mail: info@berkeleyhistoricalsociety.org

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