Report Details Architectural History of Downtown Block

A historical survey prepared for developers who aim to build a residential high-rise in downtown Berkeley describes a century of rich, local architectural history in the block bounded by Shattuck Avenue, Kittredge Street, and Alston Way.

Loaded with images of the Shattuck Hotel and Hinks department store between 1910 and the present, the report from architecture+history, LLC in San Francisco will be part of the official agenda when the Landmarks Preservation Commission discusses the proposed project on Thursday.

Designed by Benjamin Geer McDougall in a Mission Revival style, the Shattuck Hotel opened in 1910 on land that had been the estate of Berkeley’s first mogul and founder, F.K. Shattuck. Before it was even erected, a boosterish press proclaimed that the new hotel “will form one of the most tasty and imposing buildings in the city,” according to the survey.

More than 100 years later, the developers who want to put 355 apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail on the block would likely not appreciate having their project called “imposing.” In 1987, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to make the Shattuck Hotel and Hink's Building complex a city landmark.