Berkeley: Shut out the Noise to Enjoy a Classic Craftsman
When the early-20th-century architect Leola Hall designed this home in Berkeley, Ashby Avenue was probably a pleasant road, peaceful but for the clip-clop of horses’ hooves and the occasional new-fangled motor car passing by.
This is, unfortunately, no longer the case. Ashby is a heavily trafficked road and this section of it is a direct route to join two freeways, so if a little serenity is what you’re after this isn’t the house for you.
But if you want to snag a classic Craftsman, and possibly are looking for a starter home at the reasonable-for-Berkeley price of $885,000, you should take a look at this duck-egg blue, three-bedroom charmer.
Hall, who built many homes predominantly in Berkeley’s Elmwood neighborhood after the 1906 quake, inevitably became famous for being a “girl architect”. A reporter for the San Francisco Call put it this way in 1907:
“I think you’re unusual, don’t you? I’ve known women to try all kinds of men’s work, but a girl who selects prospective bargains in real estate, who plans and builds her own houses and who sells them as quickly as you do, is really unique.”
Leola Hall
The house is full of original features with a gorgeous wood-paneled living room with what looks like the original brick fireplace and large picture windows. There’s a boxed-beam ceiling in the dining room and tapered columns on the stairway.
The sun room upstairs is an add-on and has nasty metal windows. The bathroom is small. But if you have a young child one bedroom comes ready painted with cheerful jungle murals.
Bahn said:
Somehow I managed to get through college without running over a pedestrian on Ashby. Driving through Ashby, especially west of Adeline is a nightmare during rush hour… kids jumping out on the street, cars making sudden left turns and cutting you off at yellows to squeeze into one lane.
February 15, 2007 4:49 PM
Tracey Taylor said:
You’re right. This house is near the top of Ashby east of College. It’s not a great street to live on but you’d have to add several hundred thousand dollars on this price if you wanted a Leola Hall on a quiet street, say in the Elmwood.
February 15, 2007 5:33 PM