Prof. Margaretta Lovell, Professor of Art History, University of California, Berkeley and Jay D. McEvoy Professor of American Art History, has written an amazing guidebook to help people research their own houses.
It is titled “Homeowner Handbook: How to Research the History of a House in Berkeley: An Architectural and Social History Guide.” You can find it at our Preservation and Research page, under Make a Research Appointment.
It consists of ten sections:
- Introduction
- Berkeley Context
- Architecture
- People
- Advanced Research for Berkeley Landmarking or National Register Nomination
- Incentives to Research, Register, and Rehabilitate
- What About My Neighborhood?—Can We Create an Historic District?
- General Local Resources for Education, Research, and Action
- Webpages of Government Resources, and Organizations That Post Scans of Helpful Primary Sources, Sponsor Events, or Produce Helpful Publications, and Webpages of Government Resources
- Other Resources
This invaluable tool will be very useful for anyone thinking about looking into the history of their house or the houses in Berkeley.
The first paragraph is certainly the hook:
“One of the things that drew you to your house and to your neighborhood (or your wished-for house and neighborhood if you are not yet a homeowner but aspire to be) is architectural character. Learning about the ingredients of that character will help you understand it, value it, preserve it, and pass it on intact to others. The built environment of Berkeley is a successful, collaborative, long-term design project, the result of generations of inventiveness and repurposing inspired by a sense of community and consensus as well as by raw economic and social forces. Learning how to read the buildings and neighborhoods of Berkeley will enrich your daily experience and help you understand the streetscapes of other U. S. towns and cities as well.”
The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association thanks Prof. Lovell for putting this together and allowing it to be shared on the website.