{"nrhp_refnum":"04000622","name":"LeConte Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Hearst and Gayley","address_restricted":false,"city":"Berkeley","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.87256615600006,"lon":-122.25680838099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-06-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Science","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"LeConte Hall is a three-story reinforced concrete Beaux Arts academic building on the University of California, Berkeley campus, completed in 1923/24 and designed by John Galen Howard. It was the first building on campus built exclusively for the Department of Physics.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its role in physics and education, including the invention of the cyclotron, the early Radiation Laboratory under Ernest Lawrence, and work tied to the atomic bomb. It is also tied to J. Robert Oppenheimer and to the origins of optometry at Berkeley. Architecturally, it is an important part of the Beaux Arts campus plan completed under John Galen Howard.","narrative":"LeConte Hall is a three-story reinforced concrete building on the Berkeley campus of the University of California, finished in 1923/24 to designs by John Galen Howard. It was the first campus building built solely for the Department of Physics. Its cement-plaster exterior imitates classical stone, with Ionic columns, pediments, a red-tile hipped roof and a copper and glass skylight. It faces Gilman Hall across a small esplanade, in line with the Beaux Arts campus plan. Inside, classrooms, laboratories and offices line corridors behind two main entrances, with workshops in the basement. The building is listed for its science and education history. The cyclotron was invented there around 1929-30, Ernest Lawrence's Radiation Laboratory developed early in the 1930s, and work connected to the atomic bomb began in 1944. J. Robert Oppenheimer is also associated with it. The optometry program began there in 1923. Later additions and interior changes have left the east, north and south elevations nearly as built.","period_of_significance":"1924-1949","architect_builder":"John Galen Howard, Architect","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts Classicism","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition; a seismic and systems upgrade was planned for 2003-04 within the structure, with no alteration to the elevations or significant interior spaces. Historic and current functions are education and research.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.545135-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/04000622.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000622/26cacd5fe1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000622/26cacd5fe1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeConte_Hall_(Berkeley,_CA).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeConte_Hall_(Berkeley,_CA).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858258","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeConte_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14683062"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/leconte-hall-04000622/"}