{"nrhp_refnum":"80000795","name":"Anna Head School for Girls","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2538 Channing Way","address_restricted":false,"city":"Berkeley","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.86661804600004,"lon":-122.25686822899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of one- to three-story redwood-shingled school buildings around a central quadrangle at 2538 Channing Way, Berkeley, built between 1892 and 1927 for Anna Head's school for girls. The first building was designed by Soule Edgar Fisher and later ones mostly by Walter H. Ratcliff.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is a strong example of the Shingle Style and the Bay Area tradition. Its 1892 original building is described as the first recorded fully shingled building in Berkeley. It is also significant as the original home of one of California's oldest private girls' schools, which operated there until 1964.","narrative":"Anna Head School is a group of redwood-shingled buildings arranged around a quadrangle at Channing Way, Bowditch and Haste Streets in Berkeley. Built between 1892 and 1927, it began with Channing Hall, designed by Soule Edgar Fisher, and grew through additions by builder John B. Sprague and architect Walter H. Ratcliff, who designed eight of the buildings. The unfinished shingles and rustic interiors reflect the Bay Area Shingle Style and West Coast Arts and Crafts ideals. Channing Hall is described as the first recorded fully shingled building in Berkeley. The complex also housed Anna Head's school for girls, a boarding and day school for thousands of students, from 1892 until it moved to Oakland in 1964. The buildings now belong to the University of California and serve as offices, a child care center and cultural space. Some exterior repairs have been haphazard, and fire damage from the late 1960s remains visible in places.","period_of_significance":"1892 to 1927","architect_builder":"Fisher/Ratcliff (Soule Edgar Fisher; Walter H. Ratcliff; builder John B. Sprague)","architectural_style":"Shingle Style / Bay Area tradition (Queen Anne massing, Arts and Crafts ideals)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the University of California and used for offices, a child care center, cultural activities and storage. Some exterior changes and patched fire damage from the late 1960s are noted.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.547852-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/80000795.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000795/5d0eaa59bd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000795/5d0eaa59bd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Nomadic.intelligentsia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head-Royce_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nomadic.intelligentsia</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:Head-Royce_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858145","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-Royce_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5689059"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/anna-head-school-for-girls-80000795/"}