{"nrhp_refnum":"82000961","name":"Hillside School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1581 Leroy Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Berkeley","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.88086894500003,"lon":-122.25854420299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Hillside School is a neo-Tudor, stucco and half-timbered, slate-roofed, mostly two-story public elementary school at 1581 LeRoy Avenue in Berkeley, California, designed by Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr. and built in 1925-26 on a hillside site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest Berkeley public school still operating as a school and in virtually its original state. It shows progressive 1920s school design, with natural light, wood and a close fit to its hillside site. It replaced the 1899 Hillside School, which was founded by the Maybeck circle and burned in the 1923 fire, and it is the only one of Ratcliff's Berkeley public schools still in use.","narrative":"Hillside School is a neo-Tudor public elementary school at 1581 LeRoy Avenue in Berkeley, with stucco and half-timbered walls, a slate roof and a rambling plan that follows the contours of its hillside site. Designed by Berkeley architect Walter Ratcliff, Jr., it opened in 1926 after the earlier Hillside School, founded by the Maybeck circle in 1899, burned in the 1923 fire. The building reflects 1920s ideas about school design, with banks of wood-framed windows, an auditorium that doubled as a community meeting place, large playgrounds and separate space for the youngest pupils. Reinforcement and rebuilding in 1934-38 under the Field Act removed some exterior ornament but kept the appearance largely intact. Interior woodwork, windows, light fixtures and the slate roof survive, which the nomination calls rare among Berkeley schools. It is described as the oldest Berkeley public school still operating as a school, and as one of Ratcliff's major later commissions. Community support has repeatedly helped it avoid closure.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1925)","architect_builder":"Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr.","architectural_style":"Neo-Tudor","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a public school (now grades K-3); the building is described as altered but largely original, with the slate roof, wood sash and many light fixtures intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.471089-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82000961.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82000961/47626777de-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82000961/47626777de-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hillside_School_(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:Hillside_School_(Berkeley,_CA).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858248","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillside_Elementary_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5763916"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/hillside-school-82000961/"}