{"nrhp_refnum":"82004639","name":"Doe Memorial Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Oxford St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Berkeley","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.87226687900005,"lon":-122.25936961299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Doe Memorial Library is a granite-faced, steel-framed library building near the center of the University of California campus in Berkeley, designed by John Galen Howard and built in two stages, 1907-1911 and 1914-1917.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the building of highest historical significance on the original campus because of its central relationship to the campus nucleus and its evocation of a Greco-Roman temple, symbolizing the University's aspiration to be the \"Athens of the West\". Its lavish detail, forceful siting and fine interiors give it national architectural significance. It was funded by a bequest from Charles Franklin Doe and later state bond money.","narrative":"Doe Memorial Library sits on a regraded platform near the center of the University of California campus in Berkeley. Architect John Galen Howard designed it in the Neo-Classic manner, and it was built in two stages, 1907-1911 and 1914-1917. The steel-framed north wing is faced in granite, with engaged fluted columns, bronze doors and a coffered, barrel-vaulted loan hall. The later section holds the present Loan Hall, with a polychromed plaster ceiling in Italian Renaissance style, along with the stacks and offices. Funding began with $779,000 from the estate of San Francisco lumberman and book collector Charles Franklin Doe, and the 1906 earthquake delayed construction. A further $525,000 from a state bond issue allowed completion. Librarian Joseph C. Rowell's central stack core influenced other university libraries. The building is recognized as the main architectural symbol of the original campus plan and as a Roman-temple expression of the University's early ambitions.","period_of_significance":"1900-present","architect_builder":"John Galen Howard","architectural_style":"Neo-Classic (Roman temple form with Italian Renaissance style ceiling in the Loan Hall)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and altered, on its original site; alterations are said not to impair the integrity of the exterior or the significant interior spaces.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.516515-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82004639.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004639/1ea452c693-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004639/1ea452c693-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Minesweeper","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UCB-University-Library.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Minesweeper</a>, <a href=\"http://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:UCB-University-Library.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857316","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doe_Memorial_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5288048"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/doe-memorial-library-82004639/"}