{"nrhp_refnum":"82004644","name":"Hearst Greek Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Oxford St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Berkeley","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.873721905000025,"lon":-122.25429532999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An outdoor concrete amphitheatre on the University of California campus in Berkeley, Alameda County, designed by John Galen Howard and built in 1902-1903 in a natural hillside bowl above Gayley Road.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that its architecture and its setting are inseparable, and that it symbolized the intellectual and democratic ideals of the early University. It was the first permanent outdoor theatre modeled on a Greek prototype built in California, and the first of Howard's campus buildings to be completed. The reviewer accepted it under Criteria A and C.","narrative":"Set in a natural semicircular hollow above Gayley Road on the Berkeley campus, this concrete amphitheatre was designed by John Galen Howard and completed in 1903. Nineteen rows of concrete benches step down toward a high Classical stage wall with Doric columns and a central monumental doorway, and carved stone chairs line the lowest tiers. It seats about 10,000 people. The design was modeled on the theater at Epidaurus, though Howard's plans for caryatids, a double colonnade and marble surfaces proved too costly. William Randolph Hearst funded the conversion of a site long used for student productions, at the urging of President Benjamin Ide Wheeler. Theodore Roosevelt spoke at an early event in May 1903, and the formal dedication that September featured Aristophanes' The Birds in Greek. It was the first permanent outdoor theatre of Greek design in California and remains a symbol of the University. Ernest Born added backstage and lighting improvements in 1957.","period_of_significance":"1900-present","architect_builder":"John Galen Howard, Ernest Born (Additions)","architectural_style":"Neo-Classic (Greek Classical, modeled on the theater at Epidaurus)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent, altered, original site; Ernest Born added dressing rooms, approaches, lighting and a roof in 1957, which the form says do not impair the architectural character.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.650354-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82004644.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004644/0fffd0bcba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004644/0fffd0bcba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hearst_Greek_Theatre_(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:Hearst_Greek_Theatre_(Berkeley,_CA).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857326","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearst_Greek_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q671266"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/hearst-greek-theatre-82004644/"}