Cloyne Court Hotel
Also known as: Cloyne Court
Why it's listed
Cloyne Court, at 2600 Ridge Road in Berkeley, is a large U-shaped residential hotel built in 1904 one block north of the University of California campus. John Galen Howard, the university's supervising architect, designed it with a symmetrical Beaux Arts plan beneath a plain exterior of unpainted brown shingles over a wood frame, with a hipped roof and open eaves. Its only ornament is a set of carved wood brackets at the entrance. The wings enclose a private courtyard, while the street sides present a smooth, rectangular face. The nomination describes it as an exceptional example of the First Bay Tradition and one of the few large shingled multi-residential buildings of that style left in the Bay Area. It originally housed faculty, graduate students and others connected with the university. The Pierce family ran it as a hotel until 1946, when a student cooperative took over. The exterior remains largely original, though interior hallways were added in the 1970s.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is an exceptional, largely intact example of the First Bay Tradition, one of few remaining large shingled multi-residential buildings of that type in the Bay Area. It was designed by the University of California's supervising architect and is tied to the early history of the University and Berkeley, including a stay by physicist Ludwig Boltzmann in 1905.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 92001718, listed December 24, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2600 Ridge Rd., Berkeley |
|---|---|
| County | Alameda County |
| Listed | December 24, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001718 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | John Galen Howard (architect) |
| Architectural style | Other: San Francisco Bay Tradition (First Bay Tradition) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Interior adapted from hotel to single-room occupancy student dormitory; exterior essentially original but in only fair condition. Leased to a student co-op until 2005. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.87568, -122.25819 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 92001718.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5136066
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.