City Hall
Also known as: Vallego Old City Hall
Why it's listed
Berkeley's Old City Hall, at 2134 Grove Street, is a two-story Beaux-Arts building in the French Renaissance tradition, finished in 1909. Built of steel-reinforced concrete with stucco, it has a symmetrical plan with a central block, two forward wings and a 60-foot lantern and spire. John Bakewell and Arthur Brown, Jr. won a 1907 competition with a design derived from the Town Hall at Tours, France, to replace a town hall that burned in 1904. Inside, a broad two-flight stairway features scagliola columns imitating marble and painted plaster walls and ceiling that imitate stone, leather and tapestry, all original. The building housed city government until 1977 and anchors the Berkeley Civic Center, which grew from City Beautiful ideas. Alterations have been modest: aluminum window sash on the main facade and a 1950 rear extension. School district offices now occupy it, and its spire remains a local landmark.
Significance in brief: It is a notable and outstanding East Bay example of Beaux-Arts design, and an early work of the firm of John Bakewell and Arthur Brown, Jr. Its original scagliola columns and trompe l'oeil stairwell decoration are well preserved. It also housed Berkeley city government from 1909 to 1977 and is the keystone of the Berkeley Civic Center.
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). NRHP reference 13000591, listed August 13, 2013. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 715 Marin St., Vallejo |
|---|---|
| County | Solano County |
| Listed | August 13, 2013 |
| Reference number | 13000591 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architect / builder | BAKEWELL BROWN (John Bakewell and Arthur Brown, Jr.) |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts, French Renaissance tradition |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rated good condition and altered; occupied by Berkeley Unified School District administrative offices under a 30-year lease from 1979, with City Council and School Board meetings still held there. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.10256, -122.25678 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 13000591.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives)
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.