History of the 1301 Oxford Site

For an excellent history of the 1301 Oxford Site, see

"1301 Oxford in Context--A History"

by Jon Nackerud

Also see Statement from Ruth Hayashi at Berkeley City Council Hearing 7/19/01

The Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has affirmed the landmark status of the 1301 Oxford property repeatedly:

• • In 1976, the LPC formally named the Napoleon Byrne Mansion property as an historic landmark.

  • In 1990, even with the loss of the Byrne Mansion itself, the LPC "affirmed the continuing historic significance of the Byrne property as a Berkeley landmark and that the trees, open creek bed, open spaces, and fence are examples and remnants of a past era, and that all future construction of the site shall be reviewed by the Commission prior to approval."

  • In 1992, the LPC recommended that "exposed sections of the creek should be restored in keeping with Berkeley's Creek Restoration Ordinance and consideration be given to restoration of the section of the creek which has been covered over."

  • In 2000, in recommendations concerning the draft EIR for 1301 Oxford, LPC noted that the property is still considered a landmark and that the DEIR was incomplete in this aspect.

  • In 2001, LPC passed a motion "to deny the Alteration Permit [for the Beth El project] because the proposed construction and alteration adversely affects the special character and special historical and aesthetic interests and value of the landmark and its site based on the fact that the Napolean Byrne property was originally a farm and one of the last remnants in Berkeley of this type of property and based on the fact that in landmark designation it states that the grounds around the building were extensive with the mood of gentle decay and a rambling garden, and that the proposal is too massive to be respectful of the site."

The Byrne family did not build their home in any random area. They chose to build here because of Codornices Creek. Napoleon's purchase was probably influenced by his wife's love for the place. She wrote a friend about it saying:

"I should regret immediately to lose this place, as I believe it the prettiest situation in the valley; indeed I have difficulty in believing there is prettier in the state. We have a beautiful view of it crossing the bay; even from the city we can see our little house distinctly. We can see it from Oakland to great advantage and from any part of the valley this always looks to me as the fairest spot. I mean, of course, its natural situation, as there are no improvements whatsoever."

--Mary Tanner Byrne, letter of March 26, 1860

The March 5 2001 decision of LPC has been questioned--one of the issues was whether the four substitute commissioners, who were enlisted to replace commissioners who had been barred from voting on this issue, were adequately prepared for their service. A response to this may be found in a

letter from Patricia Dacey on this issue.

Here is an historical overview of the development on the 1301 Oxford site. [click any picture to see magnified view...]

Compare Proposed Project Size to Football Field

[football field dimensions are taken to be 300'x160'--goal line to goal line]

Byrne Mansion in the Berkeley Hills of 1867