Hotel Durant
BERKELEY e-PLAQUE
CITY OF BERKELEY STRUCTURE OF MERIT
designated in 1993
2600 Durant Ave.
During the 1920s, the scale of this neighborhood on the south side of campus was transformed by the construction of the Edwards Track Stadium, the International House, the College Women’s Club, and the Hotel Durant. Opened as a “modern luxury hotel,” the Durant has attracted generations of students’ families, major figures in the arts and the sciences, and a president of the United States (Harry Truman). The two-wing, 140-room structure was designed in a Spanish colonial style and constructed of fire- and earthquake-resistant reinforced concrete. A terrace, part of the original street facade, was enclosed in 1949 to add commercial space.
Contributed by Berkeley Historical Plaque Project, 2004