South Berkeley Area
The wide arterial streets of Adeline, Shattuck, Telegraph and Claremont Avenues reflect the imprint of streetcar and steam train lines built in the early 1900’s to service developing East Bay communities. Trains and streetcars connected Berkeley and areas farther north to the ports, ferry slips and downtown commercial areas of Oakland and San Francisco.
Commercial buildings constructed along these lines in the Elmwood and Lorin districts remain largely intact, despite many demolitions along Adeline Street during the 1970’s for construction of the underground Bay Area Rapid Transit system.
The additional costs for undergrounding the trains were paid by Berkeley taxpayers through a special assessment.The tree lined streets of South Berkeley’s residential neighborhoods have a mix of modest and substantial family houses in signature styles: brown shingle, neo-Classical, bungalow and High-Peaked Colonial Revival.
South Area Plaques
