Berkeley Piano Club
Piano Club entry, photo (2014) R. Kehlmann
CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK
designated in 2005
William L. Woollett, Architect, 1912
The Berkeley Piano Club, dedicated to the performance and study of music, was founded in 1893 by a group of local women. Early meetings were held in members’ homes and later in a barn at the southwest corner of Piedmont Avenue and Bancroft Way. This clubhouse was built in 1912 to serve as the organization’s permanent home. Architect William L. Woollett, who later designed the Hollywood Bowl, created a building that is domestic in scale and detailing. Its redwood-clad concert hall remains the Club’s home as well as a site for performances by musicians of all ages, enriching the cultural life of the community. The clubhouse was restored in 2005.
Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2007
Berkeley Piano Club Plaque, photo Ashley Greene (2023).
Chauve-Souris clubhouse east wall mural (detail), photo (2014) R. Kehlmann
Sondra G. Reid's update of the Piano Club's history, photo courtesy Berkeley Piano Club
The Club's Boesendorfer and Steinway pianos, photo Catherine Tonn, courtesy Berkeley Piano Club
Warming up for an evening concert, photo (2014) R. Kehlmann
Maude Wellendorff - One of the earliest Club members and 3-time president: 1900, 1904, 1908; Berkeley Piano Club Archives.
Mrs. John Galen Howard, Club President 1911-1913, and daughter Janette. 1913; Reminiscences, Berkeley Piano Club Archives.
Alice Rickard, Club President (1921-22) and baby Leontine Rickard (Watts) a future Club member. 1890; BAHA Archives.
Bach: Gigie from Partita in Bb by Jackie Yu
Nicholas Slonimsky at the Berkeley Piano Club
Photo credit abbreviations:
BAHA: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assn.
BHS: Berkeley Historical Society