Plaque

Claremont Court Gates

SOUTH

Claremont Boulevard & Russell Street Map View

CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK

designated in 2005

Claremont Court Gate and Street Markers

Claremont Boulevard and Russell Street
John Galen Howard, Architect, 1906

These entry gates help define one of Berkeley’s most gracious residential areas, Claremont Court, which was designed to attract the growing number of prosperous Bay Area professionals in the early 1900s. Developer Mason-McDuffie engaged Howard, the University’s supervising architect, to design the gateway. The elegant red brick pillars heighten the formal ambiance of the area. Their moldings of ivory-colored terra-cotta, Ionic capitals, and clusters of acanthus leaves follow the Beaux-Arts aesthetic. The central pillar dividing the street was later removed to ease traffic as cars became popular. Additional entry gates stand on Avalon Avenue, Forest Avenue, Derby Street, and Russell Street.

Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2009


  • Claremont Court Gates, photo Michael Several (2023).

  • Claremont Court Gates, photo Michael Several (2023).

  • Russell Street entrance (note circular horse watering trough) (1907), photo Stuart Kierulff, BAHA Archives.

  • Claremont Court Gates, Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley.

  • Claremont Court Gates, postcard, Anthony Bruce Collection.

  • John Galen Howard, UC Berkeley Environmental Design Archives.

Photo credit abbreviations:
BAHA: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assn.
BHS: Berkeley Historical Society