Claremont, a 1905 subdivision, was originally part of the 125-acre Edson Adams ranch. Early advertisements for the tract enticed families to leave the noisy, crowded city behind and head for “sunshine and the hills.” University of California architect John Galen Howard designed the entrance gates and pillars, which are built of native stone quarried in North Berkeley. The plan of the district was inspired by American landscape planner Frederick Law Olmsted’s ideas for urban design of undeveloped land. His philosophy of incorporating the landscape’s natural features is reflected in the layout of the streets, retaining walls, tree plantings, and other public amenities. Homes were planned around a creek’s meandering path through the tract. Most of the houses of this “residence park” were built between 1905 and 1930.