The Huchiun Ohlone natives hunted and fished for thousands of years in this area on the northern bank of Strawberry Creek. In the late 18th century, Spanish explorers arrived and the native population was soon decimated. In 1820, this property became part of a royal grant to Luís María Peralta, which he named Rancho San Antonio. In 1848, the Rancho became part of the United States, and pieces of it were subsequently acquired by various squatters and investors.

Irish immigrant farmer James McGee (1814–1899) purchased 157 acres of the old Rancho in the 1850s. In 1877, he deeded 2.7 acres of his farm to the Sisters of Presentation, led by Mother Mary Teresa Comerford (1821–1881). Under her leadership and that of her priest brother, Rev. Pierce Michael Comerford, a convent, St. Joseph’s Church, and girls’ and boys’ schools were built. This neighborhood, around today’s Jefferson Ave. and Addison St., became a major center for Irish Catholic culture in the East Bay.

Where Presentation Park is today was once the site of the convent cemetery, where Mother Mary Teresa was buried. After Berkeley banned cemeteries within the city limits, all remains were moved to St. Mary’s Cemetery in Oakland.

None of the original buildings survived. The original convent burned down in 1966 and was replaced in a new location on Allston Way, which now serves as student housing for the Berkeley Student Cooperative. The University purchased the entire property in 1991, built University Terrace for faculty housing, and gave the land for Presentation Park to the City of Berkeley.