SUPPLEMENTAL ITEM - 2556 TELEGRAPH AVE. …...2016/01/03 · the reuse of Ghiradelli Square in San...

JWC Urban Design

70 Twain Avenue - Berkeley, CA 94708 - Tel: 510/604-8675; Cell: 510/604-8675

[email protected]

JANUARY 6, 2016 COMMENTS ON SUBMITTED APPLICATION TO LANDMARK THE VILLAGE AT

2556 TELEGRAPH AVENUE, BERKELEY

The Application to Landmark The Village at 2556 Telegraph Ave. does not make a sufficiently

compelling case that the qualifying criteria for landmark status can be met or should be granted

by the LPC.

The initial Historic Resource Evaluation prepared by Tim Kelly Consulting concludes that the

property fails to meet the State of California criteria for significance as well as the eligibility for

local listing under the City’s Landmark Protection Ordinance (LPO).

The Landmark Application does not provide a sufficient case for local landmark protection under

the established preservation criteria and in a number of ways attempts to over extend the criteria.

2556 Lacks Architectural Merit

While telling the interesting story of the evolution of one of Berkeley’s more eccentric

commercial properties, the application takes the position that the former auto garage and addition

is “an outstanding example of what is called “adaptive reuse.” The comparable example cited is

the reuse of Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco. However, the alterations to the former auto

garage for “The Village” reuse would be considered “intrusions” under preservation criteria and

are in no way comparable to a reuse project such as Ghiradelli Square.

The application’s attempt to characterize 2556 Telegraph Ave. as an architectural expression of

Berkeley’s “unorthodox” culture overextends and misuses the criteria for architectural merit. The

developer-contractor’s use of local craftsmen and construction workers--many of whom were

unemployed, unskilled and untrained-- and the lack of adherence in a number of cases to the

architect’s construction drawings is more an example of “corner cutting” to reduce costs than it is

an example of “craftsman construction.”

The result is that the current building is a pastiche of materials and conflicting details that define

the interior of the building. This is less an element of significance than what has become a chaotic

and distractive retail frontage (along what is called “the fifth block” of Telegraph). Thus, it’s

easy to take issue and be critical of the Application’s suggestion that the building’s exterior use of

shingles and brick make a street façade that “subtly but notably resonates with the adjoining

residential neighborhood.”

SUPPLEMENTAL ITEM - 2556 TELEGRAPH AVE. LPC 01-07-16

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JWC Urban Design

70 Twain Avenue - Berkeley, CA 94708 - Tel: 510/604-8675; Cell: 510/604-8675

[email protected]

Other Criteria at 2556 Telegraph Ave. Fail to Meet LPC qualifying principles:

In numerous other ways the Landmark Application raises more concerns that it answers,

including:

Nearby Landmark structures: the “fifth block” has been a focus of preservation concerns for a considerable time as a consequence of the continuing decline in property values along the “fifth block” as compared to the blocks north to Sproul Plaza. The Application does not make a strong case for an “auto row” beyond noting the formerly used properties. Nor is there a pattern described for what has been designated. Several recently approved new projects for the “fifth block” and consistent with what has been proposed as a new development for the property.

Cultural Value: Beyond referencing the changes associated with the events following the 1969 social activism associated with People’s Park and the anti-war Free Speech Movement, there is little exploration of the history of the property’s attraction as an “indoor mall for hippie craftsmen before the era of sidewalk vendors.” In addition, the time period for such change lies outside the established 50 year period.

Educational Value: Beyond making the statement that the current reuse by “The Village” allows the passerby to enter and “absorb its important lessons,” there is no statement as to what these lessons are and why they are important.

Context: The statements made about the “historic value” of the property are too broad to be attributed to a single business, building or parcel. They are topics that should be documented at a district level as part of a Historic Context Analysis and might include the decline of auto salesrooms, the pedestrian friendly nature of the Telegraph commercial corridor, association with the University, and the nature of retail uses and attraction for street venders

In conclusion, the application fails the LPC standards to designate the building an architectural

landmark or structure of merit. I urge the Commission to reject the application.

Jay W. Claiborne,

Preservation Consultant for Realtex


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Jacob, Melinda

Subject: FW: 2556 Telegraph Avenue--Please do not landmark this building

From: Garret Christensen [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 10:56 PM

To: Zarnowitz, Sally <[email protected]>

Subject: 2556 Telegraph Avenue--Please do not landmark this building

Landmarks Preservation Committee: I urge you to please not landmark 2556 Telegraph Ave ("The Village"). I am an economist at UC Berkeley, and I've lived in Berkeley for over ten years, including several years spent just across the street from The Village (2615 Telegraph), and I have never considered the building worthy of landmark status. Especially now that we are in a severe housing crisis, every new unit of infill housing proposed is badly needed, and the units that would replace The Village would help in a small way to lower rents in our city. Sincerely, Garret Christensen 1729 6th St. Berkeley, CA


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Jacob, Melinda

Subject: FW: 2556 Telegraph

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Fischer

Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2016 4:12 PM


Subject: 2556 Telegraph

Designating 2556 Telegraph as a landmark seems like an abuse of the landmarks process. It is not a particularly

interesting or beautiful building, and the landmark application seems to be just an attempt to obstruct the

construction of much-needed new housing.

Eric Fischer


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Jacob, Melinda

Subject: FW: Agenda Item 5A, the Village, 2556 Telegraph

From: David Mundstock [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Monday, January 04, 2016 4:54 PM


Subject: Agenda Item 5A, the Village, 2556 Telegraph

To Members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission,

I have lived in Berkeley since 1966, and am a homeowner in the South Campus area.

Decades ago conversion of C.J.’s Old Garage into the Village was considered an example of unique Berkeley

architecture, much admired in articles about this special Berkeley kind of design.

The many restaurants and shops that were/are part of the Village help make Berkeley a desirable place to live

in. Here are family-owned, neighborhood restaurants offering a variety of cuisines. My current favorite is

Norikonoko, one of Berkeley’s best Japanese restaurants in the home-cooked style. I’ve also gone to Fondue

Freds’s many times over the years. There used to be a Star Trek store upstairs, which I patronized. The

Ethiopian restaurant is also quite good, only one I can walk to since the Blue Nile closed. I also liked an Indian

restaurant that was there for quite a few years.

The annual Berkeley World Music Festival has its final performances in the Village, where people can gather

on two levels to attend. There’s no replacement for such a venue.

Please preserve the Village as a Berkeley landmark for the many people who couldn’t imagine it being

destroyed.

Berkeley, and especially the area where I live, will not be the same if you destroy everything of value to

neighborhood residents. The Village is a test of your devotion to the Berkeley we all should wish to remain as

a special place.

David Mundstock

2523 Piedmont Avenue

Berkeley 94704


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To: Landmarks Preservation Commission

From: John S. English

Re: Suggested Wording for the Landmarking Resolution

The following is suggested language for use in what I hope will be your designating the property

at 2556 Telegraph Avenue (The Village) as a Landmark.

WHEREAS, on October 1, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission initiated

consideration of landmarking the property at 2556 Telegraph Avenue; and

WHEREAS, on November 5, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission opened a public

hearing on the proposed landmarking, and continued the hearing to January 7, 2016; and

WHEREAS, on January 7, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the continued

public hearing on the proposed landmarking, and determined that the property at 2556 Telegraph

Avenue is worthy of Landmark status; and

WHEREAS, the property at 2556 Telegraph Avenue has significant architectural merit because it

is an outstanding local result of adaptive reuse, with a special physical character achieved by

complex yet mutually supportive interplay between multiple elements; and

WHEREAS, the property also has significant architectural merit because within the busy

Southside, it provides a unique and inviting oasis; because the building’s general scale and feel

relate very well to the several historic structures on Telegraph Avenue’s fifth block that have

already been designated as Landmarks; and because in the adaptive reuse that created The

Village, choice was made to employ materials that notably resonate with houses in the adjoining

residential neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, the property has significant cultural value because its adaptive reuse in 1971–72

responded to the spirit of that era by inserting, within a former big auto dealership, multiple

spaces meant for small establishments; because the resulting complex has accommodated very

diverse restaurants and other independent businesses, many of the proprietors of which have

been people of color and/or immigrants; and because the resulting important cultural interplay

has notably been enhanced by how The Village’s physical layout closely and interestingly

juxtaposes businesses around the common; and

WHEREAS, the property has significant usefulness as an educational force because it very

instructively demonstrates, at a prominent location on busy Telegraph Avenue, the important

concept of adaptive reuse; and


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WHEREAS, the property has significant historic value because its dramatic conversion into a

multi-occupancy and very pedestrian-friendly complex aptly reflected the then-surrounding era

of sociocultural awakening and the welcoming of diversity; because throughout subsequent

periods the complex, with its supportive layout and character, has continued to foster and display

such diversity through its own wide range of occupants; and because the building still includes

discernible physical reminders of its former role as an important part of what was then an “auto

row” on Telegraph Avenue; and

WHEREAS, the property has retained sufficient integrity to convey the above-described merits,

values, and usefulness;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the property at 2556 Telegraph Avenue and its

site as described below are hereby designated as a City of Berkeley Landmark; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in this case the location and boundaries of the landmark site

(as this term is used by Section 3.24.100.A of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance) are the

same as those of Assessor’s parcel 055-1837-001; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the particular features that should be preserved are the large

sign saying “The Village”; the street facades’ extensive usage of exposed brick and of wood

shingles; the arcade at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Blake Street; the twin glass doors,

with decorative metal tracery, that face Blake Street; the entrance from Telegraph Avenue into

the common; the extent and basic character of the common itself, including its brick paving and

brick-sided planter island; the location, shape, and basic materials palette and character of the

facades and roofs that face or are otherwise seen from the common; the skylights that illumine

the complex; the windows that feature stained glass or other special decorative treatment; and the

spiral staircase and adjacent deck, with their railings that feature twisting metal vines.


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