In the Beginning
	Early Conflict
	The Boom Years
	Political Unrest
	Recent History

In the Beginning

From its beginning, the City of Berkeley has been identified with the University of California, Berkeley. This relationship between "town and gown" has developed through peace and turmoil, and continues to evolve.

In the 1850s, the private College of California, located in Oakland, purchased farm land surrounding Strawberry Creek in the hopes of building a campus that would rival the eastern Ivy League schools. Since the purchase predated the City of Berkeley itself, the College sold much of its land to attract and encourage the development of a town next to the new campus. In 1868, the College of California merged with the Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College to create the University of California.

Slowly, a town grew up by the new campus. East Berkeley was transformed from a crest of rolling hills into an affluent residential district.

In the 1870s the Regents of the new University of California hired a horse and cart to bring faculty and students from Oakland to campus along what was called the "Telegraph Road." Commercial developments sprung up alongside the route, and by the early twentieth century, the Telegraph Avenue area near campus was bustling with activity.

Early Conflict

Early tensions and rivalries developed between the largely working class, Roman Catholic residents of west Berkeley (then called Oceanview) and the largely white-collar, Protestant residents and university students of east Berkeley. West Berkeleyans complained of east Berkeley's street sewage and demands for higher taxes. Alcohol was similarly a touchy point; the two districts fought over the banning of alcohol near campus. Eventually, a compromise "one mile limit" was established--east Berkeley became dry, and west Berkeley remained "wet."

The two areas were joined when the City of Berkeley was incorporated in 1876, in response to Oakland's efforts to annex the area. After a dispute over the location of the new city hall, it was moved to the geographical center of Berkeley, along what is now Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.

Meanwhile, the neighborhoods surrounding the University continued to grow. The University and Oceanview manufacturing attracted business; churches and the seminaries of "Holy Hill" north of campus blossomed.

In the 1920s the University bought four blocks south of campus to construct a track stadium, baseball field and gymnasium; Memorial Stadium was also built in Strawberry Canyon.

Although students had limited political impact at the time (most lived close to campus and were not allowed to vote or participate in city politics), many University faculty and administrators held elected city positions, part of a town and gown tradition of promoting economic and civic development. At the turn of the century, University President Martin Kellogg took the lead in developing Berkeley's first public school system, and Berkeley's first public school was named after him.

An international competition to create an architectural master plan for the budding university campus was launched by philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst. The competition's intent was to create an "Athens of the West." The footbridge over Strawberry Creek was replaced by stately Sather Gate, and old edifices gave way to new monuments like the Hearst Mining Building and the Campanile. The University's national and international prominence was evident by President Woodrow Wilson's visit to the campus in 1919.

The Boom Years

The expanding university paralleled a momentous population boom within Berkeley itself. Between 1900 and 1930, the City's resident population grew from 10,000 to 82,000.

University proximity was used as a marketing tool by private developers to lure new residents. Many people relocated to Berkeley after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Research conducted throughout World War II and into the Cold War accelerated the University's growth and prestige. Federal funds were used to build and expand research laboratories, many of them in the previously undeveloped hills above the campus.

After World War II, thousands of veterans poured into Cal under the GI bill, and the University hastily constructed housing and expanded campus facilities to deal with the influx. Industrial war workers for the Oakland and Richmond shipyards arrived by the thousands, and a substantial African-American population moved to Berkeley for the first time.

In the 1950s the University and the City drafted their first Master Plans. The City projected a population growth to 180,000 while the University targeted its enrollment at 27,500. To provide housing for more students, the University purchased land for six high-rise dormitory complexes in the south campus area, beyond its traditional Bancroft Avenue border. Ironically, this same land had been sold by the College of California nearly a century before to help develop the City of Berkeley.

The City actively began to encourage high density and private sector development in the Telegraph neighborhood. Private apartments, fraternities, and sororities were built next to the University's dormitories. The City and the University collaborated to increase off-street parking and initiate street improvements.

Political Unrest

The political and social unrest of the 1960s profoundly affected the development of town-and-gown relations. The Free Speech Movement of 1964 found student leader Mario Savio on top of an encircled police car on Sproul Plaza. His speech galvanized a movement which was echoed in later anti-war protests on campus and in the community.

Students were allowed to vote in local elections, and began participating in city politics as City Hall changed from republican to liberal democratic, then radical, majorities. The new city government received much of its support from those who opposed the University, and close association between town and gown became politically unpopular. Tension heightened during the 1969 conflict over People's Park, which brought rioting to Southside streets, and resulted in then-Governor Ronald Reagan sending in the National Guard troops into Berkeley

Upon the easing of tensions in the 1970s, town-and-gown concerns turned again to development. Reversing the expansionist policies of the 1950s, neighborhood concerns over the proliferation of large apartment buildings ended city policies promoting greater density. As the rental housing market tightened, the City asked the University to provide more student housing on its own land. Voters adopted rent and eviction control policies and passed a neighborhood preservation ordinance, which put restrictions on new development. The City's 1977 Master Plan encouraged the reduction of parking and motor vehicle use.

Recent History

By the early 1980s, increased demands for student housing led the University to create new residence halls at the Clark Kerr Campus (formerly the California School for the Deaf and Blind) and the Foothill residential complex northeast of campus. The developments were controversial with the City and many neighborhood groups. After lengthy negotiations, a legally binding agreement between the University and the City recognized community concerns and provided for specified community access, restrictions on use, and designation of a part of the Clark Kerr Campus for use as affordable elderly housing, now called Redwood Commons.

In the 1990s, the University continued to expand and renovate campus facilities, including libraries and research laboratories, and also embarked on a series of major seismic renovation projects of campus buildings. The potential impacts of these projects on traffic, parking, historic buildings, and quality of life concerned many Berkeley residents.

Under the 1990 campus Long Range Development Plan, the University made commitments with respect to collaboration on economic development, limitations on campus population and enrollment, payments for sewer hookup fees for student housing, provision of fire fighting equipment and police services, and many other items. These and other agreements have resulted in payments and services to the City totaling approximately $19 million over a 15-year period.

Joint City and University efforts to revitalize the Telegraph Avenue area have been a major focus. A primary vehicle for these efforts is the Telegraph Area Association (TAA), which receives most of its operating costs from the campus and the City. TAA is comprised of local residents, merchants, campus staff and students, and local institutional members who work together to address key issues in the neighborhood.

People's Park has long been a source of town-and-gown conflict. The last major conflict occurred in 1991 when the University proceeded with plans to install sand volleyball courts at the park. Construction of the courts was met with several days of demonstrations and in some cases, violent confrontations. Since then the campus has worked with the City in an attempt to create a community park that serves the open space and recreational needs of residents, many of whom are Cal students. A community advisory board meets monthly, and advises on policies, programs, and future design improvements.