Central Berkeley in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Historic McGee-Spaulding District
Berkeley History
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, August 16, 2020
1. Historic McGee-Spaulding District Marker
Inscription.
Historic McGee-Spaulding District. Berkeley History. In 1855, Irish-born James McGee (1814-1899) bought 115 acres of the old Peralta rancho – now the McGee Tract - for farmland. Later he donated land for the city's first Catholic convent, school, and church. He was one of Berkeley's first town Trustees.
Just west of the McGee Tract, the Spaulding Tract became part of the District when it was subdivided in 1876. For decades, the District remained sparsely populated and residents complained of having to pass through "the rural districts of the frontier” to get from one end of the city to the other. In 1884 a Town Hall was built at University Ave. and Sacramento St. in an attempt to unify the city. Five years later the building was moved to this block. It later burned and was replaced by the present City Hall in 1909.
After the 1906 earthquake the District finally became part of the urban pattern, with the Southern Pacific Red Train on California St. and electric streetcar lines along its boundaries: University Ave., Sacramento St., Dwight Way and Grove St./Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.
As discriminatory housing practices slowly relaxed after World War II, the District became one of Berkeley's first fully integrated neighborhoods. Citizen action in the 1970s resulted in city ordinances that helped preserve the District's historical character as a quiet residential neighborhood on the edge of downtown, with a wide variety of architectural styles, from Victorian through World War II tract.
This plaque was donated by the McGee-Spaulding-Hardy Historic Interest Group.
In 1855, Irish-born James McGee (1814-1899) bought 115 acres of
the old Peralta rancho – now the McGee Tract - for farmland. Later
he donated land for the city's first Catholic convent, school, and
church. He was one of Berkeley's first town Trustees.
Just west of the McGee Tract, the Spaulding Tract became part of the District when it was subdivided in 1876. For decades, the District
remained sparsely populated and residents complained of having to pass through "the rural districts of the frontier” to get from one end of
the city to the other. In 1884 a Town Hall was built at University Ave. and Sacramento St. in an attempt to unify the city. Five years later the
building was moved to this block. It later burned and was replaced by the present City Hall in 1909.
After the 1906 earthquake the District finally became part of the urban pattern, with the Southern Pacific Red Train on California St. and
electric streetcar lines along its boundaries: University Ave., Sacramento St., Dwight Way and Grove St./Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.
As discriminatory housing practices slowly relaxed after World War II, the District became one of Berkeley's first fully integrated neighborhoods. Citizen action in the 1970s resulted in city ordinances that helped preserve the District's historical character as a quiet residential
neighborhood on the edge of downtown, with a wide variety of architectural styles, from Victorian through World War II tract.
This plaque was donated by the McGee-Spaulding-Hardy Historic Interest Group.
Erected 2012
Click or scan to see this page online
by Berkeley Historical Plaque Project.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1855.
Location. 37° 52.135′ N, 122° 16.37′ W. Marker is in Berkeley, California, in Alameda County. It is in Central Berkeley. It is at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Alston Way, on the right when traveling south on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Berkeley CA 94704, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and on the Coast Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1899
3. Marker detail: Inset photo - moving town hall
"In 1899, the first town hall was moved uptown, with the help of one horse, at a cost of $999. Town officials met there during its 30-day journey.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 16, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 618 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on August 16, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
