Southside in Berkeley in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Fred Turner Building
| | City of Berkeley Landmark | |
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, January 2, 2024
1. Fred Turner Building Marker
City of Berkeley Landmark
designated in 1981
Fred Turner Building
Julia Morgan, Architect
Christian M. Teigland, Builder, 1940
This elegant commercial building, featuring two projecting storefront bays, copper bay hoods, pressed-copper storefront friezes, and steel-sash multi-pane windows, was the famed architects last Berkeley project. It was built for Frederick Chester Turner, a former Oakland City Engineer and Councilmember whose wife, Elsie Bloomfield Lee, was Julia Morgans sorority sister. Over several decades, Morgan designed various projects for the Turners, including a medical office building and a laboratory on this block (demolished). Two legendary long-term tenants in this building were the George J. Good mens haberdashery, in the western storefront, and the Black Sheep Restaurant, located behind an interior courtyard accessed through a central archway between the storefronts. An eight story infill project was constructed at the rear of this building in 2021.
Erected 2021 by Berkeley Historical Plaques Project.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1981.
Location. 37° 52.124′
this page online
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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ten Speed Press (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hans Kelsen (approx. 0.2 miles away); 2401 Bancroft Way (approx. 0.2 miles away); UC Berkeley Korean War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); A Peoples History of Telegraph Avenue (approx. 0.2 miles away); University of California Berkeley Campus (approx. Ό mile away); Moe's Books (approx. Ό mile away); John Galen Howard (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berkeley.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, January 2, 2024
3. Fred Turner Building and Marker
The marker is visible here in the doorway.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 477 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 2, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2. submitted on June 21, 2025, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3. submitted on January 3, 2024, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
