Berkeley in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
2401 Bancroft Way
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 24, 2025
1. 2401 Bancroft Way Marker
Former First Unitarian Church
Completed in 1898
A.C. Schweinfurth, Architect
This Property Has Been Placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
by the U.S. Department of the Interior
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the Unitarian Universalism (UUism) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1898.
Location. 37° 52.115′ N, 122° 15.675′ W. Marker is in Berkeley, California, in Alameda County. It is on Bancroft Way, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2401 Bancroft Way, Berkeley CA 94720, 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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: UC Berkeley Korean War Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Berkeley City Club (about 600 feet away); McCreary-Greer House (about 600 feet away); In Memory of Ed Sanclemente (about 700 feet away); Ten Speed Press (about 700 feet away); Brent James Woodall (about 700 feet away); Clint Evans Baseball Field (about 700 feet away); Fred Turner Building (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berkeley.
Also see . . . California SP First Unitarian Church
this page online
This was an important building in the development in San Francisco Bay Region architecture, by a transplanted East Coast shingle-style architect who responded to the California landscape & made a distinctive contribution to the self-conscious & still influential "building with nature" movement of the Worcester-Maybeck-Keeler-Hillside Club coterie in the East Bay in the 1890s. It is Schweinfurth's only work in the area known to survive in essentially its original form, & is (accidentally, since it wasnt University owned till 1961) the second oldest building on the University of California campus. With its adjoining divinity school (1906-40) it was part of a "street of churches" encouraged by the founders of the University. Early members of First Unitarian included many of Berkeleys prominent artists & intellectuals from Maybock on down, & the congregation has remained notable for liberal & humanitarian & cultural activities. With Kaybecks Town & Gown Club of 1898, & Julia Morgans Presbyterian church of a decade later, First Unitarian is a masterpiece of the non-residential use of the rustic, handcrafted, open-beamed, redwood "Simple Home" style.(Submitted on September 8, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 24, 2025
2. 2401 Bancroft Way Marker
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 24, 2025
3. 2401 Bancroft Way Marker
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 24, 2025
4. 2401 Bancroft Way
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 24, 2025
5. 2401 Bancroft Way
Photographed by 2
6. Historic 2401 Bancroft Way photo
Photo taken from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, 1981
Credits. This page was last revised on September 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 8, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 84 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on September 8, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
