Northwest Berkeley in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Church of the Good Shepherd

Charles L. Bugbee, Architect, 1878

— Listed on the National Register of Historic Places —

Church of the Good Shepherd Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 7, 2010

1. Church of the Good Shepherd Marker

Inscription. This is Berkeley's oldest remaining church building and the oldest church in the East Bay still in continuous use by its founding congregation. The one-story Victorian Gothic-style building was built here on what was Bristol Street, before it was renamed Hearst Avenue. The church is distinguished by vertical board-and-batten siding, a 75-foot bell tower, and pointed-arch stained glass windows. The church's thousand-pound Blymer bell was used as a city fire alarm from 1882 until the advent of electricity in 1894.

Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2000

Erected 2000 by Berkeley Historical Plaque Project.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1882.

Location. 37° 52.205′ N, 122° 17.679′ W. Marker is in Berkeley, California, in Alameda County. It is in Northwest Berkeley. It is at the intersection of Hearst Avenue and Ninth Street, on the right when traveling south on Hearst Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1823 Ninth Street, Berkeley CA 94710, 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 Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 935 Hearst Avenue (within shouting distance of this marker); Toveri Tupa – Finnish Hall (about 400 feet away, measured

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in a direct line); Bowen’s Inn/Higgins Grocery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Workingman’s Hall (approx. 0.2 miles away); Delaware Street Historic District (approx. ¼ mile away); Spenger’s Fish Grotto (approx. 0.3 miles away); Fullen Market Building (approx. 0.4 miles away); American Photoplayer Co. (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berkeley.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Harpoon Cannon (was approx. 0.3 miles away but has been permanently removed).

More about this marker. The marker is mounted at the top of the steps, to the immediate right of the front entrance.

Regarding Church of the Good Shepherd. The Church of the Good Shepherd was given landmark status by the City of Berkeley in 1975, and placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1986.

Also see . . . Berkeley Landmarks' History of the Good Shepherd Church. "The building originated with a women’s sewing society, which began collecting funds in 1877 to build an Episcopal church
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, July 21, 2019

2. Church of the Good Shepherd (1878)
in West Berkeley. It was constructed in 1878, the year in which the City of Berkeley was incorporated. The architect, Charles L. Bugbee, modeled it after the Gothic Revival Mendocino Presbyterian Church designed a decade earlier by his father’s firm, S.C. Bugbee & Sons of San Francisco...." (Submitted on March 11, 2010.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 11, 2010, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 2,161 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 11, 2010, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2. submitted on July 22, 2019, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.