First Bay Tradition was an architectural style from the period of the 1880s to early 1920s. Sometimes considered a regional interpretation of the Eastern Shingle Style, it came as a reaction to the classicism of Beaux-Arts architecture. Its characteristics included a link to nature, and use of locally sourced materials such as redwood. It included an emphasis on craftsmanship, volume, form, and asymmetry. The tradition was rooted in San Francisco, the greater Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

, and the East Bay

East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)

The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...

. The Environmental Design Archives at the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 house a repository of drawings and specifications associated with the tradition.

Joseph Worcester, a minister, mystic, and amateur architect developed the First Bay Tradition before it became a style that was later popularized by Bernard Maybeck

Bernard Maybeck

Bernard Ralph Maybeck was a architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley...

 and Willis Polk

Willis Polk

Willis Jefferson Polk was an American architect best known for his work in San Francisco, California.-Life:He was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and was related to United States President James Polk....

. Other architects associated with the tradition included A. Page Brown

A. Page Brown

Arthur Page Brown was an American architect. He is best known for his 1892 design of the San Francisco Ferry Building. At the time, the Ferry Building was the largest single project ever undertaken in the city. Brown was born in Elisburg, New York. He studied at Cornell University School of...

, Ernest Coxhead

Ernest Coxhead

Ernest Albert Coxhead was an English born architect, active in the US. He was trained in the offices of several English architects and attended the Royal Academy and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, both in London. He moved to California where he was the semi-official...

, John Galen Howard

John Galen Howard

John Galen Howard was an American architect.He is best known for his work as the supervising architect of the Master Plan for the University of California, Berkeley campus, and for founding the University of California's architecture program...

, Julia Morgan

Julia Morgan

Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...

, Louis Christian Mullgardt

Louis Christian Mullgardt

Louis Christian Mullgardt was an American architect. Among his notable works are the San Francisco Juvenile Court and Detention Home, the Durant School in Oakland, Court of the Ages at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition, and the M. H...

, A. C. Schweinfurth

A. C. Schweinfurth

A.C. Schweinfurth American architect born Albert Cicero Schweinfurth.The son of a German engineer who had immigrated to the United States a decade before his son Albert was born...

, and Joseph Worcester. The tradition influenced later styles such as the Modernists of the follow-on Second Bay Tradition

Second Bay Tradition

The Second Bay Tradition is an architectural style from the period of 1928 through 1942 that was rooted in San Francisco, the greater Bay Area, and the East Bay. Also referred to as "redwood post and beam", the style is characterized by a rustic, woodsy philosophy and features sleek lines and...

. Transitional architects associated with the bridge between these two traditions were Henry Higby Gutterson and John Hudson Thomas.