La Loma Park
Encyclopedia
La Loma Park is the historic name, no longer in common use, of a tract of land located in the Berkeley Hills
section of the city of Berkeley, California
in the San Francisco Bay Area
. The Spanish word loma means "rise/low hill". It was the property of Captain Richard Parks Thomas, a veteran of the Civil War
and Berkeley businessman. Today, it is entirely a residential area. It lies at an elevation of 614 feet (187 m).
Captain Thomas' home was located on the site of what is today Greenwood Terrace. Some of the large trees here were originally planted by Captain Thomas and managed to survive the devastating fire of 1923
which swept through this part of Berkeley.
Captain Thomas was the owner of the Standard Soap Company in West Berkeley, president of the California National Bank of San Francisco, and owner of the Berkeley Ferryboat Line. He had a reputation as a friend of the working man and a character, and was probably the first person who inspired the nickname for the district: "Nut Hill". An old map includes a notation that he kept an illegal still on his property. He devised a scheme for an aerial tramway running from the Berkeley flatlands to the hills. And every Fourth of July, he would fire off an old civil war cannon from a plaza he constructed up the hill from his home. The site is today known as the "Hume Castle", also known as the "Hume Cloister" on Buena Vista Avenue, named for Doctor Samuel Hume and his wife who in 1923, following the fire, built a reduced-scale replica of a cloister
in Toulouse, France.
In the 19th century, a stone quarry
was opened at the head of Codornices Creek
, abutting the north boundary of the La Loma Park tract. In the late 1960s the quarry was made into a public park, "Glendale-La Loma Park".
A number of notable people have lived in the La Loma Park/Nut Hill area over the years, including many professors from the University of California, Berkeley
, among them, J. Robert Oppenheimer and his nemesis-colleague, Edward Teller
. Famed San Francisco Bay Area architect Bernard Maybeck
made his home here, as well as the homes of several others in the neighborhood, a fact memorialized by Maybeck Twin Drive off of Buena Vista above La Loma. Further up Buena Vista is a structure known as the Temple of the Wings with its Grecian columns, an early 20th century bohemian
hangout.
The currently unused Hillside Elementary School
is located in the La Loma district on the block bounded by Le Roy Avenue, Buena Vista Way and La Loma Avenue. It is registered as a local historic landmark. The present structure was built after the 1923 fire destroyed its predecessor, located on the southwest corner of Le Roy and Virginia Street. Hillside was closed both because of a declining school age population and because it sits immediately adjacent to the Hayward Fault which runs directly behind it on La Loma Avenue.
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
section of the city of Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
in the San Francisco 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...
. The Spanish word loma means "rise/low hill". It was the property of Captain Richard Parks Thomas, a veteran of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and Berkeley businessman. Today, it is entirely a residential area. It lies at an elevation of 614 feet (187 m).
Captain Thomas' home was located on the site of what is today Greenwood Terrace. Some of the large trees here were originally planted by Captain Thomas and managed to survive the devastating fire of 1923
1923 Berkeley Fire
The 1923 Berkeley Fire was a conflagration which consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California on September 17, 1923....
which swept through this part of Berkeley.
Captain Thomas was the owner of the Standard Soap Company in West Berkeley, president of the California National Bank of San Francisco, and owner of the Berkeley Ferryboat Line. He had a reputation as a friend of the working man and a character, and was probably the first person who inspired the nickname for the district: "Nut Hill". An old map includes a notation that he kept an illegal still on his property. He devised a scheme for an aerial tramway running from the Berkeley flatlands to the hills. And every Fourth of July, he would fire off an old civil war cannon from a plaza he constructed up the hill from his home. The site is today known as the "Hume Castle", also known as the "Hume Cloister" on Buena Vista Avenue, named for Doctor Samuel Hume and his wife who in 1923, following the fire, built a reduced-scale replica of a cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
in Toulouse, France.
In the 19th century, a stone quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
was opened at the head of Codornices Creek
Codornices Creek
Codornices Creek , long, is one of the principal creeks which runs out of the Berkeley Hills in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. In its upper stretch, it passes entirely within the city limits of Berkeley, and marks the city limit with the adjacent city of Albany in...
, abutting the north boundary of the La Loma Park tract. In the late 1960s the quarry was made into a public park, "Glendale-La Loma Park".
A number of notable people have lived in the La Loma Park/Nut Hill area over the years, including many professors from 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...
, among them, J. Robert Oppenheimer and his nemesis-colleague, Edward Teller
Edward Teller
Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," even though he did not care for the title. Teller made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy , and surface physics...
. Famed San Francisco Bay Area architect 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...
made his home here, as well as the homes of several others in the neighborhood, a fact memorialized by Maybeck Twin Drive off of Buena Vista above La Loma. Further up Buena Vista is a structure known as the Temple of the Wings with its Grecian columns, an early 20th century bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
hangout.
The currently unused Hillside Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School is a now-closed public elementary school located in the hills of Berkeley, California. It sits on the block bounded by Le Roy Avenue, Buena Vista Way and La Loma Avenue. Hillside is registered as a local historic landmark...
is located in the La Loma district on the block bounded by Le Roy Avenue, Buena Vista Way and La Loma Avenue. It is registered as a local historic landmark. The present structure was built after the 1923 fire destroyed its predecessor, located on the southwest corner of Le Roy and Virginia Street. Hillside was closed both because of a declining school age population and because it sits immediately adjacent to the Hayward Fault which runs directly behind it on La Loma Avenue.