Berkeley High School history

By 1904, 741 students were enrolled at the new school and 780 were expected the following year.

In 1917 an auditorium and science building were built along Alston Way at Grove—now Martin Luther King Way—and 507 students received diplomas—only slightly fewer than current class expected “to walk” at the Greek Theater in June.

The group of buildings forms an L shape around the academic building, constructed in 1920 and designed by William C. Hays, creating a courtyard on the interior.

In 1922 a gymnasium building was built.

The term Art Deco comes from a 1925 Paris fair titled Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, which first exhibited art, architecture, and the decorative arts influenced by new machines such as the automobile, the airplane, and the ocean liner.

The shop and science buildings, the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, and Berkeley High School Community Theater were designed in 1938 by architects Henry H. Gutterson and William Corlett, Sr.

The district purchased land at the corner of Allston Way and Milvia and constructed the cafeteria building at this location in 1964.

In 1979 the Donahue gym was built.

The Berkeley Community Theater, Florence Schwimley Little Theater, and the shop and science buildings of Berkeley High School were designated a City of Berkeley Landmark on 7 December 1992.

The shop and science buildings were retrofitted and the interiors reconfigured in 1996.

The D building was completed in 2004 to house the library, student union, College and Career center, counseling offices, administration offices, dance studios, swimming pool, and some classrooms.

The old M building along Milvia was razed, and a new classroom building is was completed in 2014, with 16 classrooms.