Berkeley Rose Garden
Encyclopedia
The Berkeley Rose Garden is a city-owned park in Berkeley, California
. The Rose Garden is situated in a residential area of the Berkeley Hills
between the Cragmont and La Loma Park
neighborhoods, occupying most of the block between Eunice Street and Bayview Place along the west side of Euclid Avenue.
The Rose Garden is in the form of a terraced amphitheater nestled in a small canyon and offers stunning views of the city and bay of San Francisco
and the Golden Gate
. Over a hundred varieties of roses grow along the terraces, with maximum blooming occurring in early Spring.
The park is bisected by Codornices Creek
. The north side of the Rose Garden includes a set of tennis courts. The south side is a grove of Coast Redwoods, bay tree
s and coastal live oak
.
Across Euclid Avenue is Codornices Park, an older city park (established 1915) of which the Rose Garden was initially considered an extension. Codornices includes a large lawn, picnic area, children's play equipment and a long concrete slide. Here, two forks of Codornices Creek have their confluence, right along the line of the Hayward Fault. Here too was once the clubhouse of the Codornices Club, a neighborhood improvement and social club.
A pedestrian tunnel runs under Euclid, connecting the Rose Garden with Codornices Park. In this section, from 1912 to 1928, before the Rose Garden was established, a 275 feet (83.8 m) wooden streetcar and road trestle spanned Codornices Creek along Euclid. In 1928, the trestle was filled in, a culvert laid through it for the creek, and the pedestrian tunnel constructed.
Construction of the Rose Garden began in 1933 with funds provided by the federal Civil Works Administration
. Construction continued in subsequent years with funding from the California State Economic Relief Administration and the federal Works Project Administration. It opened on September 26, 1937.
Since its inception, the Rose Garden has been the site of numerous rose shows.
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...
. The Rose Garden is situated in a residential area of the Berkeley Hills
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...
between the Cragmont and La Loma Park
La Loma Park
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 ...
neighborhoods, occupying most of the block between Eunice Street and Bayview Place along the west side of Euclid Avenue.
The Rose Garden is in the form of a terraced amphitheater nestled in a small canyon and offers stunning views of the city and bay of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
and the Golden Gate
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
. Over a hundred varieties of roses grow along the terraces, with maximum blooming occurring in early Spring.
The park is bisected by 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...
. The north side of the Rose Garden includes a set of tennis courts. The south side is a grove of Coast Redwoods, bay tree
Bay tree
Bay tree can refer to:* Bay Laurel, the edible Sweet Bay* Umbellularia, the California Bay Laurel* Bay Tree, a Fabergé eggAnd sometimes confused with the poisonous*Prunus laurocerasus...
s and coastal live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
.
Across Euclid Avenue is Codornices Park, an older city park (established 1915) of which the Rose Garden was initially considered an extension. Codornices includes a large lawn, picnic area, children's play equipment and a long concrete slide. Here, two forks of Codornices Creek have their confluence, right along the line of the Hayward Fault. Here too was once the clubhouse of the Codornices Club, a neighborhood improvement and social club.
A pedestrian tunnel runs under Euclid, connecting the Rose Garden with Codornices Park. In this section, from 1912 to 1928, before the Rose Garden was established, a 275 feet (83.8 m) wooden streetcar and road trestle spanned Codornices Creek along Euclid. In 1928, the trestle was filled in, a culvert laid through it for the creek, and the pedestrian tunnel constructed.
Construction of the Rose Garden began in 1933 with funds provided by the federal Civil Works Administration
Civil Works Administration
The Civil Works Administration was established by the New Deal during the Great Depression to create manual labor jobs for millions of unemployed. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter. Harry L. Hopkins was put in charge of the organization. President Franklin D...
. Construction continued in subsequent years with funding from the California State Economic Relief Administration and the federal Works Project Administration. It opened on September 26, 1937.
Since its inception, the Rose Garden has been the site of numerous rose shows.
External links
- City of Berkeley's web page about the garden.
- Article by Gray Brechin that includes a description of the Rose Garden.
- Friends of the Rose Garden, a volunteer group that helps take care of the garden.