Central Berkeley is located in the central portion of Berkeley, California. In the early years, downtown Berkeley was synonymous with "Berkeley Station", referring to the area around the railroad depot. The railroad served both passengers and freight at Berkeley Station. The zip code of Central Berkeley is 94703, and the main streets of the neighborhood are Allston Way, McGee Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue.
Central Berkeley is blessed with an abundance of fun attractions for residents and visitors to enjoy. Here’s a short list of our favorites:
The Berkeley Marina, located west of the Eastshore Highway (Interstate 80 and 580) at the foot of University Avenue in San Francisco Bay, is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California. In short, "Berkeley Marina" refers only to the marina of the city, but in common use it refers more broadly to the surrounding area. The Berkeley Marina features numerous restaurants, a hotel and a yacht club. There are also many routes for walking and bicycles. The area is accessible by foot or bike from the rest of Berkeley via the Berkeley I-80 Bridge at the foot of Addison Street (one block south of University Avenue) and is crossed by a section of the San Francisco Bay Trail near Interstate 80. Furthermore, AC Transit Route 51B (University Avenue-Rockridge BART) is the western terminus only on select trips.
Located just north of Tilden Regional Park, the Tilden Nature Area is a 740-acre preserve. The preserve features a combination of native and introduced plant communities, including oak/bay woodlands, grasslands, eucalyptus trees, and streams, with over 10 miles of hiking trails. Hikes range from the leisurely, self-guided Jewel Lake Nature Trail to a vigorous climb up Wildcat Peak for panoramic views of San Francisco Bay (elevation 1,211 ft.). A 750-foot boardwalk through the woods leads to a historic reservoir and waterworks, Jewel Lake, and a peaceful wildlife spot.
The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34-acre (13.7 ha) botanical garden situated in Strawberry Canyon on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The Garden is located in the Berkeley Hills, within the Oakland city limits, with views of San Francisco Bay. It is one of the United States' most diverse collections of plants, and is noted for its large number of rare and endangered species.
Sather Tower (1914), mostly referred to as the Campanile, is probably the most prominent emblem of UC Berkeley. It stands 307 feet tall, visible for miles, and is the world's third tallest bell and clock-tower. At the 200-foot stage, an elevator ride to the observation platform offers visitors a stunning view of the entire Bay Area and the campus. Named after campus benefactor Jane Sather, Sather Tower was modeled after the tower standing in Venice, Italy's Piazza San Marco. A 61-bell carillon houses the Campanile. There are 38 stairs up to the observation deck from the top of the elevator. This historical landmark's observation platform is not wheelchair accessible.
The Adventure Playground at Berkeley Marina is an urban park and adventure playground situated in Berkeley, California. Centered on the ideas of Danish architect Carl Theodor Sørensen, who used scrap junkyards for playgrounds while Copenhagen was under occupation during World War II, the park opened in 1979. The model of the adventure playground, often referred to as a "junk playground," is to provide the facilities to be designed for children. Saws, hammers, workbenches, and nails are among the instruments available. The legal risk created by giving children relatively unlimited access to these resources has made adventure playgrounds scarce in the United States, with one of only four in the country being the Berkeley Adventure Playground.
Residents of Central Berkeley are blessed to live in an area full of nature while also being quite close to city life. There is never a shortage of coffee shops, parks or shopping centers to enjoy within a five-minute drive of Central Berkeley. Residents are also able to enjoy a rich spiritual life at the following houses of worship:
If you'd like a beautiful and reverential Catholic Mass, this is the church for you. If other Catholic Masses are leaving you feeling spiritually empty, your soul will be nourished and your faith buoyed at St. Joseph the Worker. An amazing church, the loveliest around, not updated and modernized like so many California churches. The priests are wonderful, kind men, and homilies are moving and illuminating. The parishioners are a diverse group, with all ages and ethnicities.
The Berkeley Buddhist Monastery aspires to provide a peaceful haven of tranquility and wisdom in an urban world, carrying forward Master Hsuan Hua's (1918-1995) vision for education and interfaith harmony. The courses, seminars and cultural activities that combine to make this monastery one of the Bay Area's most active spiritual centers are anchored by a regular schedule of monastic practices.
Berkeley Methodist United Church has its origins in two churches that started in 1892 and 1903, the Berkeley Japanese Methodist Church and the Berkeley Japanese Christian Church of the Disciples of Christ. The Berkeley Japanese Methodist Church began as a branch of the Oakland Japanese United Methodist Church, having informal meetings with Oakland's Rev. Shokichi Doi preaching at the home of Jihei Suto on Fulton Street.
Revelation Missionary Baptist Church has an awesome lady pastor and the words that come out of her mouth is just awesome. If you need advice or spiritual counselling from her, she is definitely right by your side no matter how long it will take and she always has an incurring words for you. Some of the church-goers always say positive words for most of the pastors who preach at this church and visiting Revelation Missionary Baptist is surely a life-changing experience for every believer of Christ.
At the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, belonging takes precedence over trust. Together, they raise big questions, discuss issues, take guidance from many spiritual paths, and aspire with boldness to pursue the teachings of Jesus. While they have a strongly Christian core doctrine, in their approach to the Scriptures they are nevertheless decidedly open, a holy text that reveals new truths every time they come to it. They will never ask you to believe anything that, contrary to the empirical evidence, is clearly false, or openly/covertly hateful and religiously violent.
Central Berkeley is also home to some amazing parks, schools, public libraries and schools for its citizens to enjoy. These facilities are all world-class, beautifully maintained and clean so residents of surrounding communities often visit to enjoy them. Here’s a short list all located in Central Berkeley:
Teachers are directed by students to continually discover their strengths, explore new ideas, develop strong practical and academic skills and experience their lessons inside and beyond the conventional atmosphere of the classroom. Their highly experienced educators carry a wealth of expertise, zeal, values, and activities that encourage kids to engage in their own learning. They are active participants in a diverse and rich field of international culture and communication; they do not merely copy words, phrases, or memorize passages from books; they ask interesting questions, conduct research, and present their results in Chinese, English and Spanish. Their students are not just high academic achievements. Finally, as a student, a person, and a citizen of the world, a Shu Ren International Student is treasured for who they are and is nurtured by teachers who strive to help students achieve their full potential.
For almost 75 years, Berkwood Hedge School has been intuitively aware of this, teaching students to practice making thoughtful and just decisions, to discover their interests, and to cultivate positive relationships in preparation for adulthood, while cultivating academic excellence and emotional intelligence. Step into any of their classrooms and you will be struck by the students and teachers' attentiveness, confidence, and affection. Vivid and creative dialog can be seen all around you. That's because Berkwood Hedge School is a place of caring and deliberate learning where kids feel safe to take chances, make mistakes, and explore the world.
Washington Elementary School, made up of multiple cultures and 21 different languages, is a critical and diverse student population. In the heart of Berkeley, just blocks from downtown Berkeley and across the street from Berkeley High School, Washington is located. This location provides the school with many advantages, such as being able to walk to Cal Performance events on the campus of UC Berkeley, partnerships with students from Berkeley High and Cal, fun reading at the Senior Center with seniors and the support offered by many volunteers. The enrollment of 460 students in Washington includes classrooms in bungalows along McKinley Avenue.
At Walden Center & School the learning is experiential - children learn with their bodies; math is a concept they understand intrinsically because of their dance and music classes that teach them rhythm and meter. Art is vibrant and wide-ranging where mistakes are opportunities for new ideas. Watching the children be so confident in their bodies and self-expression in the drama/dance classes is truly a treasure.
In 1968, the City of Berkeley bought the land for the park. In September 1969, architects were chosen. Neighborhood residents helped to demolish an old house on the site, and the rubble was taken away by city staff. The Flatlands Community Association contributed to the park's planning and growth and continued to play an active role in its preservation and restoration. In 1970, playground equipment was installed. Originally named Roosevelt Tot Lot, the park was awarded by the California Parks and Recreation Society District III the 1975 Park Facility Citation for community involvement in design ideas and voluntary labor. In 1998, residents approached the city with an application to change the name of the park in honor of Becky Temko, a local resident and former chair of the Parks and Recreation Board. The City has secured grant funding to renovate the park through the East Bay Regional Park District Measure WW Grant Program. In August 2018, the renovations were completed.
