We had a very interesting day today, exploring the campus of Berkeley University and its outskirts. We set off about 10.30am and walked the 4km to Berkeley campus. Being one of the famous universities in America, and the world, we were keen to see how it looked and, predictably, the buildings and layout blew us away. The buildings for all the disciplines were amazing in size, design and quality. It was very obvious that the campus has developed through the endowment of huge amounts of money since its inception in 1868. The style of building hasn't changed since the first buildings went up, and even the latest ones are still in "Collegiate Gothic", despite being made in reinforced concrete, with modern materials and techniques.
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| Buildings on campus |
Unfortunately we couldn't ascend the 8-storied bell tower (usually open, and the 3rd tallest in the world), nor the Greek Theatre (performance space), probably because we happened to strike Orientation Week. There were heaps of stalls on the campus, run by students and intended to attract the interest of new participants.
The strike of noon saw hundreds of students pour out into the campus to find a spot to settle down for lunch. The mixed-cultural nature of the current student body was very obvious. We guess that perhaps 50% were Asian, 15% Indian, 15% Latino and the remainder odds and sods, including white Europeans.
We explored the campus using John's GPSMyCity walking tour, with each of us having an earpiece in an ear. It was a great way to pick up the history of each building and the campus at large. After we finished this, he had another walking tour sorted, to view notable examples of architecture on the streets bordering the campus. Again, we saw some amazing structures.
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| Bernard Maybeck's Church of the First Christ (unfortunately closed) |
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| Women's Club |
