Panoramic Hill

Panoramic Hill is a favorite area for those who love 20th century architecture, history and hiking. This beautiful little neighborhood was designed by an editor of the Californian in 1904, but has remained largely under the radar for those who do not know the area well. On the neighborhoods western edge you have Berkeley’s International House and the traffic circles of Piedmont Avenue. But as you get away from the frat houses that rise up in the shadow of Memorial Stadium, you come across one of the most compelling neighborhoods in Berkeley.

Panorama Hill is a collection of the dozen streets that web the hillside just east of campus. In itself, this might not seem that amazing, but, as Berkeley’s architecture students will tell you, the majority of these homes were designed by architecture greats like Frank Lloyd Wright, Julia Morgan (of William Randolph Hearst Fame) and Bernard Maybeck (Bay Area Favorite and master builder of craftsman style homes). In fact, the architecture building which many non-architects think is the ugliest building on the Berkeley campus—Wurster Hall—is named after an architect that designed houses here. Even if you are not an architecture student, the houses are interesting enough in themselves to be worth a tour—as many people do.

The streets on Panorama Hill are also terribly narrow, making them a fire hazard and difficult to negotiate when garbage trucks or fire-engines come across each other. Fire is, in fact, one of the greatest dangers to this neighborhood. Residents are responsible for keeping their properties clear of brush and other fire hazards.

There are also a series of steps that connect the neighborhood and make for a great hiking area. You can actually go all the way into Tilden Park if you are willing to take the hike.

The view from these homes is usually quite amazing, giving you a true panorama of the entire SF Bay. Also the cool sea breezes keep the area cool year round.