Bernard Maybeck... and Berkeley Architecture

When I first moved to Berkeley, I had the delightful experience to live on Buena Vista Way in the Berkeley Hills... midway between the Temple Of The Wings and Hume Castle... and up the street from Maybeck Twin Drive.

Bernard Maybeck built several homes in the neighborhood, and I actually met Jacomena Maybeck, his daughter in law.

It was a treat to live in the Berkeley Hills, amongst the Eucalyptus Trees, surrounded by wonderful buildings. It was particularly magical on those times we were above the fog... just a sea of white (with the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up) below me.

I always enjoyed the Berkeley Architectural Heritage tours ... and the Bernard Maybeck tour I took years ago was particularly delightful.

One of his sublime homes was built for Wallen Maybeck in Kensington. Almost monastic in feel - it has a simple elegance to it.

For years afterwards, I tried to find it again, but never knew where it was. One day as I was driving north on Purdue (I usually drive south on Purdue), I realized that the street looked familiar. I kept driving, and there it was, on the right side of the road, at the end of Purdue. It's truly one of Kensington's fine homes, and one of the most spectacularly site houses in the Berkeley Hills.

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