Southside, Berkeley, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Southside
|
|
|---|---|
|
Neighborhood of Berkeley
|
|
Telegraph Avenue during a street fair
|
|
| Nickname(s):
South of Campus, South Campus
|
|
 Southside
Location in Oakland, California
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Alameda |
| City | Berkeley |
Southside, also known by the older names South of Campus or South Campus, is a lively neighborhood in Berkeley, California. It's right next to the University of California, Berkeley campus. Because many students live there and it's close to Sproul Plaza, Southside is strongly connected to the university.
History of Southside
Southside started in the 1860s. It was a project by the private College of California, which later became the university. The college needed to buy a large farm to the east to get water rights from Strawberry Creek. To pay for this, they also bought land south of the campus. Their plan was to sell smaller pieces of land next to the campus to create a college town.
They first hired Frederick Law Olmsted to design the new town. However, they later chose a more common grid layout for most of the streets. Only a small part near Piedmont Avenue kept Olmsted's design. The streets were laid out in a grid, and many were named after famous academics.
The streets going east-west were named Allston, Bancroft, Channing, and Dwight. These names are still used today. The streets going north-south were named Audubon (now College), Bowditch, Choate (now Telegraph), Dana, Ellsworth, and Fulton. Over time, new streets like Durant Avenue, Haste, Kittredge, and Atherton were added.
The neighborhood didn't really grow until 1873. That's when the university moved to Berkeley from Downtown Oakland. Southside was connected to Oakland by a horsecar line, which later became a streetcar line, along what is now Telegraph Avenue. The area grew steadily. A business district formed along the streetcar line. Farmhouses, mansions, and later rooming-houses, apartments, hotels, and churches filled the large blocks.
By the 1920s, Southside was a busy neighborhood. It stretched north all the way to Strawberry Creek. In the 1930s, the university campus started to expand into the neighborhood. They built Edwards Stadium and Harmon Gym. In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, the university bought and cleared the entire area north of Bancroft Way. This land was used for new campus buildings and Sproul Plaza.
During this time, the university also built many new student dorms. They used a process called eminent domain to take over city blocks in Southside. One of the blocks they took became the center of a big disagreement. Many people wanted it to be a neighborhood park. The protests and conflicts over People's Park became a famous event of the 1960s. The park is still a topic of discussion and occasional conflict today.
Southside Today
Southside's boundaries are roughly from Bancroft Way in the north to Dwight Way in the south. It's east of Fulton Street and west of Panoramic Hill. In the year 2000, about 30,000 people lived in each square mile. This made it the most crowded neighborhood in Berkeley. The average age of people living there was 21 years old. This is younger than other areas, showing how many students live in Southside.
The corner of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue is a main entrance to UC Berkeley. Telegraph Avenue is a busy street for people walking. It's also a shopping area with street vendors and stores. These shops mostly serve students and visitors. Durant Avenue, east of Telegraph, has many affordable restaurants, especially Asian ones. Students sometimes call this area "the Asian Ghetto." Many Fraternities and sororities are found in the eastern part of the neighborhood near Piedmont Avenue. This area is often called "Frat row."
In the fall of 2010, the Berkeley Student Food Collective opened. This happened after many protests on the UC Berkeley campus. Students were against a fast food chain called Panda Express opening there. Students and community members worked together to open a grocery store. It's run by the community and is right next to the UC Berkeley campus. Here, people can buy local, seasonal, humane, and organic foods at fair prices. The Berkeley Student Food Collective is still open today at 2440 Bancroft Way.
