Directories

City Directories & Telephone Books Available On-Line

Below are links to digital images of directories covering the Oakland-Berkeley area -- some even before Berkeley officially existed.  Most are annotated to indicate where the Berkeley-specific information can be found.  Most hard copies (from the 1880s) can be located at the Central Branch and at the Berkeley Historical Society and Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.

Directories in the Library

The Berkeley History Room contains many directories of current and not-so-current Berkeleyans and local businesses.

Polk's Directory of Berkeley and Nearby Areas
Call Number: 917.94 P759
Directories from 1883 to 1943.

 

Blue Books Available on the Web

Blue books list the elite and/or socially active of society.

 

Some City Directories Available at the Library or BHS

Some City Directories can ONLY be found in print in Berkeley History Room or at the Berkeley Historical Society or Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.  At the library they can be found in the Berkeley History Room under the call number 917.94 P759.  "(BHS)" denotes these years can be found at the Berkeley Historical Society. These directories include the following:

  • 1882-1883
  • 1888
  • 1891
  • 1894-1902
  • 1898 (BHS)
  • 1901 (BHS)
  • 1904-1907
  • 1907 (BHS)
  • 1922

Some Telephone Directories Available at the Library or BHS

Some telephone directories can ONLY be found in print, in the Berkeley History Room or at the Berkeley Historical Society or Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.  When they are only located at the library they are denoted "Hist Room," and are in the Berkeley History Room under the call number 917.9466 Oa4p. "(BHS)" denotes these years can be found at the Berkeley Historical Society.  These directories include the following:

  • 1925-1927 (BHS)
  • 1928
  • 1931-1934 (BHS)
  • 1936 (BHS)
  • 1937
  • 1938-1939 (BHS)
  • 1941-1942 (BHS)
  • 1943
  • 1946
  • 1947-1948 (BHS)
  • 1949
  • 1951
  • 1952 (BHS)
  • 1953
  • 1954 (BHS)
  • 1955 (Hist Room)
  • 1956-1959 (BHS)
  • 1964-1967
  • 1965-1966 (Hist Room)
  • 1967-1969
  • 1970 (Hist Room)
  • 1971-1974
  • 1975 (Hist Room)
  • 1976-1979
  • 1980 (Hist Room)
  • 1981-Present

Business Directories in the Library

Below are links to our catalog records of many different types of resources about Berkeley businesses.

 

Reverse Directories

When you know an address, but don't know who or what was there, a reverse directory can help

1938 Pacific Telephone & Telegraph

1940 Pacific Telephone & Telegraph

1944 Pacific Telephone & Telegraph

  • Criss-Cross Directories in the History Room (1981-Present)
    Call Number: 917.94 H127o
    These cover roughly from Oakland to Port Costa.
  • Other Reverse Directories
    The Berkeley Historical Society has many reverse directories that cover the time periods of March 1936 and 1964-1984.