Access maps from 1856 to the present, information about transportation, streets and neighborhoods.
Find What You're Looking For
Berkeley History
Visit the Berkeley History Room!
Open Hours: Wednesdays 10am-1pm
To visit outside of open hours, please make an appointment by calling 510-981-6100 (and asking to speak with someone from the History Room) or by email.
Located inside the Central Library in the Southeast Corner of the 2nd Floor Historic Reading Room, the Berkeley History Room contains a non-circulating collection covering all aspects and periods of Berkeley history, including geography, politics, arts and architecture, people, businesses, organizations, and social groups. The collection includes printed books and other media about Berkeley as well as institutions and organizations in and around Berkeley, a clipping collection from various publications (mainly from newspapers and mainly from the 1920s to circa 2000), local newspapers and newsletters, local governmental and quasi-governmental publications concerning the area and local issues, as well as selected photographs, flyers, recordings, posters, maps, and City documents. The Berkeley History Room collection also includes selected San Francisco Bay Area materials related to Berkeley history. In addition, the Berkeley History Room also maintains an archive of Berkeley Public Library history.
Common research topics and collection highlights:
- Ancestral and geneological research via Ancestry/census records
- Housing and/or architectural research via Sanborn Maps
- Berkeley social, political, economic, and cultural history
- Public transit history in Berkeley
- Obituary searches
- Historic map collection
- Historic poster collection
- Berkeley Daily Gazette microfilm (1894-1984)
- Berkeley Public Library history
- Berkeley High School yearbooks (1943-), select Berkeley Junior High and Elementary School yearbooks, UC Berkeley "The Blue and Gold" Yearbooks (1886-2006)
- Underground/alternative newspapers such as Berkeley Barb, Berkeley Tribe, Good Times, East Bay Express, Herstory, and more
Berkeley History Digital Links:
Clipping File Subject Headings
Digital Underground Press Collection
The Berkeley Revolution: Berkeley in the 1970s
How Old Is My House - Who Used to Live There?
How Do I Find Out About My House…
- When was it built?
- Who lived there?
- Who was the architect?
1. The very best local resource for property/architectural-related questions is BAHA—Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. They have resources (photos, building permits, real estate info, clippings) arranged by neighborhood, blocks, and specific addresses. There is a fee for this service.
2. The Berkeley Historical Society has "Block Books," which contains the early owner(s) of your land once it was subdivided.
3. If you know the name(s) of previous owners, try historic telephone books or city directories (both are in the Berkeley History Room, and many are on this webpage). Working backwards, you may discover important details about the residents.
4. Reverse directories from 1981 to present are also are a great resource and are located in the Berkeley History Room. In addition, a handful from the 1960s & 70s are held by the Berkeley Historical Society - BHS.
5. Don’t forget about census records—we have 1860 to 1930 for Berkeley on microfilm - and via Ancestry FOR FREE at the Central Branch Library. These records are arranged by address, and contain A LOT of information about all the residents at any particular address. Use the indexes to the left to discover which enumeration districts you house was located in for censuses older that 72 years. For more information or assistance with this process, call the Reference Desk at 981-6148 for a Berkeley History Room appointment.
6. Consult the Sanborn maps in the Berkeley History Room from 1890, 1894, 1911, 1929, and 1950 (original copies also exist at BAHA and BHS). These maps will show you what buildings were where, and (particularly the 1911 edition in the History Room) can hint at when the building was built – either before 1911, sometime between 1911 and 1929, or after 1929.
7. Ask at the Reference Desk for assistance in locating any of these items and agencies.
Digital copies of the library's collection of yearbooks can be found here. The actual items are in the Berkeley History Room waiting for you.
Berkeley's Jr High Schools & Middle School Yearbooks can be found here.
Included: The Gleaner from Garfield & Martin Luther King, The Target from McKinley & Willard and the Burbank Wizard.
The Berkeley Obituary Index is an index to death stories and obituaries of Berkeleyeans, both famous and not, contained in the Berkeley Daily Gazette. Currently available years: 1894-1912, 1920, 1923, 1925, 1930-1942, 1951, 1955, 1959-1965, 1967, 1970-1971, 1977-1980 & 1982. Call the Reference Desk at 510-981-6148 for more information.
Access annotated and digitized historical photos, images and maps from our Berkeley History Room.
Photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts — reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.
Special Collections
Berkeley's public schools were among the first in the nation to voluntarily desegregate. View some local desegregation stories here.
The Berkeley History Room has the Berkeley Junior Traffic Police Archives, a collection of newspapers clippings, photographs, service records of participants from the 1930s to the 1960s, and a BJP flag.
The Swingle Collection is a collection of some 300 items mostly from 1842-1942 all to do with Berkeley's past, culture and development. Owing to its age and sometime fragile condition, this collection requires an appointment to view. An index can be found here.