Hearst Memorial Mining Building
The Hearst Memorial Mining Building at the University of California, Berkeley, is home to the university's Materials Science and Engineering Department, with research and teaching spaces for the subdisciplines of biomaterials; chemical and electrochemical materials; computational materials; electronic, magnetic, and optical materials; and structural materials. The Beaux-Arts-style Classical Revival building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as part of California Historical Landmark #946. It was designed by John Galen Howard, with the assistance of architect and Berkeley alumna Julia Morgan and the Dean of the College of Mines at that time, Samuel B. Christy. It was the first building on that campus designed by Howard. Construction began in 1902 as part of the Phoebe Hearst campus development plan. The building was dedicated to the memory of her husband George Hearst, who had been a successful miner.
Hearst Memorial Mining Building | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Berkeley Landmark No. 152 | |
Hearst Mining building in 2022 | |
| Location | Oxford St., Berkeley, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37.8742°N 122.2571°W |
| Area | 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architect | John Galen Howard |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| MPS | Berkeley, University of California MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004646 |
| BERKL No. | 152 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 25, 1982 |
| Designated BERKL | February 25, 1991 |
From 1998 to 2003, the building underwent a massive renovation, expansion, and seismic retrofit, in which a platform was built underneath the building, and a suspension system capable of up to 1 meter lateral travel was installed. To keep the expansion distinct from the historic building, shot peened aluminium (rather than stone) and a more modern design were used in the new construction.
The Lawson Adit - a horizontal mining tunnel - is directly to the east of the building.