Berkeley City Club

Julia Morgan is an American legend in architecture. With a career spanning 50 years and over 700 buildings to her credit including the Hearst Castle and reconstruction of the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel, Ms. Morgan’s achievements are revered in American architecture.

Originally opened in 1930 as The Berkeley Women’s City Club, the present day Berkeley City Club is located next to the UC Berkeley campus and is a magnificent blend of Romanesque and Moorish styles of architecture common to the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Not only did Morgan design and oversee construction of the seismically reinforced structure, her personal touches are also reflected in the ornate light fixtures, classic furniture, beautiful plunge pool, distinctive fireplaces and even an original set of china for the dining room.

Unfortunately, as with many buildings of this era, the decades of use slowly took their toll on the internal systems in the building. Fortunately, with the establishment of the Landmark Heritage Foundation in the 1960’s, a non-profit organization with a mandate to enhance the public benefit provided by the Berkeley City Club building, this unique property now had the stewardship to return it to its’ former glory. With the addition of Morgan’s “Little Castle” to the National Register of Historic Places and the award of a California State Landmark in 1977, the historic significance of this building was secured. “The Landmark Heritage Foundation works very closely with Club management to enhance and integrity of the building”, explained Mary Breunig, current President of the LHF, “we are all extremely proud of our very special building.”

When it came time to resolve the corrosion problem in the original galvanized domestic water system, the BCC and LHF called upon committee of experts from BCC membership to evaluate the problem. “In a community like Berkeley, we are very fortunate at the City Club to have a wide range of professional talent amongst our membership” explained Breunig, “so we involved a number of experts in the committee to evaluate the problem and possible solutions. In a property with the historic significance of the Berkeley City Club, it was clear that pipe replacement was inconceivable. After investigating in-place restoration and developing a Request for Proposal,” continued Breunig, “we received bid from multiple contractors. Only ePIPE had the expertise with many heritage projects, and the tremendous references to go with those projects. The professionalism and personal attention to detail by ePIPE staff made them a clear choice for the piping remediation project at the Berkeley City Club.”

The project itself involved restoration of the entire domestic hot and cold water piping system including the 42 guest rooms, kitchen areas, pool shower rooms, hair salon, common areas bathrooms, and the water mains supplying the entire building. "In order to maintain operation of the facility during the restoration of the mains," explained Murray Greenwood, Regional VP for ACE EnviroTech, "a temporary bypass was installed to preserve water service to all areas of the building. Another challenging element to the project," continued Greenwood, "was the replacement of the original tub/shower mixers in this 77 year old building, to a modern but period appropriate fixture." ACE EnviroTech brought in the expertise of local specialty contractor Kruse Plumbing to install these unique fixtures with a careful touch.

"After 77 years of continual use, the piping system was certainly in need of some help," explained Nancy Johnson, General Manager of the Berkeley City Club. "Our guests and residents are patient and
understanding, but I am sure they are all thankful to take a full pressure shower."