The Shuman Block
McDougall Brothers, Architects
Berkeley History
Horse-drawn wagons once carried goods to the Berkeley Free Market housed here. In 1952 the structure was modernized to accommodate automobile showrooms, with artist studios above. Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Biscoff, William Theophilus Brown, and Paul Wonner are among the prominent Bay Area painters who rented studios here. Together with David Park, who had a studio in downtown Berkeley, Bischoff and Diedenkorn founded the Bay Area Figurative style. While here, in 1955-1956, Diebenkorn combined abstraction with nature in his “Berkeley Series” landscapes.
A 1999 rehabilitation by owners John Gordon and The Bay Area Architects restored much of the building’s original appearance. Artists continue to use the upstairs studios.
Marker can be reached from Shattuck Avenue north of Parker Street, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
