Berkeleyans were all agog a century ago in mid-October 1924 to see the huge military dirigible Shenandoah, “the mistress of the United States air forces,” fly over the Bay Area on a trip from San Diego to Washington state.
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The airship had flown to San Diego from Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first flight of a rigid airship across the United States. The Berkeley Daily Gazette reported that “hundreds of Berkeleyans sat up until after midnight waiting for the ship,” which was expected to pass over during the night, and that flood lights were installed at the Campanile. Unfortunately, winds kept the vast airship 25 miles from the California coast and out of sight from Berkeley as it sailed north past the Bay Area.
Around the same time the Shenandoah was crossing the United States, the German airship ZR-3 generated headlines when arrived in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The gigantic vessel — more than 650 feet long — had crossed the Atlantic from Germany in less than three-and-a-half days. Upon arrival it circled above New York City five times.
New clubhouse: I’m going to jump back a few weeks here to mention an item I didn’t include in one of my September columns.
In late September 1924 “with several hundred distinguished members of the Masonic lodges of California and of the Eastern Star of this state as witnesses, the formal dedication of the new Masonic clubhouse on the corner of Bancroft Way and Bowditch Street was held this afternoon,” according to the Gazette. The building stood on the southwest corner of the intersection, across from the Berkeley campus.
“It is of the Georgian Colonial architecture of tapestry brick with stone trimmings,” the Gazette reported. “It is a story and a half high and the foundations and walls have been reinforced so that two additional stories may be added at any time. The club, which was designed by Carl Werner, was built for a gathering place for the students and is equipped to be used for many occasions.
“The large lounging room is beautifully furnished in oak and overstuffed furniture in the soft taupe shade. It is finished in quarter sawned (sic) oak with linen fold border … in the west end of the library, there is a huge fireplace that has already formed the center of many delightful informal gatherings. Books are to be placed on the long shelves soon, and at present there are magazines for the students and places where they may study in quiet.”
A 1924 newspaper photograph shows the newly dedicated Masonic clubhouse at the corner of Bancroft Way and Bowditch Street. (courtesy of the Berkeley Historical Society and Museum)
Women’s parlors, offices, an auditorium seating 750 and suitable for dances and a kitchen that could serve 300 were included. Upstairs were “committee rooms and study rooms for the students.” A billiard room was planned in the basement.
“The entire clubhouse is particularly attractive and is filling a need that has been felt for many years,” the article concluded.
It was indeed attractive but lasted only about four decades. In the 1960s it was bought and torn down by a developer who constructed stores above an underground level of parking on the site. That building, in turn, was torn down a few years ago and replaced with the midrise apartment building that now occupies that corner.
Fall rain: Berkeley saw its first rainfall of the season on Oct. 15, 1924.
“Rain began falling today about noon, and the weather bureau is forecasting a downpour for tonight in this part of the state,” the Gazette reported. “The early rains this season will prove very beneficial for early grass and plowing, though they are slightly disadvantageous for unharvested crops such as rice, beans and unshipped grapes.”
Bay Area native and Berkeley community historian Steven Finacom holds this column’s copyright.