808 Allston Way

Berkeley, Department of Parks and Recreation [DPR] Form, 2023

The property at 808 Allston Way in West Berkeley is a one-story-over-raised-basement, multi-family residence built in 1886 by Edward F. Neihaus, an early Berkeley businessman, developer, and co-owner of the massive West Berkeley Planing Mill which operated from 1874 to 1901. The property is a rare and relatively intact example of the Queen Anne style of architecture, exhibited by its partial-width front porch supported by turned wood columns with decorative wood trim and brackets, roof cornices with repeating curved wood eave brackets and incised wood details, the prominent front gable end with a decorative truss at its peak, other decorative woodwork along the front window header, its compound hip and gable roof forms, and raised basement level. Brewster Historic Preservation was hired by the property owner to evaluate its potential historical significance in anticipation of a project that would raise the building about three feet to accommodate a full first floor level, a horizontal addition, and two Accessory Dwelling Units to be built in the rear yard. Brewster Historic Preservation found that property meets California Register of Historical Resources for its significant associations with Edward F. Niehaus, who was important to the history of the City of Berkeley, and because it embodies most of the character-defining features of the Queen Anne style of architecture while retaining sufficient integrity to convey those architectural associations. Brewster Historic Preservation also found that the property meets the criteria as a City of Berkeley Structure of Merit for its historical and architectural values. Work on the DPR form was begun in November 2022 and completed by January 2023.