ABSTRACT
San Francisco, a Spanish settlement with a population of approximately one thousand inhabitants, was claimed by the United States in 1846. Two years later gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill on the nearby American River, and it resulted in a mass influx of people. The Gold Rush was on, and Americans from all over the continent flocked to San Francisco. One architect in Berkeley stands out as a prime mover in the development of Northern California architecture. Bernard Maybeck built a number of houses in the Berkeley hillside, some of them quite eclectic. Mrs. Hearst also commissioned Maybeck to design a clubhouse for women named the Town and Gown Club. It was to be a meeting place for both students and the public. Maybeck reluctantly took on the commission to create the First Church of Christ Scientist in Berkeley, which turned out to be his masterpiece.
