The Oxford Center Building

'A Creature of the l990's
Inspired By The 1890's'

by Anthony Bruce, Executive Director of Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association

The handsome new building at the corner of Center and Oxford Streets bodes well for the revitalized Downtown that politicians and residents alike have been longing for. Designed by architect Robert Nebolon for Soheyl Modarressi, President of Oxford Development Group, this new commercial building provides a welcoming friendly atmosphere to a corner that for years was nothing but a sterile thoroughfare between the BART station and the University campus

Six new downtown businesses have already leased all but one of the seven commercial spaces. The six are Ben and Jerry's; Pasqua's Coffee Bar; Sweet Spot, a newsstand; La Cascada a Mexican restaurant; Blitzen's a juice bar; and, Tokyo Bliss, a Japanese restaurant.

Both the scale and style of this two-story, updated "mission revival" structure are appropriate to the character of Berkeley, and we should take our hats off to both the developer and the architect, who obviously respect the architectural excellence and integrity for which the town has been known historically.

They studied a Berkeley Historical Society photograph of the original "Eastman Block" that Louis Stone and Henry Smith designed for Dr. Joseph Eastman in 1902. That was in the same location chosen by architect John Galen Howard for his first Berkeley office. The photo clearly shows that earlier building's mission revival style, how it served to anchor the corner, and the towers that are a distinctive feature of its new incarnation. The bold coved molding at the roof line of the new building and the colorful corner clock face are 1990's design elements that work well with the echoes of earlier days.

Robert Nebolon told CNA, "We set out, using clues from the past, to design a building that fits in, but wouldn't melt into the background. We wanted, and believe we succeeded, to do something familiar but unique with its own personality. Maybe the best way to say it is that Oxford Center is a creature of the 1990's, inspired by the 1890's. It's a classic that will never go out of style-- like a Brooks Brother's suit.

Berkeley is fortunate to gain an imaginative building, and six new businesses, that bring new life to an important downtown intersection.