The Berkeley Environment
Berkeley is a small city with a big city sensibility. There are fifty-one cities in California with larger populations than Berkeley's approximately 112,000 inhabitants, according to the 2010 Census report. Yet Berkeley is famous around the world for its academic and scientific institutions and achievements, its theater, museums, restaurants, coffee houses, and for its dedication to free speech and free thought. Berkeley prides itself on being at the forefront of many movements—from social and environmental justice, to declaring itself a nuclear free zone. It sees itself as a compassionate city, providing sanctuary for those with different worldviews or lifestyles, and it is home to those who may not have a place to call home. St. Mark's has called Berkeley home for over 130 years. This is where we are; this is our hometown.
Location and Access
St. Mark's is located in the heart of the city of Berkeley, just across the street from the University of California and next door to the historic Berkeley City Club, designed by the celebrated California architect Julia Morgan. Located two blocks from the Berkeley BART station, the church is on several main AC Transit routes, providing easy transport to San Francisco and Oakland.
Berkeley is one of the most easily accessible cities for those with disabilities. The majority of sidewalks, businesses and public buildings, including our church, provide ramps and elevators. Public transportation is equipped so as to make travel available for the disabled. And Berkeley just saw the opening of the Ed Roberts Campus, located right above the Ashby BART station; its mission is to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently and without discrimination.
Spiritual Berkeley
Berkeley is secular but spiritual. Although some in Berkeley may reject organized religion, they do not necessarily reject spirituality. The winter and summer solstice is celebrated, and you may find many outlets in the city for non-mainstream spirituality. That said, it is also home to forty-eight churches (including All Souls Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, and St. Clement's Episcopal Church) and several synagogues and Buddhist temples. St. Mark's is neighbor to Trinity Methodist Church, the First Presbyterian Church, First Congregational Church, Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish, and University Lutheran Chapel.
University of California, Berkeley
Academic Berkeley
The University of California at Berkeley is a world-renowned center of learning, research and social activism; its Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has produced eleven Nobel laureates. The Graduate Theological Union, with its diverse partnerships of seminaries and graduate schools, including the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, is located just across the UC campus from St. Mark's. These and several other colleges and universities populate the Berkeley vicinity. The parish is privileged to count among its parishioners a number of academics and theologians from these institutions, many of whom serve as clergy, as teachers who lead discussions in our adult education forums, or in other capacities.
Cultural and Culinary Berkeley
Rich in culture and cuisine, the city offers an unusually wide range of artistic venues and restaurants near the church. Such resources on the UC campus include Zellerbach Hall, home to Cal Performances, with its year-long program of music, dance and theater; the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; and the Greek Theater, where you can often catch an outdoor concert. Just west of St. Mark's is Berkeley's theater district, with the Berkeley Repertory Theater and the Aurora Theater. In the same area is the Freight and Salvage Co., which hosts folk, blues, country, bluegrass and world music groups.
Alice Waters's renowned North Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse, celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year, is the birthplace of California cuisine. Many other fine restaurants in the city adhere to its tenets of organic, locally grown food.
Berkeley's Theater District
Peet's Coffee and Tea is where the American coffee revolution began. Alfred Peet came from Holland to the US after WWII and was so appalled at the quality of the coffee here that he opened his own store in Berkeley in 1966. He emphasized using high quality beans and roasting them in small batches. The Starbucks founders knew Peet, and they began to replicate his methods in Seattle, even ordering all their beans from him. The original Peet's is still open.
You can also find farmers' markets at various locations in Berkeley, an d on Wednesday evenings a convoy of food trucks convenes in the Gourmet Ghetto, so named because of the convergence of Chez Panisse, Peet's, and various other fine food and beverage establishments.
Berkeley Outdoors
Fifty-two parks are located throughout the city. The Berkeley Marina offers ample facilities for mooring boats, as well as spectacular views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge and a pleasant place for dog walking or kite flying. Up in the hills, on Berkeley's eastern side, is Tilden Park, from which you can survey the entire bay, or where you can swim in Lake Anza, play golf, admire the plants and flowers in the botanical garden, or hike one of the many trails. And, of course, for water sports or relaxation, the bay and ocean are not far away. For mountain sports and sheer natural beauty, drive east three or four hours to reach Yosemite National Park or Lake Tahoe.
Looking across the bay at our neighbor, San Francisco
Our Neighbors
Not only is Berkeley located in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and by the Sierra mountains to the east, it is also neighbor to Oakland and to San Francisco, with all the urban cultural wonders they provide—including, of course, a number of major sports teams!
Explore our Community
Want to know more about Berkeley? These links, in addition to those above, may be of interest.
The city: Visit Berkeley
Real estate: Berkeley Homes; Zillow – Homes for Sale