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In March 2026, UC Berkeley commenced construction of a huge, 23-story tower on the corner of Bancroft and Fulton that will house 1625 first and second year students at the University.  Days later the University announced plans to demolish three historic, landmarked structures to make way for an even larger, 26-story student dormitory on the site of the former Anna Head School.  In its campaign to build much-needed student housing, the University appears to have adopted an architectural model in the

We want to document the very strong community opposition to UC Berkeley’s intention to destroy the three landmarked Anna Head School buildings and to build a massive student residence.  Supporters of the Save Anna Head School Campaign have written to express their opposition.  The comments are representative of the more than 350 community members who have expressed their dismay about the destruction of the landmarked Anna Head buildings and the school’s and University’s culture and legacy, about the failure of the University to develop the a

It was a sad day for Berkeley on March 17th when the University announced its final plans to demolish three landmarked buildings on the Anna Head School campus and to build a massive, 26-story tower that will house 2000 students.  Despite six years’ effort by the Save Anna Head School Committee to work collaboratively with the University, and a consultant’s report demonstrating that it would be entirely feasible to build a large 850 student residence and save Channing Hall, the University has decided to construct a huge residence that will dwarf all other structures in the South

In July members of the Save Anna Head School Campaign presented an appeal to the members of the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission of UC Berkeley's publicly announced decision to tear down three unrestored buildings on the AHS campus, including Channing Hall.   Members of the LPC expressed support for our efforts.

In the spring of 2024 UC Berkeley received a report they had commissioned from Hanbury Architects to determine the feasibility of building student housing on the Anna Head School site.  The report presented several models for how to achieve that goal.  The Save Anna Head School Steering Committee endorsed the site plan below that illustrates how a student residence could be built on Bowditch, with Channing Hall moved slightly north.

The Good, and Challenging, News for Anna Head School                   June 26, 2024

We are writing to report on the progress made this past year in the Campaign to Save Anna Head School. We have been meeting frequently as a group, and with other key stakeholders, and we have maintained our advocacy with UC Berkeley.

In mid-November, a toilet waterline hookup on the second floor of Channing Hall began to leak,  but with the buildings now unoccupied it went unnoticed for days, if not weeks.  The resulting water flow damaged virtually every room in the building’s first, ground and basement floors.  The restoration company called into to mitigate the damage reported that it would take weeks to clean up the extensive water and mold damage, which required the removal of several walls and ceilings.  We are hopeful that the historic features of Channing Hall can be saved.  The 130-year old landmarked building

Following the encouraging endorsement in March from all Berkeley City Council members to save Anna Head School, it was a sad day on May 2 when there was a fire at the school.  As we reported at the time, a fire broke out at the base of Gables, spread to the walls, and burned through the roof.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/12/22/preserving-anna-head-school-buil...