Save Anna Head School Steering Committee Opposes UC Berkeley’s Decision to Destroy Channing Hall
The following are comments from members of the Save Anna Head School Committee who worked as volunteers over the past six years to collaborate with UC Berkeley on a plan to save Channing Hall.
Chuck Palley, President of Cahill Contractors, Retired
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
There has been a very important development in the effort to save Channing Hall at the Anna Head School in Berkeley. At its meeting on December 4, the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously decided to pass a resolution to “express their support for preserving Channing Hall of the Anna Head School as part of the University of California’s ongoing effort to redevelop the site into student housing.” The Commission has sent its resolution on January 20, 2026 to the UC Berkeley Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Administration, and Campus Architect in an effort to convince the Unive
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.
Cal plans to house at least 1,000 students on the site. It says it can’t afford to save any of the landmarked buildings, the oldest dating to 1892, that a group has fought for years to preserve. Berkeleyside by Kate Darby Rauch March 27, 2025, For the full article see: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/03/27/anna-head-school-demolition
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.
We began the new year with some distressing news: UC Berkeley has advised us that they intend to tear down three landmarked, historic, nationally-recognized buildings at the Anna Head School in order to build student housing.
The Good, and Challenging, News for Anna Head School June 26, 2024
Save Anna Head School Steering Committee Press Release May 16, 2024
We were greatly distressed yesterday afternoon to learn that a group had occupied the Anna Head School and Channing Hall in particular.
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.
Berkeley, CA--December 14, 2022
The past year has been challenging for the Save Anna Head School campaign, with some positive achievements overshadowed by continued neglect and resulting fires and floods on the campus.
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
BERKELEY, CA—September 30, 2022
As we reported in the spring, the school suffered a significant fire in the Gables building, and we continue to work with the University to address the impact, urging that they take steps to further secure the school. We are also engaged in dialogue about the new Student Services Master Plan that is developing this academic year that will include consideration of the Anna Head School.
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.
As news of the fire at the Anna Head School fire spread, I received emails and calls from individuals throughout the community and across the country. Here is a sample of their voices and their grave concern for the future of this historic landmark.
Paul Chapman, Chair, Save Anna Head School Steering Committee
The photo of the burned school is extraordinarily sad, and heartbreaking to see.
UC Administrator
On Monday, May 2 there was a devastating fire at the Anna Head School that we have been working hard to save for several years. Just before noon, a fire broke out at the base of one of the school buildings known as the Gables, quickly spread to the walls and burned through the roof, according to fire personnel at the scene. The Berkeley Fire Department responded with 8 fire trucks, 4 ambulances and many personnel, rescuing four people trapped on the second floor, battling the blaze, and eventually extinguishing the fire fully several hours later. Alerted to the fire, I rushed to the scen
In January, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín expressed his belief that the historic Anna Head School, now part of UC Berkeley, is worthy of being saved. Commenting on the campaign to save the school, he noted: “I strongly support their work. We need to preserve Anna Head.” The Mayor’s backing has bolstered the efforts of those working with UC Berkeley who seek to make it a priority to save the school, which is landmarked by both the City of Berkeley and the National Register of Historic Places.
Citizens Launch Campaign to Save Anna Head School
Most of the Anna Head School campus is currently occupied by the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI), a UC Berkeley research institute. Over the last year, a group of citizens, led by the Steering Committee below, has been working to save the historic structure and to ensure a home for ISSI.
December 1, 2021
Dear Friends of Anna Head School,
Last winter we wrote to express concern about saving the historic Anna Head School, and we greatly appreciated that so many of you signed a petition to ask the University of California to make that vision a reality. Over the past year we have made good progress in achieving our goal, and I wanted to give you this brief report about Anna Head School. With your continued support, we are confident we can achieve our goal preserving the legacy of the Anna Head School.