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It seldom happens that a single architect is so influential that his work actually provides a major component of the image of a city. There are, however, at least three California towns where this has happened: in San Diego with the work of Irving Gill; in Watsonville with the work of W. H. Weeks; and in Palo Alto with the work of Birge Clark.
While Clark designed some structures in the Tudor or Medieval Revival styles, his work is primarily in the Spanish Colonial Revival mode, or, as he prefers to call it, the Early California Style. There is in his work a fondness for large expanses of wall, carefully irregular fenestration, and embellishments of colored tiles and wrought iron. (Short tile video)
Clark's father, A. B. Clark, was an early Stanford faculty member and although his primary field was art rather than architecture, he was the designer of many fine early Palo Alto residences. Thus his son, Birge Clark, was exposed to architectural concerns at an early age and together they designed the Lou Henry Hoover House.
Clark's long practice has been almost solely conducted in Palo Alto, and was varied enough to include single aind multiple family residences, commercial structures and prominent institutional buildings. Thus, his hand is to be traced in every range of building in the community, and is responsible for the remarkable visual coherence of post-1920's Palo Alto.
Source: Historical and Architectural Resources of the City of Palo Alto, 1979.
Birge Clark and the U.S. Post Office Corner Stone
Photo from the Archives of the Palo Alto Historical Association
Video interview with Gail Woolley about Birge Clark
Commercial l Palo Alto Residences l Stanford Residences
650 Addison Avenue, 1924, Addison School
291 Alma Street, 1928
539 Alma Street, 1921
695 Arastradero Road, Alta Mesa Memorial Cemetary, 1932
440 - 450 Bryant Street, 1927
522 - 524 - 526 - 528 Bryant Street, 1936, Palo Alto Hardware
535 - 539 Bryant Street, 1922
540 Bryant Street, 1932, Piggly Wiggly grocery
164 California Avenue
392 California Avenue, 1948
415 - 417 California Avenue, 1948
419 - 421 California Avenue, 1929
425 - 431 California Avenue, 1926, Fine Arts Theater
433 - 435 California Avenue
480 East Meadow, 1953, JLS Middle School (Wilbur Jr. High)
2560 Embarcadero Road, 1941, Sea Scout Base (with David Clark)
200 - 230 Emerson Street
435 - 439 Emerson Street, 1924-25, Baker Hotel
544 Emerson Street, 1926
611 - 619 Emerson Street, 1924
Florence Street and University Avenue (Masonic Hall)
140 Forest Avenue, 1936
146 Forest Avenue
116 - 122 Hamilton Avenue, 1925
200 - 230 Hamilton Avenue
239 Hamilton Avenue
261- 267 Hamilton Avenue, 1927
300 Hamilton Avenue, Bank, 1963, lower mural close up
380 Hamilton Avenue, (United States Post Office) — short video, 1932
151 Homer Avenue, 1925
300 Homer Avenue (Palo Alto Medical Clinic, future home of Palo Alto History Museum), 1932
411 - 419 High Street, 1924
635 High Street, 1945
790 High Street at Homer (Pontiac garage), 1936
151 Homer Avenue, 1925
300 Homer Avenue, 1932
1305 Middlefield Road, also be sure to see a short Lucie Stern Community Center Video, 1933-36
530 Ramona Street, 1926
532 - 536 Ramona street, 1926
533 - 535 Ramona Street
541 - 545 Ramona Street, 1927
628 - 630 Ramona Street, 1927
668 Ramona Street, 1926, Palo Alto Art Club
102 The Circle
125 University Avenue, 1925
180 - 190 University Avenue
235 University Avenue
250 University Avenue
261- 265 - 267 University Avenue
323 University Avenue, 1928
340 University Avenue, Liddicoats Market
400 - 424 University Avenue
423 - 425 - 427- 429 - 433 - 437 University Avenue, 1927
436 University Avenue, 1929
440 - 452 University Avenue, 1927
451 University Avenue, 1938
460 - 476 University Avenue, 1927
526 - 530 - 534 Waverley Street, 1927
Commercial l Palo Alto Residences l Stanford Residences
505 - 507 Addison Avenue, 1922
2040 Amherst Street, 1947
2060 Amherst Street, 1947
2215 Amherst Street
2225 Amherst Street
1837 Bryant Street, 1940
1851 Bryant Street, 1940
1865 Bryant Street (311 Seale Avenue), 1940
1991 Bryant Street, 1935
1480 Byron Street, 1932
526 Center, 1931
370 Channing Avenue, 1922
232 Coleridge Avenue, 1925
455 Coleridge Avenue, 1927
470 Coleridge Avenue, 1923
512 Coleridge Avenue, 1928
526 Coleridge Avenue, 1935
544 Coleridge Avenue, 1923
570 Coleridge Avenue, 1926
619 Cowper Street
1247 Cowper Street, 1927
1928 Cowper Street, 1935
1950 Cowper Street, 1932
1990 Cowper Street, 1932
2200 Cowper Street, 1936
51 Crescent Drive
557 East Crescent Drive, 1930
1400 Edgewood Drive, 1933
1431 Edgewood Drive, 1948
1440 Edgewood Drive, 1947
1474 Edgewood Drive, 1935
1480 Edgewood Drive, 1936
1490 Edgewood Drive, 1936
590 Embarcadero Road
758 Everett Avenue, 1923
27210 Fremont Road
1766 Fulton Street, 1936
1830 Fulton Street
619 Guinda Street, 1924
238 Hamilton Avenue
955 Hamilton Avenue, 1935
1220 Hamilton Avenue, 1938
1457 Hamilton Avenue, 1953
1491 Hamilton Avenue, 1937
111 Island Drive, 1935
155 Island Drive, 1933
Guest house at rear of residence at 360 Kellogg Avenue
325 - 327 - 333 - 335 - 343 - 345 - 353 - 355 - 363 - 365 Kingsley (10 rcottages), 1940
335 Lowell Avenue
556 Lowell Avenue
569 Lowell Avenue, 1924
420 Maple Street (National Register, Dunker Residence) additional views, 1926
1322 Martin Avenue
640 Middlefield Road, 1922
1400 Middlefield Road, 1924
1410 Middlefield Road, 1924
1420 Middlefield Road, 1924
1430 Middlefield Road, 1924
1440 Middlefield Road, 1924
425 Nevada Street, 1938
580 Newell Road, 1941
1990 Newell Road
760 Northampton Drive, 1941
960 Old Trace Road
Page Mill Road
1066 Palo Alto Avenue
300 Santa Rita Avenue
311 Seale Avenue (see 1837 Bryant Street), 1940
559 Seale Avenue
730 Southampton Drive
882 Southampton Drive, 1946
1941 Tasso Street, 1941
595 Tennyson Avenue, 1928
701 Tennyson Avenue, 1937
1150 University Avenue, 1939
1570 University Avenue, 1933
1010 Waverley Street, 1923
1455 Webster Street, 1921
1500 Webster Street, 1924
1525 Webster Street, 1922
1651 Webster Street, 1922
1711 Webster Street (demolished Feb. 2012), 1923
1975 Webster Street
520 West Crescent Drive, 1933
Commercial l Palo Alto Residences l Stanford Residences
665 Alvarado Row, 1927
661 Cabrillo, 1921 Designed for the Townleys, his future in-laws. Birge and Lucille were married in the living room.
611 Coronado, 1930
735 Dolores, 1928
747 Dolores, 1924
441 Gerona Road, 1927
515 Gerona Road, 1941
548 Gerona Road, 1928
607 Gerona Road, 1926
574 Junipero Serra, 1928
648 Junipero Serra, 1930
535 Los Arboles, 1939
541 Los Arboles, 1936
607 Mayfield, 1924
615 Mayfield, 1924
619 Mayfield, 1924
623 Mirada, 1920
634 Mirada, 1922
672 Mirada, 1925
669 Mirada, 1920
679 Mirada, 1922
684 Mirada, 1924
691 Mirada, 1922
622 Salvatierra, 1924
657 Santa Ynez, 1924
671 Santa Ynez, 1924
770 Santa Ynez, 1926
228 Searsville Road, 1940
238 Searsville Road, n.d.
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E-mail us at either webmaster@pastheritage.org or president@pastheritage.org.
Palo Alto Stanford Heritage—Dedicated to the preservation of Palo Alto's historic buildings.
Copyright © 2012 Palo Alto Stanford Heritage. All rights reserved.
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