Issue #26: All About Berkeley's Elmwood Neighborhood
The dark history of Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood, my favorite local businesses on College Avenue, and charming homes for sale in the neighborhood.
The Silvert Lining is a place where I talk about real estate, cool homes for sale, things I’m looking forward to, and how I’ve been spending my time. In addition to this newsletter, I also post regularly on Instagram. You can follow me at Dan Silvert Homes. If you would like to meet with me to discuss your home search, you can schedule time here.
I just returned home from the Ballers’ opening home game at Raimondi Park. The Ballers played the Ogden Raptors in front of a full ballpark on a beautiful Oakland night. The energy of the crowd was infectious, especially when the entire stadium chanted “Let’s Go Oakland” in unison. In the bottom of the ninth inning the Ballers were down by three runs. The fans donned their rally caps, stood up, and only interrupted their chants to cheer for Ballers hits and skilled base running. The Ballers answered the call, and overcame the three run deficit to tie the game. In the Pioneer League, regular season games do not go to extra innings; rather, there is a knockout round akin to the Homerun Derby. The Ogden Raptors player was up to bat first and didn’t do much. The Ballers were up next and they walked it off! BALLERS WIN!
I will also be attending tomorrow night’s game and Thursday’s Bay Legend Series: Too $hort game. I’m excited to spend my week wearing my new Oaklandish Ballers merch, pregaming at the Prescott Market, and seeing the Ballers (and Scrappy!) take the field.
As my weekends are spent reffing lacrosse or hosting open houses, I often use Friday afternoon as a time to relax and have fun. On a recent Friday, I found myself in one of my favorite Bay Area neighborhoods: Berkeley’s Elmwood. The neighborhood is situated between Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood to the south and Cal’s campus to the north.
Elmwood is Berkeley's oldest commercial district and College Avenue continues to be a bustling center of cafes, restaurants, and local businesses. But the neighborhood’s history is actually rather nefarious and plagued with racist housing policies.
The neighborhood was developed between 1905 and 1910 by local real estate developer Duncan McDuffie. Elmwood was the first neighborhood in the United States to implement single-family zoning (i.e., you could only build one single family home on a single lot). McDuffie’s housing developments came with racial covenants barring owners from selling or renting to non-white persons. The zoning ordinances meant that two Japanese American-owned laundries and one Chinese American-owned laundry were forced out of the neighborhood and a planned Black-owned dance hall could not open.
The Federal Housing Administration - which was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal National Housing Act of 1934 - encouraged and promoted homeownership via federally guaranteed mortgage loans. But those loans were only available to white Americans. These racist lending policies, commonly referred to as redlining, further contributed to Elmwood being an exclusively white neighborhood.
In 1958 Gerald Cohn, a white school teacher, bought a house in Elmwood with an FHA loan. Cohn was not yet ready to live in his new home and needed to rent the property to make his mortgage payments. He rented the house to his Black coworker Alfred Simmons. The Berkeley police chief reported Simmons renting in all-white Elmwood to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI did investigate and found that Cohn did not deceive the FHA as he did not buy the home with the intent to rent to Simmons. The case was referred to the US Attorney at the Department of Justice, but no charges were filed against Cohn. The FHA retaliated against Cohn by barring him from ever obtaining another FHA mortgage.
Redlining, despite now being illegal, is still prevalent with multiple financial institutions being cited and fined every year for engaging in the discriminatory practice.
For me, I can enjoy what Elmwood currently has to offer while being mindful of the neighborhood’s problematic history. If you find yourself exploring Elmwood here are my favorite local businesses:
Elmwood Movie Theatre
I have long professed my devotion for Berkeley’s only surviving movie theater. I love seeing movies at the theater and the Elmwood is one of my local favorites. The theater opened as the Strand in 1914, almost burned down in 1988, survived the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, and had its future protected in 1991 when the nonprofit Elmwood Theater Foundation purchased the building.
Gordo Taqueria
Gordo’s opened its first location in San Francisco in 1977 and now has five Bay Area locations. My favorite is on College Avenue in Elmwood, which I’ve been frequenting for 30+ years. My go-to order is either the Gordo Plate with carne asada or the Chile Verde burrito, and I always order a half pint of guacamole with chips.
Cafenated Coffee Company
Cafenated is one of my favorite local coffee shops. I like working from the Elmwood location (the drinks are delicious and there is ample seating) or grabbing a Chagaccino as a post-movie treat.
Mrs. Dalloway’s Books
Since opening in 2004, the independent bookstore named for the titular character in Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway has been a neighborhood cornerstone. I am currently reading and enjoying Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by New Yorker editor Susan Morrison.
Slash Denim
On my third date with my girlfriend, Jessica, I could already tell she was a much better dresser than I am. I casually asked her if perhaps she could help me dress better. She played it cool and agreed, but later reported that she was secretly ecstatic. One area that I needed help ASAP was with buying jeans that fit and made me feel good. Jessica suggested Slash Denim. While I am an East Bay native, I had never been to the basement denim emporium that opened in Elmwood in 1979. My first visit there was initially overwhelming as the small space is stacked floor to ceiling with pants in an array of cuts, washes, and sizes. Within minutes two employees and the owner were pulling different jeans from teetering stacks and handing them to me in the dressing room. When we found four pairs that fit well and looked great, Jessica exclaimed “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” and everyone cheered. I then bonded with one of the Gen Z employees over his playlist that I’d spent the last hour listening to and our complicated opinions about Morrissey (love the music, dislike the person).
The treelined streets of Elmwood feature beautiful historical single family homes and condos. Here are my four favorites - ranging from affordable to aspirational - that are currently for sale in the neighborhood.
Let me know if you are looking for a new home and I can create a customized search based on your wants and needs that will email you homes that meet your search criteria. You can schedule time with me to discuss your search for a new home or selling your current home by emailing me at DanSilvertHomes@gmail.com. DRE #01963734
Interesting about Elmwood, and way to go Ballers! Who needs the A's, eh? Obviously not the fans at Raimondi Park.