Berkley Square

{{About|the Las Vegas district|the London town square|Berkeley Square|the other uses|Berkeley Square (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Berkley Square

| nrhp_type = hd

| nocat = yes

| image = 2010-1218-BerkleySquare.jpg

| caption = Several homes from the Berkley Square development.

| location = bounded by Byrnes Ave., D St., Leonard Ave., and G St. Las Vegas, Nevada

| coordinates = {{coord|36|11|26.09|N|115|8|57.05|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Nevada#USA

| area =

| built = 1954-1955{{cite news |title=NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: Another 'great step forward' |author=Alan Choate |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=2009-11-24 |url=http://www.lvrj.com/news/another-great-step-forward-72364262.html }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/20/berkley-square-neighborhood-national-historic-regi/ |title=Berkley Square neighborhood on National Historic Register |author= Dave Toplikar |date=2009-11-20 |work=Las Vegas Sun |publisher= |accessdate=2009-11-26}}

| architect = Paul Revere Williams{{Cite web |url=http://www.preservationplans.com/documents/Fifty-Planning-11-2006.pdf |title=Fifty and Proud of It |author=Christine Kreyling |date=November 2006 |work=Planning Magazine |publisher= |accessdate=2009-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905125108/http://www.preservationplans.com/documents/Fifty-Planning-11-2006.pdf |archive-date=2008-09-05 |url-status=dead }}

| architecture = Contemporary ranch

| added = October 23, 2009{{NRISref|2009a}}

| refnum = 09000846[http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/listings/20091106.htm National Register of Historic Places listings: 10/26/09 - 10/30/09]. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.

}}

Berkley Square was designed in 1949 by Paul Revere Williams and is named after Thomas L. Berkley, an attorney from Oakland, California. The historic district contained 148 homes. It was built in the African American West Las Vegas area of Las Vegas, Nevada. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. Terry and Jerry Holmes were born at 512 Byrnes Avenue in Berkley Square on March 3, 1951, to Canary and Clarence Holmes.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Description

Berkley Square is the earliest subdivision which was built in Nevada by and for the African American inhabitants of Las Vegas. The designer Paul R. Williams from Los Angeles is a globally acclaimed African-American architect; in the profession, he made huge progress for his race. Around one and one- half country miles from Las Vegas close to [https://www.redmountaingroupinc.com/property/owens-ave-las-vegas/ Owens Avenue] and D Street, the Berkley Square Historic District is situated. And it is bound by Byrnes and Leonard avenues on the north and south, sequentially, and G and D Streets on the west and east, sequentially.{{cite journal |last1=Tanner |first1=Michael |title=Berkley Square |journal=Clio: Your Guide to History |date=January 21, 2018 |url=https://www.theclio.com/tour/416/4 |access-date=November 10, 2021}}{{cite journal |last1=Toplikar |first1=Dave |title=Berkley Square neighborhood on National Historic Register |journal=Las Vegas Sun |date=November 20, 2009 |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/20/berkley-square-neighborhood-national-historic-regi/ |access-date=November 11, 2021}}

The Historic District includes 148 houses built between 1954 and 1955 in the Contemporary Ranch style with 2 models which contrasted by roof type, veranda protuberance and façade home stretches and fenestration. The quarter was arranged according to Federal Housing Administration standards of the day, demonstrating concern for traffic and pedestrian safety with limited access points and sidewalks disunited from the streets by a lawn strip.{{cite journal |title=Berkley Square: Historic District |journal=Lasvegasnevada.gov |url=https://files.lasvegasnevada.gov/planning/Berkley-Sq-Brochure.pdf |access-date=November 12, 2021}}{{cite journal |title=Berkley Square is officially a Historic Place |journal=Classic Las Vegas |date=November 21, 2009 |url=http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/classic-las-vegas-blog/2009/11/21/berkley-square-is-officially-a-historic-place.html |access-date=November 11, 2021}}

History and Context

The African American [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/occupant occupants] in Las Vegas had increased from 150 in the 1930s to over 3,000 when World War II ended. The requirement of high-grade [https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sheltering sheltering] became a major socio-political issue for the black community bound by law and custom to the segregated Westside. Around 16,000 people, most of whom were African Americans, lived in the 160-acre Westside area of Las Vegas by 1955.{{cite journal |title=Berkley Square: an Architectural & Historic Legacy |journal=Nevadapreservation.org |url=https://nevadapreservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Berkley-Square-Walking-Tour-Brochure.pdf |access-date=November 12, 2021}}

The District helped to develop the living conditions for the town's African-American [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhabitant inhabitants]. In the late 1940s and 50s, local activism demonstrated the advancements which were being made in the [https://www.amdigital.co.uk/primary-sources/african-american-communities community]. Berkley Square also illustrated the massive structure smash which happened in Las Vegas and all over the country in the post-war period and reserves good integrity as a domestic exurb of that time.{{cite journal |title=Berkley Square Historic District, Las Vegas, Nevada |journal=The Paul R. Williams Project |url=https://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/gallery/berkley-square-historic-district-las-vegas-nevada/ |access-date=November 12, 2021}}

References

Category:Buildings and structures in Las Vegas

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Clark County, Nevada

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada

Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada

Category:Houses in Clark County, Nevada