It was great to get some recognition on Thursday night at the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association‘s Annual Dinner and Preservation Awards ceremony for all the hard work we put in to building out and moving in to our new West Berkeley home last summer. 
My landlords, Peter and Beverly Libaire, and I were honored by BAHA for our “rehabilitation” of the post-war (1946) light industrial building designed by Irwin Johnson for the Roland and Hilton Food Products Factory. (That’s some history that, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit, I only learned last night from the historians of BAHA!) We did relatively little, it must be said, compared to the extremely impressive projects by some of the other awardees. But I’m pleased that my neighbors, one of whom nominated us, appreciate the TLC we put into it. Mostly we were recognized for restoring the storefront and bringing some life back to the building’s presence on the street. Special thanks to Peter and Beverly Libaire and to the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association!
Below are some before-and-after photos.
The interior of the storefront viewed from the same spot, before and after our remodel. The wooden floor, which is vertical grain fir, was the subfloor covered by two layers of vinyl tile. Note in the “before” shot the boarded up windows on the far right.
BEFORE: Storefront exterior as we found it a year ago.
AFTER: The storefront exterior during the November opening of “Beloved California,” the gallery’s first show in the new space. We replaced the plywood with glass, and the whole side of the building was power-washed.
BEFORE: The building from the corner. The bottom row of windows was painted and the windows hung with blinds.
AFTER: The corner of the rehabilitated building, at night with the lights on. New life!
It looks fantastic. When I make my next visit to the Bay Area, I will come by your new studio gallery.