This was the day before Mother’s Day, so the City gifted a free rose to each mom that attended the ribbon cutting. Jesse Arreguín, Berkeley’s mayor, observed how the pandemic has inspired in people a new appreciation for parks, and we couldn’t agree more. If you haven’t visited the Rose Garden recently (or ever?), now is your chance to see many of the roses in full bloom.

Working with the City of Berkeley, we restored and reconstructed its iconic redwood pergola, upgraded a picnic area and designed a new terrace perfect for events like weddings and concerts. For this topographically challenging park, accessibility was a particular focus. We introduced new, wheelchair-friendly masonry paving, regraded pathways, and established an accessible path of travel uniting the Rose Garden to adjacent Codornices Park via Euclid Avenue. Funding for this project came from several sources including Measure T1, a tax approved by Berkeley voters to support upgrades to City facilities.

Beloved by visitors for its rich variety of roses and magnificent views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Rose Garden was designed in the Arts and Crafts style suggested by famed architect Bernard Maybeck and executed by the city landscape architect. Constructed over four years during the New Deal era, it was completed in 1937 by crews from the Works Progress Administration.