Hearst Gymnasium for Women

Berkeley, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Built in 1927 at the University of California, Berkeley, the Hearst Memorial Gymnasium for Women was designed by Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan as a memorial to Phoebe Apperson Hearst, funded by her son William Randolph Hearst. The building replaced an earlier wooden gymnasium called Hearst Hall, also designed by Maybeck, that had been destroyed in a 1922 fire. Beyond its primary function as a fitness facility, the gymnasium operated as a comprehensive retreat center for women, offering dance studios, classrooms, conference rooms, both large and small gymnasiums, three outdoor swimming pools, fine dining, and lodging. An indoor rifle range was included when the building opened. The structure now also houses the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology and stands adjacent to the Hearst Tennis Courts, Hearst North Field, and the Hearst Field Annex. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.