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Found Remnants /Architecture

Holt Industries Pavilion
Set high in the hills above Berkeley, CA is a structure which originally served as the pavilion for Holt Industries in the Palace of Machinery. Benjamin Holt, inventor of the “caterpillar” tractor, had Horace Simpson design his pavilion asking that it be both suited to a rural environment and eye-catching. Simpson provided drawings for a half-timbered English cottage manifesting a picturesque charm which aptly satisfied these design criteria.

Arthur U. Pope, a professor at the University of California’s Berkeley campus, became so enamored with this pavilion’s Arts & Crafts interior featuring large leaded glass windows and warm wood paneling that he purchased it to be used as his residence in Cragmont.

Pope had the building barged across the bay, and two of Holt’s “caterpillar” tractors were employed to drag it up the steep slope where it was deposited on the 900 foot high crest. At Pope’s request, Simpson designed a complementary addition to more than double the living space. Standing among lush landscaping and formal gardens, the original pavilion joined to Simpson’s later addition is located at 605 Woodmont Ave.

Thanks to Leslie Emmington who provided a wealth of material from the archives of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.
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