I have previously posted on some of Berkeley’s bungalow courts.

I waxed eloquent on my fantasies of a simpler life.  These fantasies remain, and my fascination for bungalow courts remains.  As I walk (and, um, drive) Berkeley I spot more. Readers write and tell me about more.  I present you more, in the spirit that bungalow courts are undeniably incontrovertibly inexorably, and intrinsically quirky.

The 1100 block of Addison, between San Pablo and Byron, is rich – filthy rich – with bungalow courts.

From the backyard of San Pablo Avenue up to almost the hills, on Virginia between Euclid and Scenic is this gem.

Good one!

This next one, on 10th Street, is a bit severe, a bit stark.

Maybe its the battleship gray paint.  Or the concrete.  Still, though, it rocks the bungalow vibe, no?  Just north of a feral cat colony of some renown.

Stil in the kinda-severe mode, there is this on Delaware:

A Quirky Berkeley reader spotted this next bungalow court on the way to dinner, they said, driving up Dwight between Fulton and Telegraph.

It is not a quiet and peaceful location, but there is a definite serenity otherwise lacking on the block.

Another reader spotted this one on the south side wandering home, they said, after an Ethiopian dinner.

Here’s a really big one:

It wraps around the corner of California Street and Berkeley Way.  The addresses are 1540-1544 Berkeley Way and 1924-1940 California.  Looking at the units from along the street leaves you without a great sense of this being a bungalow court.  When you peek into the courtyard though, you see the beauty.   The units aren’t detached, making it not technically a bungalow court.  But – close enough for me!

Photographing a tree house on Jefferson, John and I came across this lovely court on Jefferson:

And, a sweet bucolic one on Lincoln above Sacramento.

Just west of the North Berkeley BART station is this court:

The final two in this batch are special – they have names. And signs with the names on them.  How perfect???  A simpler life.  And a name of the court.  What more could a person want?

First, on Dwight:

Sweet!  Love the brugmansia, aka Angel’s Trumpet.  Night-scented.  Good knowledge Tom! Knows his flowers! What say you about that?

A second named court:

What a sign!!!  What a perfect name!

In 2010, Emil Ems wrote this about Revalon Court: “Ever since our first stay in Berkeley, back in 1976/77, a permanent fixture in my Californian Universe has been Revalon Court, two bungalow-like structures with apartments for rent on Stuart Street, just east of Shattuck Avenue. The owners, Masami and Nobuko Fujimoto, had become good friends and I was staying there again in 2010, as well as this year. Interestingly, a small Japanese Community has established itself on this small stretch of Stuart Street just east of Shattuck, with extension towards Oregon Street on the south. There was, before the war, a much larger, concentrated and vivid Japan Town and Community in Oakland, but that enclave had been dispersed, due to the war-time internment of all citizens of Japanese descent. After the war, resettlement took place in smaller patches distributed all over the East Bay.”

There are more courtyards, I am sure.  More good ones.  I’ll keep my eyes open and if you know of one you think I should check out, write me.  And I’ll keep my simpler life fantasy going.

The courts here have strikingly different characters.  We may think of Pasadena when we think of bungalow court heaven, but let me suggest that we not ignore Fresno – check this out – 128 bungalow courts in Fresno and a good history of courtyard housing.  It is sometimes called middle housing.  I love it.  And if Fresno and Pasadena can document theirs, why can’t we Berkeley?  And I don’t mean this and me.

My friend was distracted as he started looking through the photos.  I asked what he was thinking about.  “Skitt’s Law.”  I had not heard of it.  “People who correct spelling or grammar online are likely to commit spelling or grammatical errors themselves in doing so”

We kicked the idea around a little.  I then asked him about the bungalow courts shown here.