Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft Environmental Impact ReportCultural ResourcesGaravaglia Architecture, Inc., evaluated the Estates Reservoir roof. The EstatesReservoir roof, designed by Robert Royston, is recommended eligible for listing in theCRHR at the local level under Criteria 1 and 3, and is considered a cultural resource forCEQA purposes. The Estates Reservoir roof structure is very clearly a part of thepervasive mid-century movement toward streamlined, modern minimalist designs.California was the center of development for post-war modern design trends. Roystonand his contemporary landscape architects and architects formed their bases largely in theBay Area. A high concentration of their work can be found throughout the localenvironment even though their influence was worldwide. Estates Reservoir is one of ahandful of Royston’s designs in the East Bay. Within Oakland, it is one of the onlypublic modern landscapes. As such, it is one of the only connections that Oakland has toRobert Royston and the popular design trends in public spaces during the post- WorldWar II period. The Estates Reservoir is a prime example of how projects as mundane aspublic utility reservoirs were transformed into art by the locally available design talent(Criterion 1).Royston was largely influenced by the topography and environment of the Bay Area,having grown up in rural Santa Clara County. The climate and how it offeredopportunities for year-round interaction with nature became fundamental parts of hisdesign language. Over time, as his popularity and reputation became more widespread,he exported these cherished California lifestyle facets to the rest of the world. He helpedto solidify the modern California lifestyle in the popular psyche. This “California” stylecame to be an interpretation of popular European modernist design philosophies (formfollows function, etc.) to fit a more relaxed, environmentally aware, design conscioussociety. Sleek lines, simplified forms, emphasis on horizontal planes and the interplay ofopposing elements (rough versus smooth, horizontal versus vertical, manufactured versusnatural, etc.) were all design techniques that Royston and his contemporaries used tocreate their commissions. Estates Reservoir, although small in comparison to Royston’sother public projects, employs many of these signature, mid-century modern designelements (Criterion 3).The Estates Reservoir roof maintains high to very high integrity of location, setting,materials, workmanship, feeling and association, and moderate integrity of design.Due to the high level of public interest in the Estates Reservoir roof, GaravagliaArchitecture, Inc., prepared evaluations of the roof’s eligibility for inclusion in theNational Register of Historic Places and the Local Register of Historic Places.The Estates Reservoir roof is recommended as not eligible for listing in the NationalRegister of Historic Places. The Estates Reservoir roof uses several design strategiesand philosophies – emphasis on horizontal planes juxtaposed with strong vertical focalpoints, use of a variety of natural and manmade textures – that helped to define midcenturymodern landscape design. However, none are used here in an unexpected orinnovative manner and while the design is emblematic of national trends in popularsb09_001.doc 3-5.11 7/22/2009