A 1908 Berkeley home designed by pioneering California architect Julia Morgan has another historic distinction: It houses Berkeley Bayit, the oldest continuously running Jewish co-op in the country.
Now the house near UC Berkeley’s football stadium is getting new life.
Berkeley Bayit, which has occupied the seven-bedroom house since 1980, last year closed its doors for the first time so it could undergo major renovations. Now, the communal living space for students — mostly from Cal or Berkeley City College — is set to reopen and welcome new residents for the fall.
The house, with its distinctive brown-shingled sides, was originally known as LeConte Manor after its original owner, Cal professor and Sierra Club charter member Joseph Nisbet LeConte. (The LeConte family name was stripped from UC Berkeley buildings in 2020 because his father and uncle had owned slaves and served in the Confederate army.)
In spring 1980, a small group of students dreamed up the idea of creating a communal home based on Reform Judaism’s progressive values and modeled on “collective Jewish houses on other college campuses,” according to Berkeley Bayit’s website. They rented the 1908 house, and the first 11 Jewish students moved in for the fall semester that year.
“We structured ourselves kind of in line with kibbutz style,” said Barry Cohn, a founding member who currently serves on the board and oversaw the renovations. “Everybody had equal say, and everybody took responsibility for all the parts of the functioning of the house and the design and organization of the house and advancement of its purpose.”
Everything was shared and discussed, from whose turn it was to scrub toilets and cook dinner to the level of Shabbat observance and opinions on Middle East politics.
“We’d stay up till the wee hours of the night discussing all kinds of things about our community,” said Cohn. “We talked about Israel, we talked about Cal, all different sorts of subjects that would cause us to be there processing together for hours.”
While the core ideology of the Bayit, which is Hebrew for “house,” has remained the same since its founding, several changes have taken place over the years.
In 1982, the property owner decided to sell. The Bayit residents — with the help of their parents, Jewish community leaders and several large grants from the Reform movement and local foundations — purchased the house. Then in 1988, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism), which had been overseeing the Bayit’s programming, ended its involvement with college organizations and the Bayit had to become its own nonprofit to keep running.
As the years piled on, the list of renovations needed to maintain the century-old house built up to the tune of $1.4 million. In 2020, around the time of the Bayit’s 40th anniversary, there was discussion about selling the house and moving to another location, given the enormous scale of the work needed. In typical co-op fashion, a meeting was called for the more than 350 “Bayitniks,” as current and past residents are known, to decide the future of the organization.
“The overwhelming consensus of the group was ‘no, no, we can’t sell the house,’” said Berkeley Bayit board president Lauren Goldstein, who lived there from 1985 to 1986. “When you go into the house, it’s such a special feeling. So we strongly felt like we have to make this happen, we have to keep this specific house. We can’t just buy another house and make it the same. It won’t be the same.”
The Bayit gave me a place to have Berkeley feel a little bit smaller and more intimate and to be myself.
Cohn shared the same sentiment, noting how many fond memories were made in that house. It’s where he met his wife, Debbie, on Aug. 31, 1980, the day the founding 11 members moved in. Theirs is one of nine marriages that have resulted from the Bayit, along with countless lifelong friendships.
“We would have parties on occasion, certainly around holidays,” Cohn recalled. “Back in the day you had stereo systems, and we would have dances in the living room. And I was always kind of nervous because there were enough students that would show up that when the Rolling Stones came on, there was enough jumping around where it felt like the floor would bounce.”
With the help of a capital campaign, the Bayitniks raised $565,000 for renovations. They also obtained a loan through the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund to cover the remaining $835,000.
Repair of the building’s foundation was one of the major needs, as over the years a noticeable slant had developed from the living room to the dining room. The house now has a dance-proof floor, in addition to being seismically safe with upgraded plumbing and electrical wiring, new appliances, a revamped kitchen (with two refrigerators, two sinks and two dishwashers to accommodate students who keep kosher) and completely new bathrooms.
Because the Bayit had to close during the renovations, for the first time since its founding it meant all seven bedrooms would be vacant at the same time. This didn’t end up being a problem — currently 10 out of the 11 available spots have been filled. Goldstein believes this is in part because the Bayit is a place where students can be Jewish and just generally themselves, without worrying about what others think about their identities.
“It gave me a home at Berkeley, because it’s such a big campus. Some people found a home in their sorority or fraternity or whatever, but the Bayit gave me a place to have Berkeley feel a little bit smaller and more intimate and to be myself,” said Goldstein.
That’s what Penelope Venturini, a rising junior, hopes to experience when she moves into the Bayit in August. She said that the tumultuous past year for Jewish students on UC Berkeley’s campus has brought her closer to the Jewish community and is part of why she wanted to join the Bayit.
“For the last eight months, it’s been heavy [on campus] and there have been instances of violence and people getting hurt. There’s been a lot of language and symbols that really can catch you off guard, from a Jewish perspective. But the nice thing is that there’s also a really huge and vibrant Jewish community, and I think myself and many of my friends have been able to find solace in each other and with the rest of the community at places like Hillel and Chabad,” she said.
Venturini, who has been involved in recruiting the new residents, said many applicants are excited for the opportunity to live in a Jewish home and gain the sense of safety and comfort they aren’t finding in on-campus housing.
“A lot of them lived in dorms this past year and had their roommates say some things to them, or they’re Israeli students who have had troubles with their roommates not respecting that they’re Israeli,” she said.
Venturini said she is looking forward to creating a Jewish home with her fellow Bayitniks, who will pay $925 to $1,250 per month, depending on their room. Other expenses are shared.
“A big part of our mission for next year is having events and hosting things that open the Bayit to the wider Jewish community and Cal by being able to provide more of a homey environment for events like Shabbat, onegs and holidays.”
Berkeley Bayit will officially mark its reopening with a celebration on Sunday that will include hanging a mezuzah on the front door and planting an olive tree in the garden. While the major renovations are finished, the Bayit still needs donations toward a wish list of smaller projects, such as roof and window repairs, fencing, a gate for the property entrance, rebuilding the garage and landscaping.