Hearst Greek Theatre, Open-air amphitheater in Berkeley, United States
The Hearst Greek Theatre is a Greek Revival open-air theater in Berkeley, California, located on the University of California campus. The concrete structure includes 19 rows of benches arranged in a semicircle facing the stage, with carved stone chairs in the lower tiers.
The site was used as Ben Weed's Amphitheater from 1894, before John Galen Howard designed the present structure, the first university building he planned, with Julia Morgan assisting. William Randolph Hearst financed it at the urging of university president Benjamin Ide Wheeler, and it opened on September 24, 1903 with a student production of Aristophanes' The Birds. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The name recalls William Randolph Hearst, who funded the structure and gave the university a venue for theater and concerts. Students and residents gather here on summer evenings when bands play or speakers take the stage.
The theatre seats 8,500 on 19 rows of concrete benches, reached by 11 aisles with 9 entrances at the top and 11 at the bottom. Access is via aggregate-concrete terraces and staircases north and south of the stage. The open-air bowl faces west, so afternoon sun falls on the stage facade.
The stage's monumental central doorway, framed by an aedicule with egg-and-dart molding, is a detail to look for. Architect John Galen Howard had planned caryatids on the back wall and a double colonnade for 10,000 spectators, all clad in marble; the built theatre kept simpler concrete and stone.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,786 contributors worldwide.
