31 March 2014 ~ Rose Grocery

Listening to: Paul McCarntey/Wings ~ Venus and Mars

The Rose Grocery is a structure I drive by a lot. When I drove by yesterday I noticed a plaque, so I pulled over to take a closer look. (My friend used to work on writing/editing the plaques and he sent me a link to the Historical Plaque Project, so I am now on the lookout for more around town.)

This was the original site of Hunrick Grocery Store, and is a designated City of Berkeley Structure of Merit.

Hunrick operated the store at this location from 1908 until 1923, when he moved his home to Woolsey Street and opened a grocery on College Avenue at Ashby. The shop at Rose Street served as a small convenience store until 1966. The distinctive architectural feature of the building is its Mission Revival false-front parapet.

The building in 2004, before demolition (courtesy of the Daniella Thompson on the Berkeley Landmarks website)...

...and the building today.

Getting back into my car I caught a glimpse of the yellow flowers in the review mirror, in front of a palm.