Sather Gate

()

Sather Gate is a prominent landmark separating Sproul Plaza and the bridge over Strawberry Creek leading to the heart of the University of California, Berkeley campus. The gate was donated by Jane K. Sather, a benefactor of the university, in memory of her late husband Peder Sather.

Designed by John Galen Howard, it was completed in 1910. Atop the gate are eight panels of bas-relief figures, with four nude men representing the disciplines of law, letters, medicine, and mining and four nude women representing the disciplines of agriculture, architecture, art, and electricity. They were sculpted by Professor Earl Cummins. When the panels were first installed, public outrage over these nude figures led Sather to demand their removal. 67 years later, they were rediscovered and reinstalled.

Originally, the gate served as the terminus of Telegraph Avenue, marking the University's south entrance. (The circle in front of the gate served as a turning point for the trolleys coming from Oakland.) The University later expanded further south of Strawberry Creek, and the gate is now well separated from Berkeley's city streets by Sproul Plaza.