The Berkeley Historical Society & Museum (BHSM) is located across the street from Civic Center Park. The goal of BHSM is to offer a plethora of information on the history of Berkeley to the public. “We try to serve Berkeley in many ways: we get things donated, we have people write articles, we have resources here for people to come and research their ... questions about Berkeley and so on,” John Aronovici, a Historical Society volunteer and museum manager of 24 years, said.
The museum’s current exhibit is on the roots, removal, and resistance of Japanese Americans in Berkeley. The exhibit offers photos of Japanese families, and art from Japanese painters. The exhibit also offers a lens of what it was like to live in the Bay Area during World War II — more specifically, focusing on what it was like to be Japanese in Berkeley during the time of Japanese internment camps. In the museum, visitors are able to read and learn about different stories regarding the struggles that Japanese families have faced in Berkeley. There are also descriptions of different events that have shaped the experience of Berkeley’s Japanese community PAGE 10written on several walls within the exhibit.
BHSM was founded in the summer of 1978 during the City of Berkeley’s Centennial Celebration. A committee of volunteers were able to organize and exhibit Berkeley history at the Berkeley Art Center on Tuesday, April 4, 1978.
Many of the people who assisted in the opening of the exhibit decided that a society devoted to Berkeley’s history was necessary. They then began to gather a collection of material and information for the initial exhibit.
The BHSM was finally able to establish a library, an exhibit space, and an entire second floor archive comprised of photographs, files, materials and memorabilia central to the history of Berkeley.
Their current goal is to move into the Maudelle Shirek Building, also known as the former City Hall. They plan to first renovate the space and then establish the BHSM in the new location by 2028.
Additionally, BHSM is a completely donation based organization. Everybody that works at the BHSM is a volunteer. The organization allows community members to sign up for volunteer positions in which they can work at the museum or assist in organizing files. Volunteers also help out during festivals and events such as the Solano Stroll.
The BHSM has numerous resources for teenagers to explore the history of Berkeley, and the city as a whole.
“We have a library, we have thousands of photographs of Berkeley, we have all kinds of files … We collect only things to do with Berkeley, either people who lived in Berkeley, or people who wrote about Berkeley,” said Arlene Makita Acuña, a volunteer at BHSM.
The BHSM is a valuable place that allows teenagers to learn about all the rich history of the city of Berkeley, and currently about the aspects of Japanese culture that are central to understanding this history. Students may visit BHSM to research Berkeley’s history, and to view the files and photos that the BHSM offers.
“This society is really just an organization based in Berkeley aimed at just telling the history of Berkeley through photos, art, memorabilia. It is also just a big library with lots of resources for students to come in and just see how the culture of Berkeley has changed over decades,” Nancy Ukai, a member of the BHSM, said.