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Photograph of Thorsen House
Photograph by Beerguy721, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

William R. Thorsen House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 17 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1895.

From the record

“Thorsen House, also known as the Sigma Phi-Thorsen House, is a historic residence in Berkeley, California. Built in 1909 for William and Caroline Thorsen, it was the last of five so-called "ultimate bungalows" to be designed by Charles and Henry Greene, principles in the architectural firm of Greene & Greene.”

Wikipedia article Thorsen House, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 160 National Register listings published here for Alameda County · listed in 1978 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Listed as. Thorsen, William R., House - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
  • Address. 2307 Piedmont Ave., Berkeley, 94704
  • When was it listed? November 1978
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Berkeley
  • Architect. Greene and Greene
  • National Register reference number. 78000646 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1895 to 1993

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 98 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering William R. Thorsen House, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet covering William R. Thorsen House, surveyed 1895

Fires near this property

204 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 204 fires within 5 miles of William R. Thorsen House between 1992 and 2020, burning about 386 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 16 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined140
Arson/incendiarism16
Equipment and vehicle use14
Misuse of fire by a minor10
Smoking10
Debris and open burning7
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Fireworks1
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 1994Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSanta Clara UnitANZA

Every fire recorded in Alameda County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 32 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of William R. Thorsen House: 13 occurrences, 8 past producers, 4 producers, 4 unknowns. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Mercury, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Berkeley HillsSulfur-Pyrite, Copper, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Pyrite
Kaiser Industries CorpClayProducer
Unnamed LocationCalciumProspect
Tunnel RockStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Tunnel RockStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Unnamed LocationAsbestosOccurrence
Unnamed LocationAsbestosOccurrence
Berkeley HillsLeadUnknown
Unnamed LocationLeadOccurrence
Ada Sand and Gravel Pit No 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Alameda County

Storms near this property

6 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Berkeley, the town this property stands in, in 6 storm reports between 1998 and 2022: 4 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2017HailBerkeley$10Pea sized hail reported by spotter. Several other reports of pea sized hail also.
December 2022Heavy RainBerkeley-Trained spotter reported 4.45 inches of rain from 5 PM on December 30 to 5 PM on December 31.
March 2018HailBerkeley-Pea-sized hail reported in north Berkeley via social media.
March 2018HailBerkeley-Social media reports of another round of hail this morning in Berkeley.
April 2018HailBerkeley-Small hail reported in Berkeley.
January 1998Flash FloodBerkeley-basement flooded

Every storm recorded in Alameda County

Maps showing this location

17 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
California Memorial Stadium0.2 miles2006
College Women's Club0.2 miles1982
University Art Museum0.2 miles2014
Cowell Memorial Hospital0.2 miles1993
Weston Havens House0.2 miles2008
Hearst Gymnasium for Women0.3 miles1982

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 78000646 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Alameda CountyAll 160 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.