Since being established at Berkeley in 1873, California Alpha has had a vibrant history. In the chapter’s first year Cal Alpha started strong and quickly got on the map around campus. One of the first brothers of Cal Alpha was a man named Jacob Bert Reinstein, bond number 8. He was one of the “Twelve Apostles” at Berkeley, which was the first four-year class at the university and graduated in 1873. Mr. Reinstein went on to be the first Cal Alumnus to be appointed to the U.C. Regents Board.

Just a few years later, California Alpha broke apart as the Blue and Gold Yearbook mentioned that the chapter was reestablished in 1886. Once reestablished, however, Cal Alpha did not waste any time getting back into the swing of things.

In 1902, Cal Alpha moved to its first chapter house at 2401 Durant Avenue near Dana. This turned out to be the very first fraternity-owned house ever. When the brothers moved into the new house there was a man named John Reid Jr. #126 who later went on to become a well known architect in the area. He also designed what is now the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, along with several other buildings in the area. Later in his career he designed what is now known as the Hearst Mansion for Phi Delta Theta that still resides on Hearst Avenue on the north side of campus.

Several years later in 1948 the university faced a great housing shortage. Their proposed solution was to demolish many buildings, such as Phi Delt’s house on Hearst and Beta Theta Pi’s house, in order to build more dorms. While this plan ultimately failed rough times were not gone for good. In the 1960’s there was a strong anti-Greek sentiment throughout Berkeley, which ultimately led to the university forcing fraternities and sororities to move to the south side of campus. Most of the old houses were taken over by the school and religious groups. Despite many chapters shutting down as a result of the move and Greek resistance, Cal Alpha stood strong and embarked on yet another chapter in its history.

After losing the Hearst House, the chapter became homeless for many years until they moved to another house on Durant where they stayed for five years. In 1980, the chapter moved once more to its current residence on Channing Way.

Today, the Hearst House is designated as a “City of Berkeley Landmark” and has been since May 24, 1982. For more information about the history of California Alpha, stop by the Berkeley Landmarks site for a more detailed story.