Mills College

Mills College, Oakland, California

First named the Young Ladies Seminary, Mills College was founded in 1852 by Cyrus and Susan Mills as the first women's college west of the Rockies. In 1871 it moved to its current 135-acre campus set in a valley of streams and small hills planted with over 50,000 trees reflecting the picturesque sensibilities of the nineteenth-century landscape design. Grant funds will be used to create a preservation master plan that documents the campus from its nineteenth-century origins to the present day, including its cultural landscape, nationally significant architecture, and continued commitment to innovative women's education.

Mills College received a Getty grant in 2006 for $170,000 to support campus heritage planning.

Report Summary

“Celebrating the Cultural Landscape Heritage of Mills College”

Location: 135 acre campus in an urban setting, Oakland, CA.

Founders: Cyrus and Susan Mills

Purpose: Study provides framework to guide future development in balance with historic preservation.

Historic Designation(s): Mills College (Historic American Building Survey; Survey of California National Historical Landmarks).

Study methodology:

sites selected in campus historic core:
The Oval and El Campanil
Richards and Kapiolani Roads

Methodology: Cultural Landscape Assessment Analysis of periods of significance, landscape site integrity, incompatible and defining features, and Planning and Design Assessment.

Strategies for Treatment based on US Dept of Interior: Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, Reconstruction.

Primary treatment for Oval & El Campanil: Rehabilitation with some areas of restoration and reconstruction.

New design work: Treatment strategy for Richards and Kapiolani Roads: Reconstruction and rehabilitation. Replant eucalyptus but different genus.

Outcomes and lessons learned: Final report in a book form which is sold for promotional purposes. Well organized, abundant and interesting history, beautiful photos and illustrations. Mills sponsored a lecture series as part of the grant, to inform the college community and general public about the Mills plan. Mills offered courses to students about school history, architecture, heritage, conservation and sustainability.

Notable professionals:

Julia Morgan, architect, designed Carnegie Hall

Bernard Maybeck, architect

Walter Ratcliff

Howard Gilkey, campus landscape architect

Howard McMinn, botanist