Memorial Stadium

When the University of California launched a statewide campaign in October of 1921 to build a football stadium on campus in honor of the World War I participants who lost their lives on the battlefields abroad, the response and results were staggering. In only one month, generous supporters of the University pledged more than $1 million, and just two years later, one of the most beautiful athletic stadiums in the world was completed in picturesque Strawberry Canyon.

Now more than 80 seasons after its 1923 opening, the setting of Memorial Stadium remains one of the most breathtaking sights in all of college athletics. The plush wall of pine trees in the Berkeley Hills to the east is contrasted by a panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay and three bridges to the west. Designed by world-renowned architect John Galen Howard and co-designers G.F. Buckingham and E.E. Carpenter, the stadium is a tribute to their architectural talents, skills that were years ahead of their time. Fans who attend games today still marvel at the beauty of the structure, modeled after the Colosseum in Rome, and comment about the easy viewing for spectators from all angles within the stadium.

---www.calbears.collegesports.com