One of Berkeley's most picturesque cottages, The Marston Studio was built in 1930 as a dance/theatrical studio and residence for young Merle Marston. With its half-timbered exterior, Elizabethan chimney and slate roof, it has long been beloved and admired by visitors and neighbors in North Berkeley.
The Marstons were a prominent Berkeley family at the turn of the century. Sea Captain William H. Marston and his wife Idela Reed moved to Berkeley in 1893. They had 6 children, the youngest of whom was Merle. The house was conceived as a place for Merle to live and teach dance and theater. A large "M" was designed into the fireplace's intricate brickwork as a symbol of this being built for her.
The architect was Eldridge Theodore Spencer. While he did work around Berkeley and Stanford, the studio is closest in style to his work at the Awahanee Hotel in Yosemite. The Great Room is a scaled down version of the iconic Dining Room he designed for the hotel, complete with the grand iron chandelier and large scale fireplace. His wife, artist Jennette Dyer Spencer, is famous for her murals and stencil work at the Awahanee Hotel. Her hand-painted work is prominent on the cottage's beams, walls and even the brickwork around the entryway.
This exquisite architecture is referred to as "Storybook Style", but here it feels both medieval and California Modern at the same time with its wall of intricately leaded glass windows overlooking the formal, enclosed garden/patio. The Great Room's vaulted beams, loft for musicians and half-timbered plaster and wood ceiling are dramatic and medieval. Over the entrance to the dining room (a slightly raised "stage" for performances) is the charming, stenciled gable end, lovingly created by Jennette Spencer. The single bedroom features a raised fireplace, window seat framed by leaded glass windows, and many nooks and crannies. An elegant Art Deco bathroom was done in black, green and white tile. There are many thoughtful details throughout Spencer's design; these include a dumb waiter to bring logs up to the main floor for the fireplaces in both the Great Room and the bedroom, Buddha-like deities at either end of the dining room, original dark Mahogany stained paneling (with clever concealed built-ins) throughout,a milk door leading from the outside to one of the kitchen cabinets, unique door knockers on both the front and back doors, and a garage designed as if it were another room, completer with a ceramic-tiled floor and ornate chandeliers. These fine details and craftsmanship mark this as a very special project. And with nearly all of its original elements intact, The Marston Studio is a rare and wondrous jewel among Berkeley’s finest homes and gardens.