North Gate Hall, designed by John Galen Howard, housed the first School of Architecture in the State of California.

The building is a major landmark in the development of the regional architecture of the San Francisco Bay Area. Known as the First Bay Area Tradition, the style is characterized by a generally low, horizontal profile, the integration of indoor and outdoor spaces, straightforward expression of structure and materials, and a general warm, woodsy ambience.

Students referred to the building as the "Ark" and to Howard as "Father Noah". Many other important architects have studied and taught in North Gate Hall.

The building was last used by the Architecture Department in 1964. When we photographed it in 2015, it housed the graduate school of journalism.

Adapted from the NRHP nomination.