History

Visitors have been finding hospitality on Berkeley’s “Holy Hill” for decades. In 1924 the building that is now Easton Hall housed the chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1960’s, the fraternity’s next-door neighbor, Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP), purchased the building.

For a number of years Easton Hall served as the site for seminary events and celebrations. Eventually, CDSP leased the building to the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology (DSPT), whose priests and monks could often be seen playing basketball in full habits on the court between the school and the chapel.

In 2006, with seismic retrofitting and overall building repairs required, DSPT moved to a new location. CDSP restored the building to its original elegance and made Easton Hall a site of welcome and hospitality for visitors from across the country and around the world. The award-winning renovation was completed in 2007, giving new life to a building imbued with an enduring spirit of learning, contemplation, and comfort.

Easton Hall guesthouse is joined by CDSP’s original seminary building, Gibbs Hall, completed in 1912. Gibbs was seismically retrofitted along with Easton, and has recently been updated to more comfortably accommodate guests and provide additional meeting space for small groups. Together, Easton and Gibbs Hall form Easton Hall Conference Center.