Renowned architect Julia Morgan designed Berkeley Playhouse's current performance space in 1908 as the St. John’s Presbyterian Church. Her designs included the church and adjacent Sunday School classroom space. Working with a budget of just two dollars per square foot, Morgan used natural redwood paneling, once affordable and abundant, for the interior and exterior of the building. On the inside she left exposed wooden beams, supports, nuts and bolts as part of the design. The result was an inexpensive, functional but very beautiful building. The main space, which today houses the theatre, opened in 1910.
