rose garden inn

an old inn gets an identity update by resurrecting its past.

considering a name change from rose garden inn to the marshall house, historic rehabilitation renews this turn-of-the-century home of concrete contractor, j.a. marshall, who the berkeley herald credited in 1896 with having paved ninety percent of berkeley’s new sidewalks—a signpost of a civilizing west. much of marshall’s original “artisanal stonework” adorns the property.

when the marshall family homes were later converted to an inn, the buildings and gardens alike braved incremental haphazard additions to accommodate guests. today’s historic renovation is driven largely by a subtraction strategy, integrating a revival of the property’s 19th century identity with intensification of its 20th century hospitality function through a 21st century indoor-outdoor spirit—including universally accessible and water-wise grounds, private room patios, revived historic front gardens, and a new dining terrace at the heart of the property.

street gardens soften the public right-of-way with a sense of arrival and frame the whole of the property as a secret garden wherein purple spring and autumnal yellow revolve seasonal displays. historic seed catalogs and old property photographs inform an historic garden palette for the formal front deep emeralds and big choice bloom while a contemporary composition of silver and champagne drought-tolerant species adorn the back and perimeter.