The Bear’s Lair brew pub, UC Berkeley Campus, berkeley, california
The University of California at Berkeley-a public Univerisity institution—asked John Martin, a well-known microbrew pub owner, to take over The Bear’s Lair, a long time Berkeley Civic Institution, located in the Martin Luther King Jr. ASUC Building on the UC Berkeley Campus. The 5-story brutalist board-formed concrete institutional building was constructed in the early 1960’s on Sproul Plaza and the Bear’s Lair was part of the original building. Robert Nebolon Architects were retained by UC Berkeley and John Martin to redesign/restoration/modernization of the interior space. Long hidden Existing board-formed concrete walls were revealed and Large folding glass doors were installed to replace an wood wall for better access to an outdoor dining area. New dark oak stained banquettes were installed; a central bar was also installed with a stainless steel dropped ceiling for glass mug storage. Cal Bear Sporting paraphernalia was placed on all the walls to decorate the brew pub. This Bear’s Lair version was closed in 2015 when the entire building was remodeled with a new addition. A new Bear’s Lair under different ownership re-opened in 2022. #robertnebolonarchitects