Sesquicentennial Stories marking the 150th anniversary of Saint Mary's College High School, 2013:
The Peralta Park Hotel -125th Anniversary
The fate of one of the most spectacular and remarkable structures ever to grace the Berkeley landscape is forever intertwined with that of Saint Mary's College High School. In fact, had the Peralta Park Hotel not been set on a lovely knoll here on campus 125 years ago in 1888, Saint Mary's High might never have come to Berkeley, and the two main streets to the school - Posen and Albina - might have less fanciful names. In 1888, when the area around campus was just empty fields stretching out to the Central Berkeley farms of the McGee and Curtis families, famous stage actor Maurice Strellinger, who rose to fame in the comedy "Sam'l of Posen - The Commercial Drummer," purchased the campus land and environs and created "Peralta Park." Named for the Peraltas who had settled the area nearly fifty years earlier, the Park would boast a fine hotel and beautiful homes. The hotel was built in 1888 and rivaled the mansions of Nob Hill in San Francisco. Strellinger brought the Berkeley streetcar line out Sacramento Street to Hopkins to serve the hotel, and named Posen Street for himself and Albina Avenue after his actress-wife, whose stage name was "Albina de Mer." Strelinger's Peralta Park dream was never fully realized, due to costs for a murder trial in which he was eventually cleared, hotel costs, and property taxes. He died a pauper in a Los Angeles County hospital in 1920.
In 1903, the Christian Brothers purchased the hotel and property to house their St. Joseph's Academy grammar school for boys in its move from Oakland. In 1927, Saint Mary's College High School moved from its second location on Broadway in Oakland (1889-1927) to Peralta Park. The high school building was a short walk across campus from the Academy. The old hotel suffered a major fire in 1946 and was completely razed in 1959. The high school and grammar school shared the campus for more than sixty years until the grammar school moved from Berkeley to Napa in 1969.
In January 2013, the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association toured the Peralta Park area and campus, and on April 6, the Berkeley Historical Society will feature Saint Mary's and Peralta Park on its monthly history walk. Berkeley historian
Daniella Thompson has featured many stories about the Peralta Park area and its history on Patch and in the Berkeley Daily Planet that can be found in an online or Patch search.