For nearly 100 years, UC Berkeley students have been walking through the iconic Sather Gate on the way to classes. But tomorrow, they might notice something different-scaffolding and contractors will surround the gate, and soon the metal arches will be gone altogether.

Starting Friday, the campus will undertake a $1.5 million restoration project of Sather Gate, scheduled for completion in late April 2009, according to Christine Shaff, communications manager for campus facility services.

"The steel has been damaged by weather over the years and, as it's done that, it pushed on some of bronze. As a result, some connections in the metal have worn," Shaff said.

De Vincenzi Architectural Products, Inc., along with local contractors and engineers hired by the campus, will remove the cast bronzework that stretches between and down the sides of the gate's stone columns in order to replace or restore the 98-year-old steel frame that exists inside the bronze.

"(The engineering firm will) take the gate apart carefully, and everything will be photographed, catalogued and noted, so we'll have really accurate architectural drawings of the gate," Shaff said.

Engineers will also add seismic reinforcement by drilling eight feet into the ground and extending the columns' foundations.

While the campus will be funding the project, UC Berkeley's graduating class of 1950 will also be raising funds through the "Save Sather Gate" campaign, said Marion Harris, 1950 alumni class council vice president and the campaign's co-chair.

The campaign has raised between $6,000 to $7,000 through Web site donations so far and aims to garner further contributions from all alumni groups, she said.

Harris said the members of her graduating class council, who have been active in past campus fundraising campaigns, were drawn to the project for Sather Gate's emotional appeal.

"(Sather Gate) is important because it's a symbol of the University of California at Berkeley," she said. "I was just a little 17-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah, so the first time I ever walked through it, I was just agog. I thought it was wonderful."

The gate, constructed by UC Berkeley in 1910, originally served as the south entrance to campus before it extended its property boundary another block onto Telegraph Avenue, according to local historian Richard Schwartz.

Senior Daphne Owen said Sather Gate is one of UC Berkeley's most quintessential landmarks.

"It's the place where all the action is on campus. All the crazy flyering and hippies are happening right here," she said.

Though he has not yet developed much attachment to the gate, freshman Jacob Newman said he appreciates its significance.

"It, the Golden Bear and the Campanile are the things that are most closely associated with the school," he said. "It's definitely part of the fabric here. Its presence doesn't affect me on a conscious level, but its absence would make quite an impression."

While Shaff acknowledged concerns that the gate will look different after the restoration, she said it will retain its classic appearance.

"It will be really surprising-looking when it's all gone. I mean, the gate's been there for 100 years. But when it's all back up, it will be stronger and healthier and it will be ready for another 100 years-plus of weather and wear," Shaff said.

Tags: SATHER GATE