A century ago, on July 25, 1925, the Berkeley City Council overturned a decision by the city’s Planning Commission and granted approval, 6-2, to rezone the northwest corner of Grove Street (today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Way) and Derby Street for a mortuary proposed by undertaker Edward Niehaus.

“The decision ends two years of zoning controversies caused by Niehaus trying to get a new location in Berkeley,” the Berkeley Daily Gazette reported.

During discussion, a Councilmember observed that virtually every mortuary previously approved in Berkeley had faced zoning opposition. The building still stands, and the city of Berkeley used it for offices today.

Racist neighbors: The Channing Way Club, a group organized by residents living west of the city’s downtown, held a “mass meeting” on J

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