Opus Dei

Presumably because of Holy Hill*, buildings with religious affiliation dot the area north of the Berkeley campus. This one (the parking lot included) is Opus Dei. I met one of its members and had dinner with him and others several years ago. They would like to expand to the south, taking over what was once a Texaco station, if memory serves - the scene of an extended environmental cleanup that some regarded as a waste of time and Texaco's money. (I have no opinion on this. I'm just reporting what I heard.) Despite the cleanup, the land lay fallow before Opus Dei bought it, even with a university across the street. It got some economic benefit from the construction boom at the northwest corner of the campus - and still does, judging from the pickup trucks. 

*: Holy Hill includes the Graduate Theological Union and the Pacific School of Religion, which are centered around the Le Conte, Scenic and Ridge Road intersection. Opus Dei is near the northeast corner of Hearst and Oxford.

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