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Finding Aid to the Atkinson Family and Atkinson Construction Company Photograph Collection,
circa 1865-circa 1975, bulk 1890-1940
BANC PIC 2007.007--PIC
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Table of contents
Collection Title: Atkinson family and Atkinson Construction Company photograph collection
Date (inclusive): circa 1865-circa 1975,
Date (bulk): bulk 1890-1940
Collection Number: BANC PIC 2007.007--PIC
Creators :
Atkinson family
Extent:
Number of containers: 2 cartons, 2 boxes, 3 oversized boxes (circa 900 photographic prints, 6 negatives,
and 1 watercolor).
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: Chiefly family portraits and snapshots of the Atkinson family (of Colorado Springs and
Los Angeles), with some views related to their construction business. Construction photographs are chiefly
related to the Pardee Dam and Coolidge Dam projects.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice
may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the
Library's online catalog.
Collection is open for research, with the following exceptions: glass negatives are RESTRICTED. Inquiries
regarding these negatives should be directed, in writing, to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft
Library.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of
the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the user. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
[Identification of item], Atkinson Family and Atkinson Construction Company Photograph Collection, BANC PIC
2007.007--PIC, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Manuscripts and ephemera have been transferred to the Manuscripts Collections of The Bancroft Library and
cataloged as the Atkinson family and Atkinson Construction Company records (BANC MSS 2007/204).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
Atkinson family--Archives.
Atkinson family--Pictorial works.
Blackman family--Pictorial works
Marks family--Pictorial works
Atkinson, George W., 1836-1905--Family--Portraits
Atkinson, Lynn Samuel, 1864-1923--Family--Portraits
Atkinson, Walter W., 1871-1917--Family--Portraits
Atkinson, Guy F., 1875-1968--Portraits
Atkinson Construction Company--Pictorial works
Guy F. Atkinson Company of California--Pictorial
works
Pioneers--Colorado--Portraits
Architecture, Domestic--California--Photographs
Architecture, Domestic--Colorado--Photographs
Interiors.
Construction industry--West (U.S.)--Photographs
Dams--Design and construction--Photographs
Pardee Dam (Calif.)--Pictorial works
Coolidge Dam (Ariz. : Dam)--Pictorial works
Cave Creek Dam (Ariz.)--Pictorial works
Colorado Springs (Colo.)--Pictorial works
Photographs.
Portraits.
Photograph albums.
The Atkinson family and Atkinson Construction Company Photograph Collection was purchased by The Bancroft
Library in November, 2006.
No additions are expected.
Arranged to the folder level.
Preliminary processing by Bancroft Library staff in 2007.
Lynn S. Atkinson, Walter W. Atkinson, and Guy F. Atkinson were three of at least ten children of stone mason
George W. Atkinson (1836-1905) and Nancy J. Wilson Atkinson. All three brothers were involved in the
construction industry, and Lynn and Walter relocated from Colorado to Southern California early in the 20th
century. Guy Atkinson founded Guy F. Atkinson Construction in the 1920s, specializing in dam projects and other
major infrastructure projects in the West. Lynn S. Atkinson was responsible for construction of numerous schools
and public buildings in Colorado Springs and the Los Angeles area and, later, dams and public works. Lynn S.
Atkinson, Jr., eldest son of Lynn Atkinson, became head of the Atkinson Construction Co., based in Los
Angeles.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists chiefly of portraits, snapshots and photograph albums of the Atkinson family (of
Colorado Springs and Los Angeles), with some views related to their construction business. Atkinson Construction
views include single images of several Colorado Springs buildings constructed in the 19th century, and several
dozen professional views of major 20th century projects. Pardee Dam, Coolidge Dam, and Cave Creek Dam (Arizona)
construction are most notable, with between six and several dozen views of each. A few dam-related public event
photographs picturing Atkinsons with Roy Rogers, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are present.
Family photographs include several hundred studio portraits (chiefly taken in Colorado Springs, Denver, and Los
Angeles, 1885-1935), primarily of the Walter W. Atkinson and the Lynn Samuel Atkinson families. Guy F. Atkinson
and family are also represented by a few portraits. Some relations from the Marks, Shirk, and Warner families
(of Indiana, Illinois, and Colorado) and the Blackman family (of Louisiana) are pictured. Of note are numerous
professional photographs of Atkinson family homes in Colorado Springs and Los Angeles, with exteriors and
interiors pictured. Family gatherings and celebrations, outings and other activities are also well
represented.