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Guide to the Julius Wangenheim Papers
MS 41
MS 41
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Table of contents
Title: Julius Wangenheim Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 41
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1859-1942
Abstract: This collection contains Julius Wangenheim’s personal and professional papers that pertain to his involvement in local banking
and politics, and his interests in book collecting and sundials.
creator:
Wangenheim, Julius
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Julius Wangenheim Papers, MS 41, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Collection processed by Jody Valente on November 28, 2011.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Biographical / Historical Notes
Julius Wangenheim was born on April 21, 1866 in San Francisco to businessman Sol Wangenheim and Fannie Newman. He received
his B.S. in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1887. Upon graduation, Julius began working
with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, where he remained until 1889. In 1889, he began working for the family business,
the Simon Newman Firm. He married Laura Klauber in 1892. He had one surviving daughter, Alice, who later married George Heyneman,
and a son Richard (1893-1894).
In 1896 he moved to San Diego from the San Francisco area and began work at the newly established Klauber Wangenheim Company,
a wholesale grocer. In 1903, he bought the controlling interest in the Bank of Commerce and Trust Company of San Diego which
grew to be the largest bank in San Diego. The bank was consolidated with the Southern Trust and Commerce Bank in 1917; it
was at this point that he retired at the age of 51, but he remained board chair of the Southern Title and Trust Company until
his death.
Julius Wangenheim was also actively engaged in civic development and was a member of many committees. In 1915, he served as
the head of the finance committee for the Panama-California Expedition and was also a founder of the San Diego Historical
Society. At various times he served as the board chair for the Park Commission, Planning Commission, Water Commission, Harbor
Committee, Civic Improvement Committee, as well as the Fine Arts Society and the English Speaking Union. He was also very
interested in education. He served as President of the University of California’s Alumni Association from 1927-28, was the
treasurer of the Marine Biological Association of San Diego (now Scripps Institution of Oceanography), and was a trustee of
Scripps College in Pomona.
He had a keen interest in the literary arts and was a known bibliophile, collecting rare books and also loaning out mathematical
books to students. Additionally, he designed a sundial that provided accurate readings within one minute. The sundials were
recreated and placed in various areas of San Diego and California. Julius Wangenheim died on March 10, 1942 from a stroke.
The collection is arranged into three series:
Series I: Personal and Family Papers
Series II: Civic and Professional Activities
Series III: Book Collecting and Sundials
Items in each series are arranged by subject.
This collection documents Julius Wangenheim’s family, business and civic affairs, and personal hobbies. Family papers include
biographies, correspondence with his parents, and obiturary tributes. Items in the collection highlight Wangenheim’s involvement
in banking as well as the Jitney Bus Controversy, which resulted from a public disagreement with John Spreckels over the buses.
Correspondence, articles and speeches document his civic interests at the local and national level, including involvement
in local higher education. His personal interests in book collecting and sundials are also included in the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bank of Commerce and Trust.
Howard, John Galen
Sinclair, Upton
Spreckels, John Diedrich, b. 1853
Wangenheim, Fanny
Wangenheim, Julius
Wangenheim, Sol
Banks and banking
Book collecting
Civics
Education
Grocery trade
Literature
San Diego (Calif.)
Sundial makers
Writing