Walter T. Steilberg Collection, ca. 1910-1974
Processed by the Environmental Design Archives staff
Environmental Design Archives
College of Environmental Design
230 Wurster Hall #1820
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Phone: (510) 642-5124
Fax: (510) 642-2824
Email: archives@socrates.berkeley.edu
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/
© 1999
The Regents of California. All rights reserved.
Note
Arts and Humanities--Architecture
History--California History--Bay Area History
History--California History
Geographical (By Place)--California
Geographical (By Place)--California--Bay Area
Geographical (By Place)--University of California--UC Berkeley
History--University of California History--UC Berkeley History
Walter T. Steilberg Collection, ca. 1910-1974
Collection Number: 1973-1
Environmental Design Archives
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Environmental Design Archives
- College of Environmental Design
- 230 Wurster Hall #1820
- University of California, Berkeley
- Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
- Phone: (510) 642-5124
- Fax: (510) 642-2824
- Email: archives@socrates.berkeley.edu
- URL: http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/
- Processed by:
- Environmental Design Archives staff
- Date Completed:
- December 1998
- Encoded by:
- Campbell J. Crabtree
- Funding:
- Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation.
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Collection Title: Walter T. Steilberg Collection,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1910-1974
Collection Number: 1973-1
Creator:
Steilberg, Walter T., 1817-1974
Extent: 12 boxes, 5 card file boxes, 10 flat file drawers, ca. 35 tubes
Repository: Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Director.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Walter T. Steilberg Collection, (1973-1), Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental
Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California
Access Points
Architects--California.
Architecture--California.
Building materials.
Buildings--California--Earthquake effects.
Structural engineering.
Berkeley (Calif.)--Fire, 1923.
Sather Tower (Berkeley, Calif.)
University of California, Berkeley -- Buildings.
Morgan, Julia, 1872-1957
Dailey, Gardner, 1895-
Biography
Walter T. Steilberg was born in 1887 in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in
1910 with a bachelor's degree in architecture and a minor in structural engineering.
Steilberg worked with Julia Morgan from 1910-1920 as draftsman , architect, office manager, and structural engineer. In 1920
he formed his own architecture and consulting firm, and designed the Berkeley College Women's Club, Claremont Junior High
School in Oakland, the Pavilion at Lake Merritt, and numerous residential projects. In addition, he designed buildings on
many University of California Campuses, and directed the preservation of Sather Tower. He also supervised the dismantling
of Spanish monastery in Santa Marin de Oliva, Spain. The building was shipped piece by piece to San Francisco as a gift to
the city from William Randolph Hearst, but was never reassembled. As a consultant, Steilberg collaborated with Gardner Dailey
on many projects.
Steilberg became an expert in seismic architecture and engineering issues. He researched and wrote a book entitled "Earthquakes
Made Simple," presented illustrated lectures, and collected reference materials on the subject. Additionally, he did extensive
experimental research in concrete.
He was a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Seismological Institute and the Concrete Institute of America.
Steilberg died in 1974 at the age of 88.
Sources:
University of California job application, 1942 (folder II.1)
"W. T. Steilberg Dies; San Simeon Designer," San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle: 8 December 1974: 4.
Scope and Content
The Walter Steilberg Collection spans the years 1910-1973 and documents Steilberg's engineering and architectural careers,
as well as his own research into building materials and the structural effects of earthquakes. The collection is organized
into five series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, Project Records, and University of California.
Steilberg's personal papers are minimal, consisting of his student drawings. His professional papers, which contain correspondence,
collected articles, writings and photographs, are more thorough. These records are primarily related to earthquakes throughout
California and in other states. The Berkeley fire of 1923, the structural characteristics of concrete and the effects of termites
are also documented. Office records include correspondence to various trade publications and product literature.
Steilberg's project records include correspondence, notes, reports, photographs and drawings documenting both his consulting
and design work. Projects for the University of California, including the Sather Tower renovation, are well-represented. The
project records also contain correspondence between Steilberg and architect Gardner Dailey, and biographical information on
Julia Morgan.
Related Collections
Title: Interviews with Walter Steilberg and related material,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 77/97,
Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library
Title: Gardner Dailey Collection,
Identifier/Call Number: 1988-1,
Contributing Institution: Environmental Design Archives
Title: Julia Morgan Collection,
Identifier/Call Number: 1959-2,
Contributing Institution: Environmental Design Archives
Flat Files
I. Personal Papers,
ca. 1910
Scope and Content Note
Consists of Steilberg's student drawings.
Boxes 1-3, 13-17, Flat Files
II. Professional Papers,
1923-1965
A. Employment and Professional Assocations
B. Research Files
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence and printed and photographic materials relating to the structural properties of concrete, the Berkeley
fire, termites, and housing projects.
C. Earthquake Research
Scope and Content Note
Consists of the book "Earthquakes Made Simple," which contains detail photographs and descriptions of Long Beach and San Francisco
earthquakes. Also includes photographs, notes, printed materials, and research reports on seismic activity, primarily in California
locations.
D. Photographic Materials
Scope and Content Note
Contains lantern slides and 35 mm slides depicting architectural drawings, buildings, construction scenes and earthquake damage.
These materials were most likely used in teaching and research.
Boxes 4-7
III. Office Records,
1920-1972
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence includes Steilberg's communication with various publications, and outgoing letters regarding his projects.
Includes correspondence with Gardner Dailey and other architects for whom Steilberg consulted. Product literature contains
a large selection of manuals, technical booklets, publications, construction material specifications, and engineering pamphlets,
alphabetically arranged.
Boxes 7-10, Flat Files, Tubes
IV. Project Records,
1910-1967
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically within subseries.
Scope and Content Note
Contains correspondence, notes, photographs, and drawings related to commercial and private construction, structural consulting,
and repair projects. Includes information about Julia Morgan.
Boxes 10-12, Flat Files
V. University of California,
1913-1966
Scope and Content Note
Records of Sather Tower include information regarding its construction, repair of surface cracking, chime specifications,
structure and maintenance plans, and artifacts. Additional projects include the original Architecture Building and the Faculty
Club.
B. Other University of California Projects