Joseph Worcester Collection 1920.-01
Joanne Miller
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation.
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
March 1999
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
designarchives@berkeley.edu
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Joseph Worcester Collection
Creator:
Worcester, Joseph, 1836-1913
Identifier/Call Number: 1920.-01
Physical Description:
5 Linear Feet:
5 flat boxes
Date (inclusive): 1899-1906
Abstract: The Joseph Worcester collection consists of 14 bound volumes of scrapbooks containing purchased photographs, clippings from
the Architectural Review, and other magazines. Some volumes contain photographs of Italian artwork, including one volume of
Venice. Two of the volumes are architectural monographs of the Ames Memorial Buildings in North Easton, Massachusetts, and
Trinity Church in Boston.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research. Many of the Environmental Design Archives collections are stored offsite and advance notice
is required for use.
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
[Identification of Item], Joseph Worcester Collection, (1920-01), Environmental Design Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation.
Joseph Worcester (1836-1913)
The Reverend Joseph Worcester was a Swedenborgian minister who arrived in San Francisco from Boston in 1869. He had considered
becoming an architect, and maintained a strong interest in architecture for the rest of his life. Worcester believed in an
architectural style that incorporated a harmonious relationship between nature and design. His ideas included the expression
of raw materials in simple, hand-crafted design. After the 1890s, he became spiritual leader to many young artists and professionals.
He was a strong influence on architects of the late 19th century, including Earnest Coxhead, Willis Polk, A. Page Brown, Bernard
Maybeck, and Albert Schweinfurth.
Worcester designed his own house (1876) in Piedmont, California with strong rustic qualities that embodied his architectural
ideas. He influenced the design of houses on San Francisco's Russian Hill by encouraging a member of his congregation to build
a house that enhanced the natural environment of the hill. Worcester is also credited for initiating the use of unstained
redwood in interior paneling, although architects Coxhead and Polk were already utilizing abundant and inexpensive redwood
for interiors before they came to San Francisco.
While his design skills were strictly amateur, the ideas behind the designs influenced prominent architects of the day. Worcester
relied on architects for assistance with his designs, and commissioned A. Page Brown to design the Church of the New Jerusalem
at 2102 Lyon Street in San Francisco (1894-1895). Worcester was called "a catalyst who offered a conceptual promise" for rustic
simplicity. He was committed to the correspondence between nature and extremely simple expression, and his ideas influenced
the evolution of architectural design in Northern California.
Sources:
Longstreth, Richard, On the Edge of the World. New York: The Architectural History Foundation, 1989.
The Joseph Worcester collection consists of 14 bound volumes of scrapbooks that contain purchased photographs, clippings,
the Architectural Review, and other magazines. Three volumes consist of 1901-1906 issues of the Architectural Review Boston,
while one small volume is an 1899 special supplement to the Architectural Review from London. Other volumes contain photographs
of Italian artwork, including one volume from Venice alone. Two of the volumes are architectural monographs of the Ames Memorial
Buildings in North Easton, Massachusetts and Trinity Church in Boston.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Architects -- California.
Architects -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area.