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Edward Bright Hussey Collection, 1915-1975
1977-2  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative Information
  • Access Points
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Contents Note
  • Project Index
  • Related Collections

  • Descriptive Summary

    Collection Title: Edward Bright Hussey Collection,
    Date (inclusive): 1915-1975
    Collection Number: 1977-2
    Creator: Hussey, Edward Bright
    Extent: 6 boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 flat file drawer, 46 tubes
    Repository: Environmental Design Archives.
    University of California, Berkeley.
    Berkeley, California.
    Abstract: The collection documents the architectural work of Edward Hussey in Japan and Hawaii. The bulk of the collection is the Principia College project in Elsah, Illinois.
    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 Curator.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Edward Bright Hussey Collection, (1977-2), Environmental Design Archives. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California.

    Acquisition Information

    This collection was acquired in 1977.

    Access Points

    Architects--California.
    Principia College of Liberal Arts, Elsah, Ill.
    World Young Women's Christian Association.
    Morgan, Julia, 1872-1957.
    Maybeck, Bernard R., 1862-1957.

    Biographical Note

    Edward Bright Hussey (1897-1976)
    Edward Bright Hussey graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in architecture in 1923. During his schooling, he spent the summers working for Julia Morgan, including work on the Hearst Castle in San Simeon during the summer of 1921. From 1926 to 1927 Hussey represented Julia Morgan in Honolulu during the building of the YWCA. As part of his duties, he wrote and sent daily progress reports to Morgan to be mailed on the weekly ship to San Francisco along with rolls of film and annotated and dated drawings. Hussey also served as supervising architect in Elsah, Illinois during the building of Principia College from 1931 to 1936. He assisted architect Bernard Maybeck with the design and construction of the college, designing several buildings on his own, including the Writer's Cabin and faculty houses, and influencing the design of the Morey Field House. During 1933 he left Elsah for approximately a year (while the work on Principia shut down) to work at Julia Morgan's Northern California Wyntoon construction site for William Randolph Hearst.
    Edward Hussey lived in Japan from 1927 to 1930 while supervising the Tokyo YWCA construction for Julia Morgan. He also worked on other projects in and around Tokyo including schools and church buildings. Back in the Bay Area in 1930, he worked briefly for another architect before being hired by Bernard Maybeck for the Principia College project. After Principia, Hussey worked in the State Office in Sacramento (1938), was superintendent on a Modesto project from 1951 to 1952, and worked for the Arabia American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia (1952). While he contributed information to various historians and biographers of Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck, there is scarce documentation regarding Hussey's own life.

    Scope and Contents Note

    The Edward Bright Hussey collection consists of correspondence, notes, reports, clippings, photographs, and drawings spanning the years 1915-1975. These records primarily relate to Hussey's architectural career, including projects completed under the direction of Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck. The records are organized into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Project Files, and Principia College.
    Personal and professional papers are minimal, consisting of student work, a small amount of correspondence, and clippings. Project records document residences and commercial buildings in Japan, Hawaii, and California. The series contains specifications, correspondence, and reports on projects in Japan, including the Tokyo Union Church building, the Hirosaki Jo Gakko school building, and the Chinzei Gakuin school. Photographs and drawings of projects such as the Honolulu YWCA, the Tokyo YWCA, the Central Tabernacle (Tokyo), and the cottage for Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hussey (Mt. Herman, California) are also included.
    The bulk of the collection is contained in the final series, Principia College. Records relating to this project include correspondence, reports, photographs, and publications, though drawings form the large majority of the Principia materials.

    Project Index

    The following is a list of architectural projects from the Hussey Collection. For more complete information about collection contents for each project, as well as shelf location and microfilming status, download the complete Project Index in an Excel spreadsheet format by going to http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/pindex/hussey.xls . For instructions on interpreting the Project Index, see The Guide to the Project Index at http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/pindex/guide.htm .
    The project list below, derived from the Project Index, is arranged alphabetically by Project/Client Name and contains information, where available, about the location, date, project type, collaborators, photographers, and formats for each project in the collection.

    Project/Client Name (location, date, project type) Collaborator (role), Photographer [Format - Ms=Manuscripts, Dr=Drawings, Ph=Photographs]

    • * Anthony, Miss Florence E. and Brown, Frederick A. ( Beverly Hills Tract , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Ph]
    • * [Brick Tile Co.] sketches ( unknown ; n.d. ; commercial ) [Ms]
    • * Chaloner ( Berkeley , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Ph]
    • * Chinzei Gakuin Middle School ( Nagasaki , Japan ; 1928-1929 ; educational ) [Ms]
    • * Church of Christ Scientist, First, Sunday School ( Berkeley , CA ; 1937 ; religious ) [Ms]
    • * Hearst, William Randolph (Wyntoon) ( Siskyou County , CA ; 1933 ; residential ) [Ms]
    • * Hirosaki Jo Gakko, Aomori Methodist Residence ( unknown , Japan ; 1928 ; residential ) [Ms]
    • * Principia College: office records and correspondence ( Elsah , IL ; 1927-1974 ; educational ) [Ms]
    • * Principia College: St. Louis ( St. Louis , MO ; n.d. ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: sketches, plans, photographs ( Elsah , IL ; 1922-1836 ; educational ) [Ms]
    • * Principia College: sketches, plans, photographs ( Elsah , IL ; ca.1934 ; educational ) [Ph]
    • * Principia College: Brick Wall ( Elsah , IL ; n.d. ; educational ) Collaborator: Maybeck, B. (architect) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Chapel ( Elsah , IL ; ca. 1931 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Classrooms ( Elsah , IL ; 1934 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Cottages ( Elsah , IL ; 1934-1935 ; educational ) [Ms]
    • * Principia College: Davis, Miss Olive E., alterations ( Elsah , IL ; 1936 ; residential ) [Ms]
    • * Principia College: Dining, Kitchen, and Great Hall ( Elsah , IL ; n.d.; 1927, 1931 ; educational ) [Ms, Dr]
    • * Principia College: Dormitories ( Elsah , IL ; 1930-1931 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Dormitories, Men's ( Elsah , IL ; 1930-1933 ; residential ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Dormitories, Women's ( Elsah , IL ; 1931-1933 ; residential ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Field House (gym) ( Elsah , IL ; 1935-1937 ; educational ) [Ms, Dr]
    • * Principia College: Gate House/Goat Island ( Elsah , IL ; n.d. ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: General (plans, surveys) ( Elsah , IL ; 1931-1935 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Great Hall ( Elsah , IL ; n.d., 1925 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Library ( Elsah , IL ; 1927-1937 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: roof tiles (coloring) ( Elsah , IL ; ca. 1933 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: Science Buildings ( Elsah , IL ; 1930-1935 ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Principia College: unidentified details ( Elsah , IL ; n.d. ; educational ) [Ms]
    • * Principia College: unidentified sketch ( Elsah , IL ; n.d. ; educational ) [Dr]
    • * Tokyo Union Church, Sendagaya Onden ( Tokyo , Japan ; n.d., ca. 1928-1930 ; religious ) [Ms]
    • * Unidentified: photographs ( unknown ; n.d. ; unknown ) [Ph]
    • * Unidentified: sketches ( unknown ; n.d. ; unknown ) [Ms]
    • * United States War Department, NCO Housing, Schofield Barracks ( unknown , HI ; 1941 ; residential ) [Ms]
    • * Wood, Wilbur B. ( unknown ; n.d. ; residential ) [Ph]
    • * YWCA: Honolulu ( Honolulu , HI ; 1926-1927 ; recreational ) [Ms]
    • * YWCA: Honolulu ( Honolulu , HI ; 1926-1927 ; recreational ) [Ph]
    • * YWCA: Oakland ( Oakland , CA ; n.d. ; recreational ) Collaborator: Morgan, J. (architect) [Ph]
    • * YWCA: Tokyo ( Tokyo , Japan ; 1925-1935 ; recreational ) [Ms]

    Related Collections

    Title: Julia Morgan Collection
    Identifier/Call Number: 1959-2
    Contributing Institution: Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley
    Title: Bernard Maybeck Collection
    Identifier/Call Number: 1956-1
    Contributing Institution: Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley
    Title: Julia Morgan architectural drawings,1907-1927
    Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 71/156
    Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library
    UC Berkeley
    Berkeley, CA
    Title: Julia Morgan papers
    Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 77/127
    Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library
    UC Berkeley
    Berkeley, CA