Guide to the Alberto F. Porta Papers, 1881-1990
Processed by University Archives Staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Anne McMahon
Santa Clara University Archives.
Santa Clara University Archives
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, California 95053
©2001
Santa Clara University. All rights
Reserved.
Guide to the Alberto F. Porta Papers, 1881-1990
Collection Number: PP-Porta
Santa Clara University Archives
Contact Information
Santa Clara University Archives
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, California 95053
Phone: (408) 554-4117
Fax: (408) 554-5179
Email: amcmahon@scu.edu
URL:www.scu.edu/archives
- Processed by:
- University Archives
Staff
- Date Completed:
- 5/1/01
- Encoded by:
- Anne McMahon
© 2001 Santa Clara University. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Provenance: Santa Clara University Archives
Santa Clara University
Title: Alberto F. Porta Papers,
Date: 1881-1990
Repository:
Santa Clara University Archives
Extent: 1 linear foot
Collection Number: PP-Porta
Abstract: This collection documents a portion of the career of architect and professor Alberto F. Porta.
Included in collection are clippings, correspondence, academic writings, newsletters, architectural
drawings and photographs.
Languages:
[code "English," not found in ISO 639-2 list],
and [code "Italian" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Administrative Information
Access
Santa Clara University permits public access to its archives within the context of
respect for individual privacy, administrative confidentiality, and the integrity of the
records. It reserves the right to close all or any portion of its records to researchers.
The archival files of any office may be opened to a qualified researcher by the
administrator of that office or his/her designee at any time.
Archival collections may be used by researchers only in the Reading Room of the
University Archives at the discretion of the archivist.
Publications Rights
Permission to copy or publish any portion of the Archives' materials must be given
by the University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Alberto F. Porta Papers, Santa Clara University.
University Archives.
Acquisitions Information
Gift of Alberto Porta's granddaughters, Alma Porta
Brennan and Catherine Porta Gilligan, in 1996. Accession Number 996-029.
Biography
Alberto Francisco Porta, born in Mondovi, Italy in 1853, was a civil engineer and architect trained
at the University of Turin. In 1894, at the request of the Guatemala government to serve as
architect for the reconstruction of structures damaged by earthquakes and revolutions, Porta
moved his family to Quesaltenango, Guatemala. The request to come to Guatemala was handled through
the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). In Quesaltenango, Porta worked on rebuilding bridges and
buildings.
Due to political unrest and natural disasters, including earthquakes and the eruption of the
volcano, Santa Maria, the Porta family immigrated to San Jose, California in 1901 with the help of
Jesuit friends. Porta first came to San Jose alone to find work, then sent for his family. Through
Jesuit connections, Porta was hired at Santa Clara College in 1907 to teach Mechanics, Descriptive
Geometry, and Architectural, Mechanical, Figure and Topographical Drawing. He remained at Santa
Clara from 1907-1914. As a teacher, he has been described as a colorful professor devoted to the
institution.
In 1914, Porta left Santa Clara, moved his family to San Francisco, and opened his own architect
business. While in San Francisco, he published a newsletter on weather prediction entitled
"Institute of Planetary Sciences." He soon became ill with cancer of the liver and
died in 1923.
Scope and Content
The Alberto F. Porta Papers consist of correspondence, clippings, manuscripts,
architectural drawings, and prints and negatives of drawings. The materials, in both English and Italian,
reflect Porta's career as an architect in Guatemala and San Francisco, and a professor at Santa
Clara College. Included in the collection are materials on weather forecasting, earthquake predictions,
and his invention of a helicoidal aeroplane.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Porta, Alberto F.
Architecture
Aeronautics
Meteorology
Box 1, Folder 1
Clippings Scrapbook, 1914-1920
Box 1, Folder 3
Degrees and Certificates,1881-1896
Language of Material:
and [code "italian" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Box 1, Folder 4
Correspondence regarding SS. Peter and Paul Church,1921-1922
Box 1, Folder 5
Paper titled "Ss. Peter & Paul Church" by Anne Gilligan Fornaciari, 1990
Box 1, Folder 6
Corresepondence regarding weather predictions,1919
Box 1, Folder 7
Clippings on weather forecasts, 1916-1923
Box 1, Folder 8
Clippings-biographical, 1919-1923
Box 1, Folder 9
"Contratto di Societa" [contract to develop a new type of airplane],1916
Language of Material:
and [code "Italian" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Box 1, Folder 10
Engineering Drawings, specifications, and working papers for "Porta's Helicoidal Aeroplane,"1917
Box 2, Folder 1
Typescript, "The Historical Earthquake of San Francisco (April 18, 1906) Explained in Conformity with Sunspot Theory..."
Box 2, Folder 2
Typescipts and notes, including "Can We Communicate with Mars,"1920
Box 2, Folder 3
Typescripts, "The League of the PLanets," and "The Quadrature of Jupiter is Approaching,"1919
Box 2, Folder 4
Typescript, "Eclipse of the Sun"
Language of Material:
and [code "Italian" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Box 2, Folder 5
Newsletter, "Institute of Planetary Sciences,"1918-1921
Box 2, Folder 6
Typescript addressed to Benito Mussolini, "Heliospotology," [1922]
Language of Material:
and [code "Italian" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Box 2, Folder 7
Typescript with notes and annotations, "Earthquakes and Volcanoes,"[1909]
Box 2, Folder 8
Typescript with annotations, and correspondence regarding "The Epidemic of Influenze Connected with the Motion of the Planet
Jupiter,"1919
Box` 2, Folder 9
Typescript with annotations, "Earthquakes and Volcanoes,"1909
Box 2, Folder 10
Typescript, with correspondence, "Causes of Earthquakes." Includes correspondence with SCU faculty Jerome Ricard, S.J.1911
Box 2, Folder 11
Correspondence regarding patent of flying machine,1917-1929
Box 2, Folder 12
Manuscripts on conversion tables and calculations, topography and seismography,1910-1917
Box 2, Folder 13
Typescript, "Effect of Planetary Phenomenon on Humans"
Box 2, Folder 14
Typescript, articles, and notes on weather predictions, 1913, 1915
Language of Material:
and [code "Italian" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Box 3, Folder 1
Designs and diagrams of Porta's Helicoidal Airplane,
Physical Description: Negatives, and black and white prints.
Box 4, Folder 1
Architectural drawings and plans for buildings in Quesaltenango, Guatemala, and San Francisco, 1898-1923
Physical Description: Ink on linen.
17"x19"
Box 4, Folder 2
Illustrations of SS. Peter & Paul Church, San Francisco, and St. Antonio de Padova, Italy
Box 4, Folder 3
Interior photographs of buildings in San Jose, Santa Clara, Oakland, Turin, Italy, and Quesaltenango, Guatemala.
Physical Description: Black and white prints mounted on matt board.
