Charles Derleth papers

Finding aid prepared by Water Resources Collections and Archives staff.
Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library
P.O. Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Phone: 951-827-3233
Fax: 951-827-4673
Email: specialcollections@ucr.edu
URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives
© 2001
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Charles Derleth papers
Date (inclusive): 1865-1952
Collection Number: WRCA 035
Creator: Derleth, Charles
Extent: 13.69 linear feet (24 boxes)
Repository: Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The collection consists of correspondence, engineering reports, blueprints, photographs, notes, and news clippings relating to Derleth's work as a consulting engineering on the Golden Gate Bridge, Carquinez Bridge, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, a proposed Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, Antioch Bridge, U.S. Engineer Foundation's Committee on Arch Dam Investigation, Spring Valley Water Company, and others. Also includes materials on masonry structures (chiefly dams), the Hetch Hetchy Project, Lake Spaulding Dam, and other bridges and dams in California and elsewhere.
Languages: The collection is in English.

Access

The collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [date if possible]. Charles Derleth papers (WRCA 035). Water Resources Collections and Archives. Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

Acquisition Information

Provenance unknown.

Processing History

Processed by Water Resources Collections and Archives staff, 2001.

Collection Number

Collection number updated January 2019. Legacy collection number was DERLETH. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019 to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.

Biographical Note

Charles Derleth, Jr., was born on October 2, 1874, in New York. He received a bachelor of science degree at the City College of New York in 1894 and civil engineering degree at Columbia University in 1896. He served as Instructor and Lecturer at Columbia from 1896 to 1901. He moved westward in 1901 to become Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado. In 1903 Derleth accepted appointment as Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1907 he became Professor and Dean of the College of Civil Engineering, and in 1930, when the Colleges of Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering were combined, he was appointed Dean of the College of Engineering. He served in this capacity until 1942.
The hallmark of Derleth's career as a civil engineer is undoubtedly his work on San Francisco Bay bridges. He was Chief Engineer for the Carquinez Strait Highway Bridge, which, at the time it was built in 1927, was the longest cantilever bridge west of the Mississippi. He was a member of the Board of Consulting Engineers for both the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. He also visited, usually in the company of the Chief Engineer, nearly every major bridge construction site in northern California.
In addition, Derleth played a pivotal role in the design and construction of some of the best-known buildings, bridges, foundations, dams, highways, and tunnels in northern California. He was in charge of engineering work for the San Francisco Bureau of Architecture and was Consulting Engineer for Alameda County on numerous municipal structures, including the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, the San Francisco Civic Center and Auditorium (which he also designed), Grace Cathedral, and the Native Sons Hall in San Francisco, First National Bank of Berkeley, and Contra Costa County Hospital. Derleth also served as Chief Consulting Engineer on the Oakland-Alameda Estuary Tunnel (now called the George A. Posey Tube) and as Consulting Engineer to the University of California, designing and constructing California Hall, Wheeler Hall, Doe Library, Gilman Hall, LeConte Hall, the Campanile, and other structures on the Berkeley campus. In 1930 Derleth received an honorary degree from the University of California in recognition of his service.
Charles Derleth died on June 13, 1956.

Collection Scope and Contents

The collection consists of correspondence, engineering reports, blueprints, photographs, notes, and news clippings relating to Derleth's work as a consulting engineering on the Golden Gate Bridge, Carquinez Bridge, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, a proposed Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, Antioch Bridge, U.S. Engineer Foundation's Committee on Arch Dam Investigation, Spring Valley Water Company, and others. Also includes materials on masonry structures (chiefly dams), the Hetch Hetchy Project, Lake Spaulding Dam, and other bridges and dams in California and elsewhere.

Related Collections

Charles Derleth Papers, ca. 1886-1965. BANC MSS 91/116 c, The Bancroft Library
Charles Derleth Papers, ca. 1900-1938. BANC MSS C-B 717, The Bancroft Library
Photographs of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire from the Charles Derleth Papers, 1868-1908 (bulk 1906-1908).BANC PIC 1958.021--fALB, The Bancroft Library

Collection Arrangement

The collection is arranged into ten series as follows:
Series 1. Golden Gate Bridge, 1918-1952
Series 2. Carquinez Bridge, 1920-1937
Series 3. San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1916-1937
Series 4. Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, 1925-1937
Series 5. Masonry Structures, 1914-1938
Series 6. Arch Dam Investigation, 1914-1933
Series 7. Spring Valley Water Company, 1865-1930
Series 8. Antioch-Sherman Island Bridge, 1922-1930
Series 9. Miscellaneous, 1903-1934
Series 10. Oversize Materials, 1924-1936

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Engineering Foundation (U.S.). Committee on Arch Dam
Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.)
Spring Valley Water Company (San Francisco, Calif.)
University of California, Berkeley. College of Engineering
Antioch Bridge (Calif.)
Arch dams -- Design and construction
Bonneville Dam (Or. and Wash.)
Bridges -- California -- San Francisco Bay -- Design and construction
Calaveras Dam (Calif.)
Carquinez Bridge (Calif.)
Dams -- California -- Design and construction
Earth dams -- Design and construction
Eleanor Dam (Calif.)
Exchequer Dam (Calif.)
Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, Calif.)
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (Calif.)
Lake Hodges Dam (Calif.)
Lake Spaulding Dam (Calif.)
O'Shaughnessy Dam (Calif.)
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (Calif.)
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (Oakland and San Francisco, Calif.)
Stevenson Creek Test Dam (Calif.)

Genres and Forms of Materials

Correspondence
Photographs
Reports


 

Series 1. Golden Gate Bridge 1918-1952

 

Sub-Series 1.1. Engineering 1929-1945

Sub-Series Scope and Contents

Bridge structure, foundations, design, materials, model studies, etc.
Box 1, Folder 1

Models 1931-1934

Box 1, Folder 2

Foundations, 1929-1945.

Box 1, Folder 3

Consulting Board of Engineers- records, 1930-1937.

Box 1, Folder 4

Cables, 1931-1936.

Box 1, Folder 5

Pacific Bridge Company,1934-1935.

Box 1, Folder 6

Bronze, 1930-1931.

Box 2, Folder 7

Fender model - Kuss, 1934.

Box 2, Folder 8

Ellis theory, 1930-1933.

Box 2, Folder 9

Design and specifications, 1933.

Box 2, Folder 10

Wind tunnel tests, 1941 March 15.

Box 2, Folder 11

Stability studies, 1941.

Box 2, Folder 12

Tower travelers - A. F. McLane,1935.

Box 2, Folder 13

A. F. McLane,1936-1937.

Box 2, Folder 14

Lightweight aggregates, 1928-1931.

Box 2, Folder 15

Marin abutment extension, 1936-1937.

Box 2, Folder 16

Golden Gate Bridge main steel structure, 1937 March

Box 2, Folder 17

Wire for the cable for the Golden Gate Bridge, 1935 June 12.

Box 3, Folder 18

Golden Gate Bridge structure blueprints, 1931-1935.

Box 3, Folder 19

Tower construction, 1932 November

Box 3, Folder 20

Civil Engineering 113 - notes, 1938.

Box 3, Folder 21

Inspection re Strauss contract, 1931-1934.

 

Sub-Series 1.2. Geological Studies 1931-1937

Sub-Series Scope and Contents

Geology of foundations, earthquake vibration, etc.
Box 3, Folder 22

Geology - Willis correspondence, 1934-1935.

Box 3, Folder 23

Geology - Willis reports, 1934-1935.

Box 4, Folder 24

Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District. Investigation of criticism of foundation by Dr. Bailey Willis, 1934 November 27.

Box 4, Folder 25

Geology - general, 1931-1934.

Box 4, Folder 26

Earthquake vibration, 1935-1937.

 

Sub-Series 1.3. Miscellaneous 1924-1952

Sub-Series Scope and Contents

Contracts, insurance, approaches, toll plaza, traffic, lighting and color, rapid transit, costs, engineers' reports, accidents, etc.
Box 4, Folder 27

Charles Derleth, Jr.,contracts and payments, 1929-1931.

Box 4, Folder 28

Contracts, 1929-1937.

Box 4, Folder 29

Insurance, 1931-1937.

Box 4, Folder 30

Records and bills, 1924-1937.

Box 4, Folder 31

Floors, 1936.

Box 4, Folder 32

Approaches, 1932-1936.

Box 4, Folder 33

Toll plaza, 1932-1936.

Box 4, Folder 34

Toll plaza, 1931-1939.

Box 4, Folder 35

Traffic, 1931-1939.

Box 5, Folder 36

Lighting and color, 1934-1935.

Box 5, Folder 37

Rapid transit, 1934-1936.

Box 5, Folder 38

Rapid transit, 1934-1935.

Box 5, Folder 39

Golden Gate Bridge and Highway Districtorganization, 1930-1937.

Box 5, Folder 40

Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Suggestions for lighting the proposed Golden Gate Bridge and adjacent highways at San Francisco, California, 1930 December 29.

Box 5, Folder 41

Costs, 1930-1935.

Box 5, Folder 42

U.S. War Department,1924-1935.

Box 5, Folder 43

Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District. The Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, California. San Francisco, 1930 August 27.

Physical Description: 2 v
Box 6, Folder 44

Strauss, Joseph B. The Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, California : synopsis of the report of the Chief Engineer, with summary sheets and addenda, 1930?.

Box 6, Folder 45

Taylor, Sydney W. The Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco : report of the Traffic Engineer. San Francisco : Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, 1935 September

Box 6, Folder 46

Golden Gate Bridge and Highway Districtannual reports, 1937-1952.

Physical Description: 12 v
Box 6, Folder 47

Golden Gate Bridge tragedy, 1937.

 

Sub-Series 1.4. Photographs and Prints 1929-1939

Box 6, Folder 48-1

Construction of the piers, towers, anchorages, etc., 1935-1936.

Physical Description: 6 photographs
Box 6, Folder 48-2

Construction of pylons, cable anchorages, towers, the saddle, catwalks, etc., 1929-1939.

Physical Description: 48 photographs
Box 6, Folder 48-3

Cable, pneumatic caisson, Marin anchorage, piers, etc., 1929-1936.

Physical Description: 39 photographs
Box 6, Folder 48-4

Photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge, 1934-1937.

Physical Description: 69 photographs
Box 6, Folder 48-5

Diamond drill boring, steel sections and partial assemblies built by McClintic-Marshall Corporation,etc. 1930-1937

Physical Description: 24 photographs

Scope and Contents

Folder includes negatives.
Box 6, Folder 48-6

Prints and postcards 1931-1937

Physical Description: 23 photographs

Scope and Contents

Prints by Associated Oil Company, Strauss Engineering Corporation,etc. Folder includes 13 postcards.
 

Sub-Series 1.5. Ephemera 1918-1941

Sub-Series Scope and Contents

Speeches, published articles, brochures, promotional literature, news clippings, etc.
Box 7, Folder 49-1

Miscellaneous, 1930-1936.

Box 7, Folder 49-2

Speeches, 1930-1937.

Box 7, Folder 49-3

Magazine articles, 1930-1937.

Box 7, Folder 49-4

Newspaper articles, 1929-1937.

Box 7, Folder 49-5

Journal articles, 1930-1939.

Box 7, Folder 49-6

Brochures and broadsides by commercial interests relating to the Golden Gate Bridge, 1929-1937.

Box 7, Folder 49-7

Miscellaneous publications, 1921-1935.

Box 8, Folder 50

Golden Gate Bridge clippings files, 1918-1941

Box 8, Folder 50-1

Golden Gate Bridge, 1918 - 1930 June.

Box 8, Folder 50-2

Golden Gate Bridge, 1930 July - 3 November

Box 8, Folder 50-3

Golden Gate Bridge, 1930 November 4 - 1931.

Box 8, Folder 50-4

Golden Gate Bridge, 1932-1933.

Box 8, Folder 50-5

Golden Gate Bridge, 1934-1935.

Box 8, Folder 50-7

Golden Gate Bridge, 1938-1941.

Box 9, Folder 51

Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta and Golden Gate International Exposition, 1936-1937.

Physical Description: 4 folders
 

Series 2. Carquinez Bridge 1920-1937

Note

See also Oversize Photographs (101).
Box 9, Folder 52

War Department permits, 1920-1927.

Physical Description: 5 folders
Box 10, Folder 53

Carquinez Bridge right of way, 1924.

Box 10, Folder 54

San Francisco Transit Company,1922-1923.

Box 10, Folder 55

Geology, 1923.

Box 10, Folder 56

Miscellaneous, 1922-1937.

Box 10, Folder 57

Derleth, Charles. Carquinez Bridge, American Toll Bridge Company : history of construction period, September 1922 to February 1931, 1937 December 11.

Box 10, Folder 58

Cory, C. L. Report upon the proposed construction of the Carquinez Strait Bridge and the Antioch-Sherman Island Bridge by the American Toll Bridge Company, 1924 May.

Box 10, Folder 59

Carquinez Bridge records - War Department,early survey, 1922-1923.

Box 10, Folder 60

Derleth, Charles. Statement by C. Derleth, Jr., Chief Engineer, Carquinez Highway Bridge on site, highway connections and costs for bridging Carquinez Strait, 1924 December 27.

Box 10, Folder 61

Lighthouse service, 1926-1929.

Box 10, Folder 62

Photographs and miscellaneous materials, 1923-1929.

Box 10, Folder 63

Bibliography, 1923-1927.

 

Series 3. San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge 1916-1937

Note

See also Oversize Photographs (102).
Box 11, Folder 64

Port of Oakland- Transbay bridge, 1930-1931.

Box 11, Folder 65

Port of Oakland- San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1930-1933.

Box 11, Folder 66

Garrison, Walter E. Report on proposed San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1932 August 22.

Box 12, Folder 67

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge clippings files, 1916-1937.

Box 12, Folder 67-1

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1916-1931.

Box 12, Folder 67-2

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1932-1933.

Box 12, Folder 67-3

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1933-1934.

Box 12, Folder 67-4

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1934-1935.

Box 12, Folder 67-5

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1935-1936.

Box 12, Folder 67-6

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1936-1937.

Box 13, Folder 68

Bay Bridge Consulting Board,1931-1936.

Box 13, Folder 68-1

First session, 1931 October 5-9.

Box 13, Folder 68-2

Second session, 1932 January 25-30.

Box 13, Folder 68-3

Third session, 1932 April 18-23.

Box 13, Folder 68-5

Fifth session, 1933 January 23-27

Box 13, Folder 68-6

Sixth session, 1933 May 23-26.

Box 13, Folder 68-7

Seventh session, 1933 August 7-9.

Box 13, Folder 68-8

Eighth session, 1933 November 6-8.

Box 13, Folder 68-9

Ninth session, 1934 February 19-20; tenth session, 1934 May 9-10.

Box 13, Folder 68-10

Eleventh, twelfth, fifteenth and sixteenth sessions, 1934 August - 1936 November

Box 13, Folder 69

California Toll Bridge Authority,1932.

Box 13, Folder 70

Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast; Waterfront Employers' Union,1928.

 

Series 4. Richmond-San Rafael Bridge 1925-1937

Box 14, Folder 71

U.S. War Departmentpermit applications, 1925-1930.

Box 14, Folder 72

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge clippings files, 1926-1937.

Box 14, Folder 72-1

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, 1926-1927.

Box 14, Folder 72-2

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, 1928.

Box 14, Folder 72-3

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, 1929-1930.

Box 14, Folder 72-4

Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, 1931-1937.

Box 14, Folder 73

Nordlund, T. G. Proposed highway from Point Richmond to Point Orient to connect traffic between the East Bay and the proposed San Rafael Bridge, 1930 July 23.

Box 14, Folder 74

Taylor, Sydney W. Effect of the competition of proposed Bay bridges on the San Francisco Bay auto ferry services, 1931 December 30.

 

Series 5. Masonry Structures 1914-1938

Box 15, Folder 75

Civil Engineering 112 - notes, 1914.

Box 15, Folder 76

Bonneville Dam, 1934-1938.

Box 15, Folder 77

Earth dams, 1928-1938.

Box 15, Folder 78

Rock fill dams, 1915-1932.

Box 15, Folder 79

Exchequer Dam, Merced River, 1925-1926.

Box 15, Folder 80

Lake Hodges Dam, San Diego County, 1920-1922.

Box 15, Folder 81

Lake Hodges Dam, San Diego County, 1922-1923.

Box 15, Folder 82

Lake Hodges Dam, San Diego County, 1923-1937.

Box 15, Folder 83

Lake Eleanor Dam, 1917-1933.

 

Series 6. Arch Dam Investigation 1914-1933

Box 16, Folder 84

Engineering Foundation (U.S.) Committee on Arch Dam Investigation,1925-1933.

Box 17, Folder 85

Davis, Raymond E. Report to members of Committee on Arch Dam Investigation, Engineering Foundation, on progress on preliminary laboratory experiments on concrete, which has a bearing on the arch dam investigations, 1926 July 1.

Box 17, Folder 86

Davis, Raymond E. Report of tests on concrete being made in connection with tests on Stevenson Creek Test Dam, 1927 January 5.

Box 17, Folder 87

Slater, Willis A. Report of test of Stevenson Creek Dam, 1927 July.

Box 17, Folder 88

Committee on Arch Dam Investigationprints, 1914-1925

Box 17, Folder 88a

Noetzli, Fred A.,and S. M. Cotton. Report on investigation of Emigrant Creek Dam of Talent Irrigation District, Talent, Oregon, 1929 February

 

Series 7. Spring Valley Water Company 1865-1930

Box 17, Folder 89

Calaveras Dam, 1865-1909.

Box 17, Folder 90

Calaveras Dam, 1913-1918.

Box 18, Folder 91

Calaveras Dam, 1918-1930.

Box 18, Folder 92

Calaveras Dam, 1918.

 

Series 8. Antioch-Sherman Island Bridge 1922-1930

Box 18, Folder 93-1

Antioch-Sherman Island Bridge : specifications for constructing a steel and reinforced concrete bridge across the San Joaquin River about three miles east of Antioch, California for the American Toll Bridge Company and Delta Bridge Corporation. Sacramento : Frank H. Reynolds, 1924?.

Box 18, Folder 93-2

Antioch-Sherman Island Bridge across San Joaquin River : Delta Bridge Corporation, owner, Frank H. Reynolds and J.G. Little Co. Sacramento : Frank H. Reynolds, 1924.

Box 18, Folder 93-3

Records of soundings and riprap about Antioch Bridge piers on February 28, 1928. 1928 October 10.

Box 18, Folder 93-4

Antioch-Sherman Island Toll Bridge : simple method of protecting pier foundations from scour, 1926.

Box 18, Folder 93-5

Antioch Bridge photographs, 1925.

Box 18, Folder 93-6

Contra Costa County Title Company. Industrial, agricultural and road map of Contra Costa County, California. Martinez : Contra Costa County Title Co., 193-.

 

Series 9. Miscellaneous 1903-1934

Box 18, Folder 94

Hetch Hetchy Project,1909-1934.

Box 18, Folder 95

Foundations - cribs, 1910-1932.

Box 18, Folder 96

Water works - dry docks, 1903-1910.

Box 18, Folder 97

Foundations - explorations, 1907-1928.

Box 19, Folder 98

Ford, Bacon and Davis, Inc. Report - American Toll Bridge Company, American Toll Bridge Company of California, Delta Bridge Corporation, the Rodeo Vallejo Ferry Company, 1924.

Box 19, Folder 99

Markham Bridge, 1921.

Box 19, Folder 100

Lake Spaulding Dam construction photographs, 1912-1913.

 

Series 10. Oversize Materials 1924-1936

Box 20, Folder 101, Box 21, Box 22

Carquinez Strait Highway Bridge - progress views, 1924-1927.

Box 23, Folder 102, Box 24

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1934-1936.

Physical Description: 254 photographs, mounted on linen and bound into 2 albums (33 x 44 cm.)
Box 24

Oversize newspaper clippings and other ephemera.