Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Bell Conservatory Company
- Abstract:
- The Bell Conservatory Company Business Records is comprised o f 4.25 linear feet of business records. The majority of the files are financial ledgers. Also included are two sample books of floral arrangements. The bulk of the collection dates from 1889 - 1930. The collection is divided into 3 series: financial records, sample floral arrangements, and artifacts.
- Extent:
- 4.25 linear feet (6 boxes)
- Language:
- Languages represented in the collection: English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Bell Conservatory Company records, MS0030, Center for Sacramento History.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Bell Conservatory Company records consist primarily of financial records of The Bell Conservatory Company from the years 1889 – 1931. The collection is divided into three series. Series 1 : Financial Records contains financial ledgers from the company from 1889 through 1931. Some years are missing. Two ledgers , one for the year 1900 are in very poor condition. Series 2: Sample Floral Arrangements contains two sample books of floral arrangements. Series 3: Artifacts contains an overcoat donated with the collection
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Bell Conservatory was located in Sacramento California on Broadway between 9 and 10th Streets in Sacramento, California. It was constructed in 1881 under the direction of Margaret Crocker, well known community leader and wife of E.B. Crocker. The cost of construction at that time was $38,000 dollars. Mrs. Crocker wished to supply flowers for the graves of the nearby Sacramento City Cemetery, where many of the city’s founders were buried. The conservatory building had a glass construction with a large dome on top. Some of the glass came from Belgium and was ordered through the Tiffany Company. The Conservatory was a half size replica of the San Francisco Conservatory which was built in 1878. The Conservatory was purchased by Eugene Geisreiter in the 1880s. Geisreiter, born in New York, came to California and worked at the San Francisco Conservatory. He moved to Sacramento and operated the Bell Conservatory for almost fifty years. After his death, his son Herbert (Bert) operated the company from 1928 until 1956. Bert Geisreiter attend UC Berkeley and obtained a degree in landscape architecture. Geisreiter served as mayor of the Sacramento during the years 1950 and 1951. He also served on the City Council and the Planning Commission. Additionally, he served as the General Manager of the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau from 1957 until 1972. The Bell Conservatory was sold in 1954 and was then torn down to make way for a Safeway supermarket.
- Acquisition information:
- The collection was donated by Bert Geisreiter, last owner of the Bell Conservatory Company, to the Center for Sacramento History in 1981 (accession number 1981/080)
- Processing information:
-
The collection was partially processed in 1981 providing a listing of the contents. Processing was completed in 2019 by Ruth Craft.
- Arrangement:
-
Series 1. Financial ledgers Series 2. Floral arrangements Series 3. Overcoat
- Physical location:
- 2C5-2C6, 44D1
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research use.
- Terms of access:
-
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Bell Conservatory Company records, MS0030, Center for Sacramento History.
- Location of this collection:
-
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.Sacramento, CA 95811, US
- Contact:
- (916) 808-7072