California Buidling Construction Records, 1913-1927

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Summary

Title:
The California Building Construction Records
Dates:
1913-1927
Creators:
San Diego Museum of Man.
Abstract:
The collection pertains to the construction and maintenance of the California Building built for the Panama-California Exposition in 1915.
Extent:
0.25 Linear feet (1 box)
Language:
Preferred citation:

The California Building Construction Records, MS 255, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

The materials in the collection are administrative documents related to the original construction, ongoing maintenance, and further renovation of the California Building from 1913, two years before the Exposition opened, through 1927. The majority of the collection consists of financial records, including bills, invoices, and bank statements. Business contracts, correspondence, and construction reports are also included. There are also several documents related to the funding of the California Building, including a newspaper clipping and a senate bill passed by the California legislator.

Biographical / historical:

The California Building, the current home of the San Diego Museum of Man, was designed by architect Bertram Goodhue for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Now one of the most famous buildings in San Diego, the California Building is an icon of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style pioneered by Goodhue in his building designs for the Exposition. It was one of only four buildings built for the fair that were meant to be permanent.

The Exposition’s largest exhibit, “The Story of Man Through the Ages,” was housed in the California Building. After the Exposition drew to a close in 1916, a group of San Diegans led by George Marston formed the San Diego Museum Association to maintain the building and permanently retain the anthropological collections. In 1942 the building’s name was changed to the” Museum of Man”, and officially changed again in 1978 to the “San Diego Museum of Man.”

Acquisition information:
Accession number 950125.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Lauren Rasmussen on June 4, 2012.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Arrangement:

Collection materials are arranged by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Lauren Rasmussen
Sponsor:
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Date Prepared:
June 4, 2012
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-01-08T15:22-0800

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Preferred citation:

The California Building Construction Records, MS 255, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Location of this collection:
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 232-6203
Website