Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Thornton Fitzhugh Collection of Architectural Photographs and Ephemera: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Huntington Library Staff.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2016
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Thornton Fitzhugh Collection of Architectural Photographs and Ephemera
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1895-approximately 1928
Collection Number: photCL 400 volume 10
Collector: Fitzhugh, Thornton, 1864-1933
Extent: 184 photographs and ephemera in 1 box
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: Disbound album with photographs, clippings, and other ephemera related to the architectural work of American architect Thornton Fitzhugh (1864-1933). The collection chiefly consists of photographs and renderings of commercial and residential buildings designed by Fitzhugh in Los Angeles and Arizona.
Language: English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Thornton Fitzhugh Collection of Architectural Photographs and Ephemera, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of the Historical Society of Southern California, 1992.

Biographical Note

Architect Thornton Fitzhugh (1864-1933) designed many notable buildings in the Los Angeles area and Arizona. He maintained offices in Los Angeles at 864 Pacific Electric Building and later at 401 N. Avenue 50, and in Phoenix, Arizona. Fitzhugh is probably best known for the design and construction of Henry E. Huntington's Pacific Electric Building and the exclusive Jonathan Club. He worked chiefly with reinforced concrete and gained a considerable reputation as a pioneer and expert in the use of this material. He built office buildings, banks, churches, government facilities such as mental hospitals and penal institutions, and residential apartments and homes.

Historical Note of HSSC

Founded in 1883, the Historical Society of Southern California (HSSC) is the oldest historical society in California. As part of its mission to collect and preserve Southern California’s history, the HSSC amassed a photo archive over many decades. The HSSC shifted its emphasis to programs and publications in the 1980s and, in 1992, the organization donated its photo archive to The Huntington Library.
The Historical Society of Southern California Collection contains approximately 15,000 photographs and negatives focused on Southern California from approximately 1870 to 1980. As such, it is an important visual record of the growth and history of the region. The collection represents a variety of donations made to the Society over many years. It is organized into discrete sub-collections (each with a unique “volume” number) within the overall collection, which is identified by call number photCL 400.

Scope and Content

The collection contains photographs, clippings, and other ephemera related to the architectural work of Thornton Fitzhugh. Included are photographs and renderings of commercial and residential buildings designed by Fitzhugh in Los Angeles and Arizona; among the more notable are the Pacific Electric Building, the Jonathan Club, Union Labor Temple, and Bimini Hot Springs, in Los Angeles, and the Territorial Institute for the Insane, Phoenix. The original album contained many loose and unidentified photographs and for this reason the original order of the collection was not preserved.
The collection was originally in album form and titled "Some Examples of Architectural Work from the Office of Thornton Fitzhugh, Los Angeles, Cal. & Phoenix, Arizona."

Related materials in the Huntington Library

The sub-collections of the Historical Society of Southern California Collection (photCL 400) are individually cataloged in the Huntington Online Catalog.  

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

Arizona Territorial Prison -- Photographs.
St. Joseph's Hospital (Phoenix, Ariz.) -- Photographs.
Pacific Electric Railway Company -- Buildings -- Photographs.
Apartment houses -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs.
Architecture -- Arizona -- Phoenix -- Photographs.
Architecture -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs.
Architecture, Domestic -- Photographs.
Bank buildings -- California -- Photographs.
Commercial buildings -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs.
Concrete construction -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs.
Concrete construction -- Arizona -- Photographs.
Church buildings -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs.
Political clubs -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs.
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Photographs.
Arizona -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- Photographs.

Forms/Genres

Photographs.
Clippings.
Letters.
Postcards.

Contributors

Tener, R. E., photographer.
Baker, Chas. H., photographer.
Martin, Frederick W., photographer.
Pillsbury, Arthur C. (Arthur Clarence), photographer.
Galezio, L. A., photographer.


Box 1

Photographs and Ephemera

 

Ephemera

6 items including clippings related to the life and career of Thornton Fitzhugh. Includes a letter to HSSC explaining the donation of the Fitzhugh album; a biographical sketch from a magazine (n.d.), and some unidentified renderings.
Items 1-19

Pacific Electric Building, Los Angeles

Progress shots of the construction, April–August 1904. Photographer: R.E. Tener, Los Angeles
Items 20-24

Jonathan Club, Los Angeles

Architectural details of the ballroom on top floor of the Pacific Electric Building, Los Angeles.
Items 25-36

Jonathan Club, Los Angeles

Views of the interior and the roof garden. Photographer: Chas. H. Baker, 538 ½ Broadway, Los Angeles.
Items 37-43

Territorial Institute for the Insane, Phoenix, AZ

Views of the architectural rendering, construction, and the completed building.
Items 44-54

Territorial Prison, Florence, Arizona

Architectural rendering and construction views.
Items 55-57

St. Joseph’s Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona

Exterior views and one letter.
Items 58-61

Arizona buildings and stores

Valley Bank and Vault, Phoenix; Stores and offices, Mesa, Arizona; Unidentified building housing Arizona Gazette and Arizona Fire Insurance Co.
Items 62-63

Union Labor Temple, Maple Ave., Los Angeles

Exterior and interior view, 1906-1907.
Items 64-69

H.L. Benbough Furniture Co., Los Angeles?

Construction views, June–September 1926. Photographer: Sensor Studio, 935 E. St., San Diego
Items 70-74

First Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles; First United Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles

Interior and exterior views, ca. 1895.
Items 75-77

First United Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles

Letters and other ephemera.
Items 78-82

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church South, 9th & Grand Avenue, Los Angeles.

Interior views; 1 clipping; 1 photomechanical print of exterior.
Items 83-85

Buildings in Highland Park area of Los Angeles

Views of the Bank of Highland Park and the Presbyterian Church of Highland Park. 2 clippings; 1 postcard.
Items 86-88

American National Bank Building, Monrovia, Calif.

1 exterior view; 1 clipping; 1 letter.
Items 89-91

Unidentified bank building. Interior views.

Items 92-96

The Mayfair Apartments 40 St. James Park, Los Angeles

Exterior and interior views.
Items 97-98

Percival Apartments 845 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles

Exterior and interior view.
Items 99-101

New Maryton Apartments Olive Street, Los Angeles

Architectural rendering and 2 interior views.
Items 102-104

Bimini Hot Springs, Los Angeles

Exterior views.
Items 105-109

Architectural Renderings – Various Projects

Echo Mountain Hotel; Elk’s Hall; Unidentified projects.
Items 110-119

Ritchie Residence, Hemet, California

Exterior and interior views. Photographer: L.A. Galezio
Item 120

J.C. Kirkpatrick Residence, Figueroa St., Los Angeles

1 exterior view. Photographer: A.C. Pillsbury
Items 121-129

Unidentified Residences -Exterior views

Items 130-135

Unidentified Residences -Interior views.

Items 136-143

Miscellaneous & unidentified views and buildings

Item 144

Baker-Detwiler Building, 412-418 West 6th Street, Los Angeles

Exterior view. Photo of architectural rendering.
Item 145

Interior of Reception Hall, Unidentified residence, Los Angeles

Note on verso says that $3200.00 house.
Items 146-149

Unidentified residence, Berkeley?, Calif.

Exterior and interior views. Photographer: McCullagh, Berkeley, Calif.
Items 150-151

Exterior views of tea and gift shop, unidentified location.

Items 152-155

Unidentified and miscellaneous interior views

Photographer: Frederick W. Martin, Pasadena, Calif.
Items 156-184

Thomas D. Murphy Residence, 346 Lorraine Blvd., Los Angeles

Interior and exterior views.
Item 185

Clipping re: Los Angeles Athletic Club building From Los Angeles Examiner, 1/25/1908