Access Statement
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Funding
Biographical Note
System of Arrangement
Scope and Contents
Custodial History
Related Collections
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Records of Edward G. & John S. Bolles
Creator:
Bolles, John S., 1905-1983
Creator:
Bolles, Edward G., 1871-1939
Creator:
Ward & Bolles
Identifier/Call Number: 2012.-07
Physical Description:
10 Linear Feet:
20 tubes, 3 cartons, 4 document boxes, 2 cu. ft. of photo boards
Date (inclusive): 1913-1976
Date (bulk): 1953-1976
Abstract: The Edward G. & John S. Bolles Records are arranged into two series: Office records and project records. The bulk of the collection
consists of project drawings and photographs.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access Statement
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Records of Edward G. & John S. Bolles, Environmental Design Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Funding
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the Joan Draper Endowment, Depart of Architecture,
College of Environmental Design, U.C. Berkeley.
Biographical Note
San Francisco architect Edward Grosvenor Bolles was born in 1871 near Rosemond, Illinois to Ebenezer Bolles and Amelia Paine.
He married Harriet Ida Savage in Morgan Co. Illinois in 1895 and established his firm, Bolles Associates, in 1905. He worked
primarily on residences and small public facilities. Edward Bolles died in 1939 at the age of 68. His son, John S. Bolles
and grandson, Peter P. Bolles would both become practicing architects in the bay area.
His son, John Savage Bolles (1905-1983) was born in Berkeley and raised in Oklahoma. John obtained his Bachelor's degree in
Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1926 and graduated from Harvard with a Masters degree in Architecture in 1932.
He worked as a structural engineer in Oklahoma and as an archeologist for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
on the excavations at Persepolis, and also for Washington's Carnegie Institute on a comprehensive study of an important Mayan
site in the Yucatan. In March 1935 John married Mary Piper, a Radcliffe and moved to San Francisco in 1936 with John joining
his father's architectural practice to work on federal projects and public housing. Together they designed the Temple of Religion
and the Christian Science Monitor building for the Golden Gate International Exposition held on Treasure Island in 1939.
He partnered with Joseph Francis Ward to form Ward & Bolles (1944-1954) then established John S. Bolles Associates in the
1954 (1954-1975). The firm designed industrial, educational, retail, public housing, commercial office, hotel and recreational
projects. John's son Peter joined the firm in 1971 renaming it Bolles Associates in 1975. They continued to do architectural,
planning and interiors work. Notable projects include: IBM Site Plan and Building Complex (San Jose); 990 Pacific Senior Housing
(San Francisco); McGraw-Hill Office and Distribution Center (Novato); Candlestick Park Stadium (San Francisco); and the Gallo
Wine Headquarters Building (Modesto). John Bolles is perhaps best known for his design of the now demolished Candlestick Park
in San Francisco.
Sources:
• Lowell, Waverly ed.
Architectural Records in the San Francisco Bay Area: A Guide to Research. New York, Garland Press, 1988.
• Parry, David. Architects Profiles [
http://www.classicsfproperties.com/ accessed 10/17/2012]
• Membership file for John Bolles. Records of the AIA/Northern California, Environmental Design Archives, U.C. Berkeley
• Family History records
System of Arrangement
Photographs and Drawings are arranged alphabetically by project.
Scope and Contents
The Records are arranged into two series: Office records and project records. There are very few office records. The bulk
of the collection consists of project drawings and photographs.
Custodial History
Records were received from the family in 2012.
Related Collections
Douglas and Maggie Baylis Collection, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
The John S. Bolles Collection, Francis Loeb Library Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Ernest and Esther Born Collection, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
Philip Fein Collection, Environmental Design Archives. University of California, Berkeley.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Architecture