Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Richard Clowdus Memorial Auditorium renovation collection
- Dates:
- 1896-1999
- Extent:
- 1.75 Linear Feet 1 carton, 1 manuscript boxes, one blueprint roll.
- Language:
- English
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The majority of the collection documents the push to renovate Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in the 1990s. A very small portion of the collection documents the William Ladue and Fred Mason families of Sacramento during the 1890s to 1940s.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Richard Clowdus was involved in the restoration of Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in the 1990s, which is the focus of his collection. He sat on the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Citizen's Advisory Committee and was treasurer of the Friends of Sacramento Memorial Auditorium.
Memorial Auditorium, owned and operated by the City of Sacramento, is located on J Street between 15th and 16th streets. It was originally designed by City Architect James Dean, Arthur Brown Jr., and G. Albert Landsburgh, and was constructed from 1925 to 1927. After opening in 1927, the auditorium operated as Sacramento's main entertainment and civic venue through 1986, when it was closed due to seismic safety concerns. The building was renovated and reopened in 1996, due in part to the efforts of the Friends of the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium and the City of Sacramento.
The collection also documents the Mason and Ladue families of Sacramento, and Mason's Laundry. Fred Mason founded Mason's Laundry (later Mason's Steam Laundry) in 1880 at 528 J Street. It later moved to 2030 O Street and was run by his widow, Caroline, after his death in 1901. The Ladue family includes Roseville native and Sacramento building contractor William B. Ladue, who was married to Minnie Ladue and died in 1961 at age 79; and their son, William E. Ladue, a Sacramento structural engineer who was married to Mildred Everett Ladue, and died in 1996 at age 1964. It is unclear how the Masons, Ladues, and Clowdus are related.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired from Richard Clowdus in 2011, 2013, and 2016 (accession numbers 2011/046, 2013/005, and 2016/037).
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged into two series:
- Series 1. Memorial Auditorium renovation, 1925-1999
- Series 2. Ladue and Mason families, 1896-1941
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-01-20 12:04:35 -0800 .
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.Sacramento, CA 95811, US
- Contact:
- (916) 808-7072