Collection Guide
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Clowdus (Richard) Memorial Auditorium renovation collection
MS0124
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Center for Sacramento History
Title: Richard Clowdus Memorial Auditorium renovation collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS0124
Physical Description:
1.75 Linear Feet
1 carton, 1 manuscript boxes, one blueprint roll.
Date (inclusive): 1896-1999
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired from Richard Clowdus in 2011, 2013, and 2016 (accession numbers 2011/046, 2013/005, and 2016/037).
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.
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.
The collection is arranged into two series:
- Series 1. Memorial Auditorium renovation, 1925-1999
- Series 2. Ladue and Mason families, 1896-1941