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Matthew C. Bunyan Photograph Album of the Construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (1935-1936) SFP 120
SFP 120  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance
  • Biography
  • Scope and Contents

  • Title: Matthew C. Bunyan Photograph Album of the Construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
    Date (inclusive): 1935-1936
    Identifier/Call Number: SFP 120
    Creator: Bunyan, Matthew Chalmers, 1906 - 1978
    Physical Description: 1 album; album 15.5 cm x 15.5 cm, prints 8cm x 14 cm (52 gelatin silver photographic prints)
    Contributing Institution: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
    100 Larkin Street
    San Francisco, CA 94102
    (415) 557-4567
    sfhistory@sfpl.org
    Abstract: The bound volume contains 52 gelatin silver photographic prints taken by Matthew C. Bunyan which document the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California, 1935 – 1936.
    Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
    Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    The collection is available for use during Photo Desk hours.

    Publication Rights

    All requests for permission to publish from photographs must be submitted in writing to the Photo Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items. The Library holds copyright to the photograph album.

    Preferred Citation

    Matthew C. Bunyan Photograph Album of the Construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (SFP 120), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

    Provenance

    Gift 2013-88

    Biography

    Matthew Chalmers Bunyan was born on May 20, 1906 in Charlton, New York. The Bunyan family relocated to Santa Rosa, California in the 1920s. Bunyan attended Santa Rosa Junior College and then transferred to University of California at Berkeley (UCB). He graduated in 1930 with a BS in Civil Engineering. Bunyan married his UCB classmate Esther B. Norton in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 11, 1931 and the couple had two children. Bunyan was employed by the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Authority from 1933 to December 1936. He served as Junior Bridge Engineer and Assistant Bridge Engineer. Bunyan went on to work for Standard Oil Company of California and Arabian American Oil Company. Bunyan died on March 11, 1978 in Tucson, Arizona.

    Scope and Contents

    The bound volume contains 52 gelatin silver photographic prints taken by Matthew C. Bunyan which document the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California, 1935 – 1936. This unusual album has been hand-constructed out of blueprint paper with both typed and hand-written captions. The photographs are mounted on recto only, with the blue print visible on the verso of each page. Many of the photographs are of locations or vantage points that would only be accessible to engineers or construction workers of the Bay Bridge. Each photograph is dated and accompanied by a detailed caption, often describing the engineering aspects illustrated. There are also several group photographs of engineers and inspectors posing on the Bay Bridge shortly before opening, including the photographer Bunyan's family. All photographs are of the Bay Bridge construction with the exception of 6 photographs documenting small house architecture in Berkeley and Richmond, California in 1936. There are two captions where the accompanying photographs have been removed.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (Oakland and San Francisco, Calif.)
    San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (Oakland and San Francisco, Calif.) -- Design and construction
    Suspension bridges -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area -- Design and construction
    Photograph albums.
    Photographic prints -- 1930-1940
    Bunyan, Matthew Chalmers, 1906 - 1978