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Emery (Thomas Parker) Personal Papers
SDASM.SC.10042
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Title: Thomas Parker Emery Personal Papers
source:
Emery, Thomas Parker
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.10042
Physical Description:
0.44 Cubic Feet
one 12.5”x5”x10.25” box
Date (inclusive): 1935-2014
Abstract: Thomas Parker Emery - a local community college art instructor, mural painter, designer, and sculptor - was commissioned to
restore the March of Transportation murals painted by Juan Larrinaga in the Ford Building, which currently houses the San
Diego Air and Space Museum. This Collection includes materials related to the restoration and general information about the
San Diego Air and Space Museum.
The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Some copyright may be reserved. Consult with the library director for more information.
[Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository “San Diego Air & Space Museum
Library & Archives”]
The “Transportation Mural” was conceived by Orville Goldner and the prime artist, Juan Larrinaga, in September 1935 for the
California Pacific International Exposition when it was decided that the fair would run another year. While the Ford Company
pulled out of the exhibition the second year, they donated the structure and the building became The Great Hall of Transportation.
The Mural contained 281 single figures and 125 groups of figures. It was 18 feet high, excluding the border, and 468 feet
long. It was completed in six months.
After the exposition, the mural was largely ignored while the building went through various uses (including storage and a
welding school), until February 1979. When the Aerospace Museum prepared to move into the Ford Building following the Electrical
Building fire that destroyed much of the collection, various restoration efforts went underway. Thomas Parker Emery was commissioned
to restore the two murals painted by Juan Larrinaga (the other being the Explorer II mural). It took eight months to clean,
patch, and restore over 10,000 square feet of wall surface.
Collection consists of one 12.5”x5”x10.25” box containing correspondence, process journal, contract drafts, cost estimates,
information regarding the history of the San Diego Air & Space (Aerospace) Museum, and numerous artistic sketches and drawings.
Rolled Drawing D-2033 - the oversized final drawing of the mural.
Parker H. Jackson Collection - biographer of the California Pacific International Exposition, 1935’s supervising architect,
Richard S. Requa.
Ford Building Collection
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
Ford Building (San Diego)
San Diego Air and Space Museum
Larrinaga, Juan
Emery, Thomas Parker