Finding Aid to the Atkinson Family and Atkinson Construction Company Photograph Collection, circa 1865-circa 1975, bulk 1890-1940

Series 1 Atkinson Construction Company photographs circa 1898-circa 1940, bulk 1920-1935

Physical Description: Approximately 80 photographic prints.

PIC Box 1, Folder 1

Dam projects circa 1920-1940

Physical Description: circa 40 photographic prints.

Scope and Content Note

Professionally produced 8x10 inch photographs of dam construction sites and official visits or opening dedication ceremonies. Pardee Dam and Coolidge Dam are documented, with some images of Cave Creek Dam (Arizona). Group portraits or event photographs include several Atkinson family members as well as Roy Rogers, Pres. Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Guy F. Atkinson and sons are pictured, as well as Lynn S. Atkinson, Jr. and daughters. Snapshots and other photographs of other works projects (some unidentified, some represented by a single image) are also present.

PIC Box 1, Folder 2

Dam project albums circa 1925-1935

Physical Description: 2 albums (circa 30 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Two albums of photographs of the Pardee Dam spillway and Atkinson equipment and machinery, apparently on the Pardee Dam project.

AX Box 1, Folders 1-3

Granite quarry circa 1900-1910

Physical Description: 3 photographic prints.

Scope and Content Note

Three mounted photographs of a stone quarry, captioned as Lynn S. Atkinson's granite quarry.

C Box

Colorado Springs City Hall circa 1907

Physical Description: 2 photographic prints.

Scope and Content Note

Two photographs (mounted on 1 sheet) of the construction of Colorado Springs City Hall, circa 1907.

Carton 1, v. 1

Lynn Atkinson, Jr snapshot album circa 1898-1912

Physical Description: 1 album.

Scope and Content Note

Personal snapshot album of Lynn Atkinson, Jr., with spine title "Lynn Vol. II". Includes several annotated snapshots of Colorado Springs buildings built by Lynn S. Atkinson, Sr. (or perhaps his father George W. Atkinson) in the 1890s and 1900s. Includes the City Hall, Washington School, the Alamo Hotel addition, the De Graff Building, the Alta Vista Hotel, the Rouse Block, several residences, and ruins of the Antlers Hotel, 1898. Also present are snapshots of Long Beach Polytechnic High School and Ramona High School (in Alhambra, Calif.) under construction. Each building mentioned is generally represented by a single snapshot. (Note: this album also listed under Family Photographs, below.)

Series 2 Atkinson family photographs circa 1865-circa 1975, bulk 1890-1940

Physical Description: Approximately 800 photographic prints, 6 glass negatives, and 1 watercolor.

Carton 1, v. 1

Lynn Atkinson, Jr. snapshot album circa 1898-1912

Physical Description: 1 album.

Scope and Content Note

Personal snapshot album of Lynn Atkinson, Jr., with spine title "Lynn Vol. II". Includes some Colorado Springs buildings built by or lived in by Atkinson and Marks relatives, but chiefly snapshots of family members and friends at informal gatherings or outings, and home and bedroom interiors during Lynn's boyhood. "One of Dad's gold mines" is also pictured. Well-captioned. (Also listed under Construction Co. photographs, above.)

Carton 1, v. 2-3

Snapshot albums circa 1900-1920

Physical Description: 2 albums.

Scope and Content Note

Two small Atkinson family snapshot albums, chiefly of family members, homes, outings, leisure activities, etc. One belonged to Thelma Atkinson, daughter of Lynn S. Atkinson, Sr. (and sister of Lynn, Jr.)

Carton 1, v. 4

Walter & Ellen Atkinson album circa 1900-1912

Physical Description: 1 album.

Scope and Content Note

Snapshot album of Walter Atkinson (Sr. and Jr.) and Ellen ("Nell") Blackman Atkinson, with many childhood photographs of Walter, Jr. Also includes many sights from travels in California, Colorado, Louisiana, Hawaii, and other North American locations. Includes some Blackman family relations in Louisiana. Most well-captioned.

Carton 1, v. 5

Unidentified snapshot album circa 1915-1940

Physical Description: 1 album.

Scope and Content Note

Snapshot album with many photographs of Nell (Mrs. Walter Atkinson?) and other women and girls.

AX Box 1, Folders 4-9

Atkinson homes circa 1890-1910, bulk 1904-1910

Physical Description: 6 folders (circa 30 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Professional larger-format photographs of Atkinson homes, chiefly in Colorado Springs. Includes group portraits of the family at the 50th wedding anniversary of George W. and Nancy J. (Wilson) Atkinson at their home on Nevada Avenue, circa 1904. Most views are of the Lynn S. Atkinson home at 1629 N. Weber. A noteworthy series of interiors includes bedrooms as well as parlors and other social rooms. Other homes pictured are an earlier family home in Pennsylvania, Walter W. Atkinson's home and "Uncle Doc's" home on Nevada Ave., both in Colorado Springs, Many views are photographed by [A.J.?] Harlan, with one by H.S. Poley.

AX Box 1, Folders 10-12

Home exteriors and outdoor group portraits circa 1900-1960, bulk 1900-1910

Physical Description: 3 folders (circa 5 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Miscellaneous larger-format photographs, chiefly of family members in carriages or automobiles or in front of residences. Also several horse-related images and one of a very young Walter Atkinson, Jr. in a donkey-drawn miniature covered wagon in front of the Plaza Hotel.

AX Box 1, Folder 13

Watercolor undated

Physical Description: 1 painting on paper.

Scope and Content Note

Floral watercolor: roses.

PIC Box 1, Folder 3

Home exteriors circa 1885-circa 1915

Physical Description: 1 folder (5 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Atkinson (and one Marks family) homes (exteriors) in Los Angeles & Colorado Springs. Includes exterior of 609 S. St. Andrews St., Los Angeles. Also, one view of a home in Kansas (circa 1885?).

PIC Box 1, Folder 4

Home interiors circa 1920?

Physical Description: 5 photographic prints.

Scope and Content Note

Home interiors in Los Angeles, with arts and crafts or art nouveau furnishings. Four of home of Lynn Atkinson, Jr (on St. Andrews St.), and one of home of Walter W. Atkinson (on Oxford St.)

PIC Box 1, Folders 5-9

Family snapshots & outdoor group portraits circa 1890-circa 1925

Physical Description: 5 folders (circa 30 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Informal family photographs, chiefly taken outdoors. Includes mounted snapshots (circa 1890-1910) of family members in California, Colorado, and a few in Iowa. Includes some home exteriors with people posed, a horse-drawn trap, and an electric automobile. Chiefly pictured is the Lynn Atkinson family, with some of Walter Atkinson family. Some unidentified posed outdoor group portraits (8x10 in.) at a cabin and in the desert (circa 1925?).

Carton 2, Folders 1-30

Studio portraits and family snapshots 1865-1970, bulk 1900-1930

Physical Description: 30 folders (circa 325 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Studio portraits of Atkinson and Marks family members, dating from an 1864-1866 carte de visite of "mother" (Atkinson? or Marks?) to a color portrait of a girl, circa 1970. Most are of the Lynn S. Atkinson and Mary ("Pet") Marks Atkinson family or the Walter W. Atkinson and Ellen ("Nell") Blackman Atkinson family, although many cousins and siblings are represented. The great majority date from about 1900 to 1930, and are in studio portfolios from Los Angeles or Colorado photographers. About two dozen cabinet cards of the late 1880s, (many by Colorado, Illinois, or Indiana studios), are also present. Most photographs are identified, and many are present in multiple copies with variant captioning indicating they were once distributed among cousins and later reunited. (For example, "Uncle Lynn" or "Father" used to identify copies of the same portrait.) Many portraits are of excellent quality. A few snapshots are also present (in Folders 1 & 28). Portraits have been rough-sorted by library staff and arranged somewhat chronologically, but also grouped by family or individual.

Carton 2, Folder 31

Miscellaneous photographs circa 1930-1960?

Physical Description: 1 folder (circa 20 photographic prints).

Scope and Content Note

Photographs of a medal, furniture and art works.

Carton 2, Folder 32

Doris Atkinson wedding album 1942

Physical Description: 1 album (circa 12 photographic prints + typescript pages).

Scope and Content Note

Wedding album of (daughter of Lynn S. Atkinson, Jr.) Doris Marie Atkinson and John Emil Kettler, June 19, 1942. Includes wedding portraits, photographs of gifts, and typescripts of detailed accounting of wedding expenses. Also includes wedding portrait of grandparents Lynn Atkinson and Mary ("Pet") Marks Atkinson, whose dress was altered to make Doris's dress.

AX Box 2

Studio portraits circa 1890-1960

Physical Description: circa 50 photographic prints.

Scope and Content Note

Oversized studio portraits of Atkinson family members, Most are of the Lynn S. Atkinson or the Walter W. Atkinson family. The earliest are a group portrait of five of the six Atkinson brothers as young men (circa 1890), and the Marks sisters (Mary "Pet" Marks Atkinson and sisters). Most are 20th century studio portraits of the next two generations, or this older generation later in life.

C Box

Studio portraits circa 1890-circa 1950

Physical Description: circa 12 photographs.

Scope and Content Note

Oversized studio portraits and group portraits, chiefly duplicates of those in AX Box 2, with one or two exceptions. One crayon enlargement (retouched photograph) portrait.

NEG Box

Glass negatives circa 1910-1920?

Physical Description: 6 negatives.

Scope and Content Note

Glass plate negatives (4x5 in.) of family members, informally posed. Some negatives broken. Some duplicates or near duplicates, to total approximately four different images.

Container List