Louis Christian Mullgardt Collection 1952.-2

Joanne Miller
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation.
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
1999
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
designarchives@berkeley.edu


Contributing Institution: University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Louis Christian Mullgardt collection
Creator: Mullgardt, Louis Christian, 1866-1942
Identifier/Call Number: 1952.-2
Physical Description: 7 Linear Feet: 25 rolls, 3 FF
Date (inclusive): 1907-1927
Language of Material: English .

Content Description

The Louis Christian Mullgardt collection consists of specifications and drawings for the Evans residence in Mill Valley, drawings and a photograph of the Court of the Ages (from the Panama Pacific International Exposition), drawings of a commercial building in Honolulu, and photographs of an unidentified residence in Piedmont, California. The collection also includes photographs and photocopies of specifications and correspondence for the Stevens residence in San Jose. These documents are reference copies of privately held materials, and the Environmental Design Archives does not hold copyright on the records.
The Mullgardt collection is comprised of numerous individual donations. Records of the Evans residence were donated in 1952 and 1970, and the Stevens residence materials were donated in 1989.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the Curator.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Louis Christian Mullgardt Collection, (1952-2), Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

Biographical / Historical

Louis Christian Mullgardt was born in Washington, Missouri in 1866. At fifteen years old, Mullgardt apprenticed with architectural firms in St. Louis. Six years later, he went to work for the firm of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge in Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked on plans for Stanford University. In 1889, Mullgardt enrolled as a special student at Harvard College for a brief period of formal training that was cut short by illness after a semester. By 1891, he was back to work in Chicago for Henry Ives Cobb, where Mullgardt was responsible for the exterior of the Newbury Library and detailing the Fisheries Building at the World Columbian Exposition.
Mullgardt formed his first partnership—Stewart, McClure, and Mullgardt—in Chicago in 1892, and the firm lasted for two years. He then went on a year long European tour. In 1899 he formed a short-lived partnership with John M. Dunham. From 1903 to 1904 Mullgardt worked as a structural consultant in England, where he encountered the Arts and Crafts style. In 1905, Mullgardt arrived in San Francisco opening his own office in early 1906. Surprisingly rather than engaging in the commercial reconstruction of San Francisco following the earthquake and fire designed residences in the Oakland, Berkeley, and Piedmont Hills. These houses were in the bungalow style using natural materials and a sensitivity to the topography.
In addition to residences, Mullgardt designed the San Francisco Juvenile Court and Detention Home (1914-1916), a 9-story reinforced concrete building, and the Durant School in Oakland. In 1912, Mullgardt was appointed to the board of the Panama Pacific International Exposition. For the Exposition, he designed the "Court of the Ages," an ornate courtyard that included an "altar tower" on one side. Mullgardt designed the President's house for Stanford University (1915-1918), the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park (1916-1921), and a block-long business center in Honolulu (1919-1921). After a world tour in 1922-1923, Mullgardt returned to San Francisco. It was a difficult period, and he did not adapt well to the new architectural trends. Mullgardt died in a state hospital in Stockton, California, in 1942. Most of his drawings were reputedly destroyed after his death.
Source: Clark, Robert Judson. Louis Christian Mullgardt: An Exhibition Marking the Centennial Year of the Architects Birth. Santa Barbara and San Francisco, 1966

 

Project Files

Tube 1

American Arithometer / Beck Engineer&Combustion Company 1944

Tube 1

Coffin, James residence Ross CA

Creator: Wright & Polk
Tube 7-11, flat-file-drawer W 11.20

Davies & Co. commercial building Honolulu HI 1921

Tube 1

Durant School Oakland CA 1912

Tube 1, flat-file-drawer W 11.20

Evans residence Mill Valley CA 1907

Tube 2

Infant Structure school 19th & Ortega San Francisco CA 1928

Creator: Gladding McBean
Tube 6

Juvenile Hall Otis & Dubose San Francisco CA 1914

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Lerida Ave residence Piedmont CA 1907

Tube 3

Nason, Arthur residence Claremont Manor Oakland CA undated

Tube 4

Panama Pacific International Exposition / Court of the Ages / East Court San Francisco CA 1913-1915

 

Panama Pacific International Exposition / Court of Abundance / East Court San Francisco CA 1913-1915

flat-file-drawer W 11.20

Panama Pacific International Exposition / Organ Tower San Francisco CA 1913

Tube 3

Payne residence Carmel CA undated

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Bungalow for Piedmont residence Piedmont CA 1906

Tube 1

Poplars residence undated

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Scaleter, Alexander

Tube 5

Smith, Selma residence Oahu HI 1918

Creator: Morrow & Garren. Irving F. Morrow. William I.
Tube 6

Stanford University: President's House Stanford CA 1916

Tube 6

Stevens, C.P. residence San Jose CA 1926

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Taylor, Henry residence Berkeley CA 1908

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Tyson, Robert residence Piedmont CA undated

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Unidentified castle Greenwich CT 1909

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Carmel Mission Carmel CA 1914

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Oil Painting Monterey CA 1906

 

Lithograph Redwoods Sketch

flat-file-drawer R 23.9

Athletic Association building Chicago IL undated