William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection
Item set
Title
William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection
Description
Capturing the rich history of the early twentieth century, the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection (Identification #96-07-08) highlights well-known landmarks, historic events, and scenic vistas from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, from the Deep South to Canada, and from Mexico to Cuba. Scenes across the Golden State are captured in stunning shots from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite and the Central Coast to Southern California cities. The collection features nearly 3,000 photographs taken by native Californians William M. and Grace McCarthy from approximately 1905 to 1938. The McCarthys traveled extensively during the early years of automobile travel, as newly constructed highways connected people and places throughout the United States and beyond, providing pictorial documentation of a pivotal period in our nation's history.
William M. McCarthy (1876 – 1956) and Grace C. Kane (1878 – 1957) wed in the early 1900s and lived in San Francisco for most of their lives where William was stationed as an armament expert for the U.S. War Department. The collection features photographs of the McCarthys' travels, as well as the many family members and friends they encountered along the way. Always ready with his camera, William McCarthy also captured remarkable images of significant events, including shots of San Francisco before and after the 1906 earthquake, the fire that destroyed that city's iconic Cliff House in 1907, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and their 1938 journey into Mexico along the newly constructed Pan American Highway. The original black and white photographs, mounted in eleven albums, make up one of the few private collections preserved by the California State Archives. The entire collection was digitized by the State Archives' curatorial staff.
To request a high-resolution scan of one or more of these images, contact the California State Archives at ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-2246. Please include the Title or Identifier for each photograph in which you are interested, as well as the desired format (tiff, jpg, pdf) and resolution (DPI) for the requested scan. Duplication fees will apply.
DISCLAIMER
The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the creators of the materials presented (William and Grace McCarthy) are theirs alone. As noted in image descriptions, certain photographs are restricted or have been cropped due to sensitive content deemed unsuitable for online distribution.
William M. McCarthy (1876 – 1956) and Grace C. Kane (1878 – 1957) wed in the early 1900s and lived in San Francisco for most of their lives where William was stationed as an armament expert for the U.S. War Department. The collection features photographs of the McCarthys' travels, as well as the many family members and friends they encountered along the way. Always ready with his camera, William McCarthy also captured remarkable images of significant events, including shots of San Francisco before and after the 1906 earthquake, the fire that destroyed that city's iconic Cliff House in 1907, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and their 1938 journey into Mexico along the newly constructed Pan American Highway. The original black and white photographs, mounted in eleven albums, make up one of the few private collections preserved by the California State Archives. The entire collection was digitized by the State Archives' curatorial staff.
To request a high-resolution scan of one or more of these images, contact the California State Archives at ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-2246. Please include the Title or Identifier for each photograph in which you are interested, as well as the desired format (tiff, jpg, pdf) and resolution (DPI) for the requested scan. Duplication fees will apply.
DISCLAIMER
The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the creators of the materials presented (William and Grace McCarthy) are theirs alone. As noted in image descriptions, certain photographs are restricted or have been cropped due to sensitive content deemed unsuitable for online distribution.
Date
1905-1938
Contributor
Audrey Fullerton-Samora of Sacramento, great niece of William and Grace McCarthy, donated the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection to the California State Archives in 1996.
Creator
William M. McCarthy
Publisher
California State Archives, a division of the California Secretary of State's Office
Rights
The California State Archives, a division of the California Secretary of State’s Office, owns the copyright to the William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection. The images and content may be used for personal use, research, or educational purposes. For any use of these materials, please credit the “California State Archives, William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection, Identification #96-07-08.” Commercial use or distribution of the images or content is not permitted without prior written permission from the California State Archives. Please note that the materials contained in this collection may include copyrighted material (such as postcards) not held by the California State Archives. Additionally, other limitations, such as the right of publicity, may limit use of the materials in this collection.
For more information about the copyrights related to this collection or to request permission to use the digital images or content, please contact the California State Archives at ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-2246.
For more information about the copyrights related to this collection or to request permission to use the digital images or content, please contact the California State Archives at ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov or (916) 653-2246.
Identifier
Collection ID#96-07-08
Items
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McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 454
Caption: "Guadalupe Shrine, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 453
Caption: "A close up of the Columna de Independencia, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 452
Caption: "A solid mass of flowers in a Mexico City garden." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 451a
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing the Guadalupe shrine in Mexico City. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 451
Caption: "Waiting for the traffic signal - Avenue Juarez, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 450
Caption: "Hotel Reforma, modern and Americanized, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 449
Caption: "Selling enchiladas - street delicatessen, Mexico City." William and Grace McCarthy (wearing hats on right side of photograph) with a group of unidentified people, some of whom are selling enchiladas. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 448
Caption: "Carmen, Josefina and grandmother - Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 447
Caption: "Monument of the Revolution, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 446
Caption: "Obregon's tomb, Mexico City." William and Grace McCarthy standing before the monument to General Alvaro Obregon (1880-1928), who was a leader of the Mexican Revolution (1920-1920). Obregon was elected President of post-Revolution Mexico, serving from 1920-1924. In 1928, he was again elected but was assassinated by Jose de Leon Toral, a Roman Catholic who opposed Obregon's policies on religious matters. The monument was completed in 1935 and stands in the San Angel region of Mexico City, in the same location where Obregon was assassinated. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 445
Caption: "Obregon's tomb, Mexico City." William and Grace McCarthy standing before the monument to General Alvaro Obregon (1880-1928), who was a leader of the Mexican Revolution (1920-1920). Obregon was elected President of post-Revolution Mexico, serving from 1920-1924. In 1928, he was again elected but was assassinated by Jose de Leon Toral, a Roman Catholic who opposed Obregon's policies on religious matters. The monument was completed in 1935 and stands in the San Angel region of Mexico City, in the same location where Obregon was assassinated. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 444
Caption: "Another beautiful residence in Chapultepec Heights." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 443
Caption: "Residence in Chapultepec Heights - Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 442
Caption" A residence in Chapultepec Heights - Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 441
Caption: "One of the many grand residences in Chapultepec Heights, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 440
Caption: "Our tourist home - Mexico City. Mexican mother and children." William and Grace McCarthy are seen standing with an unidentified woman and four children, in front of the home they stayed in during their visit to Mexico City. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 439
Caption: "Felicitas Medrano." A portrait of Felicitas Medrano, seen as the flag bearer in the Labor Day Parade in Mexico City, in photograph 96-07-08-alb10-436. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 438
No Caption: An unidentified woman wearing a marching band costume. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 437
Caption: "Beautiful equestrian costumes -beautiful senoritas and escorts - a frequent Sunday morning sight - Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 436
Caption: "Labor Day Parade, flag bearer Miss Felicitas Medrano. Mexico City, May 1, 1938." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 435
Caption: "Avenida Paseo de la Reforma - apartment houses on the right. Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 434
Caption: "View of the Avenida Paseo de la Reforma with a portion of Mexico City on the left. Photo taken from the Columna de Independencia." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 433
Caption: "Office buildings and stores at the Zocalo - Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 432a
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing the National Palace in Mexico City. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 432
Caption: "National Palace - housing the Presidents [sic] executive offices." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 431
Caption: "Chapultepec Castle - Presidential Palace, Mexico City." William McCarthy in the gardens of Chapultepec Castle, the Presidential Palace. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 430
Caption: "Chapultepec Castle - Presidential Palace, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 429
Caption: "Presidential Palace dining room - hand carved chairs and wall ornaments - tapestry of gold and silver thread-Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 428a
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing the Cathedral and Chapultepec Castle and Park in Mexico City. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 428
Caption: "The Zocalo and the Cathedral dating from 1573 - Mexico City. Plaza de la Costitucion [sic]." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 427
Caption: "Xochimilco - Floating Gardens - the Mexican Venice." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 426
Caption: "Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Mexico." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 425
Caption: "Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan (Tay-o-tee-haw-can), Mexico." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 424a
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing Xochimilco, south of Mexico City, sometimes called the Mexican Venice, for its canals and floating gardens. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 424
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing Teotihuacan, an area northeast of Mexico City and famous for some of the most important archaeological discoveries on the North American Continent. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 423
Caption: "Church of El Carmen - in a crypt beneath are a number of mummies, Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 422
Caption: "Market Day, Toluca, Mexico." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 421
Caption: "Maguey and Corn Fields above San Angel, Mexico City.: -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 420b
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing San Angel, or Villa Alvaro Obregon, a municipality of Mexico City. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 420a
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing the city of Toluca, the capital of the State of Mexico. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 420
Caption: "Market Day - Toluca, Mexico." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 419
Caption: "Ruins of an old Carmelite Monastery. El Desierto de Los Leones, near Mexico City." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 418
Caption: "Home of ex U.S. Ambassador Dwight Morrow - Cuernavaca, Mexico." Pictured is the former home of Dwight Whitney Morrow (1873-1931). Morrow was appointed Ambassador to Mexico by President Calvin Coolidge from 1927 - 1930. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 417
Caption: "Avenda [sic] Zapata, Cuernavaca, Mexico." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 416a
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure describing the city of Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 416
Caption: "State capitol or Palacio de Cortes, Cuernavaca, Mexico." Built in 1526 as a residence for Spanish conqueror, Hernan Cortes, the Palacio de Cortes is the oldest conserved colonial era civil structure in the continental Americas. It is now El Museo Cuauhnahuac, a regional museum, which features murals by Mexican artist, Diego Rivera. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 415
Caption: "Taxco Cathedral interior. San Sebastian y Santa Prisca." -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 414
Caption: "Cathedral San Sebastian y Santa Prisca. Taxco, Mexico," constructed between 1751 and 1758. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 413
No Caption: A section from an informational tourist brochure, describing the town of Taxco in the state of Guerrero. -
McCarthy Album 10, Photograph 412
Caption: "Business district of the quaint little city of Taxco with its buildings of red tile roofs and adobe brick walls. - Mexico."