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Exhibits

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.
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.
Identifier
Collection ID#96-07-08

Items

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  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 214
    Caption: "Broadway, Los Angeles." Broadway is a major thoroughfare of Los Angeles and one of the oldest in the city, laid out in 1849 as Fort Street, and renamed Broadway in 1890. In this image, construction can be seen at the top of the street between the two buildings of the Alhambra Hotel and Apartments. May 18, 1934. See also 96-07-08.alb11.006.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 213
    Caption: "Green Hotel Pasadena," c. 1915, shows Grace McCarthy standing before the Hotel Green in Pasadena, built by George Gill Green in 1893, and expanded by him in 1898 and 1903 with two additional structures. The hotel complex was sold to private investors and by 1924, the 1898 Central Annex structure (Frederick L. Roehrig, architect) was turned into apartments and renamed the Castle Green. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historic Places, and the City of Pasadena's list of historic places. See also 96-07-08-alb07-212.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 212
    Caption: "Pasadena," c. 1915, shows the Hotel Green, built by George Gill Green in 1893, and expanded by him in 1898 and 1903 with two additional structures. The hotel complex was sold to private investors and by 1924, the 1898 Central Annex structure (Frederick L. Roehrig, architect) was turned into apartments and renamed the Castle Green. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historic Places, and the City of Pasadena's list of historic places.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 211
    Caption: "Bush Gardens, Pasadena," c. 1915., shows Grace and William McCarthy relaxing in chairs at Bush Gardens in Pasadena.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 210
    Caption: "Echo Park, Los Angeles," c. 1915, shows a man on a bridge in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 209
    Caption: "Echo Park, Los Angeles," c. 1915, shows palms and trees lining a small lake in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 208
    No Caption: Echo Park in Los Angeles with gazebo in the distance, c. 1915.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 207
    Caption: "Court House - Los Angeles." c. 1915-1920. The Los Angeles County Courthouse, also known as the Red Sandstone Courthouse, was completed in 1891. Located at the southeast corner of Temple and Broadway, the courthouse was damaged beyond repair by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and demolished in 1936. To the left of the courthouse stands the Hall of Records, built in 1911 and used, along with other buildings, as the county courthouse from 1934 until 1959, when the current courthouse was occupied. The Hall of Records was demolished in 1973. See also 96-07-08-alb01-147.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 206
    Caption: "Street Scene-Los Angeles," c. 1915. Shows an unidentified busy street scene in Los Angeles.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 205
    Caption: "Santa Barbara Mission", c. 1910. View of Mission Santa Barbara, established by Spanish Franciscan monks in 1786. See also 96-07-08-alb05-296.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 204
    Caption: "Linnard Hotel Santa Barbara.", c. 1920. Grace McCarthy sitting in front of the Hotel Potter. Opened in 1903 by Milo M. Potter, the hotel sold in 1919 to the Santa Barbara Hotel Company, controlled by D.M. Linnard. The famous luxury resort burned down in 1921. See also 96-07-08-alb05-070, and 96-07-08-alb04-097.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 203
    Caption: "Sulfur Springs," c. 1915, shows a large body of water, likely fed by sulfur springs, at an unidentified location.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 202
    No Caption: shows William McCarthy in a swimsuit near what appears to be a pond in an unidentified location, c. 1915.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 201
    Caption: "Hasting [sic] Residence - Benicia," c. 1915, was a grand home built for Daniel N. Hastings, a prominent landowner. The home, completed in 1881 at the tremendous cost of $350,000, including furnishings, was called "Hastings' folly," because it nearly bankrupted its owner. It was dismantled in 1937.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 200
    Caption: "Benicia Arsenal Office," c. 1915. William McCarthy began his career as an inspector of armaments for the U.S. War Department at the Benicia Arsenal in 1903. The arsenal was established in 1851 as the first Ordnance Supply Depot in the West, from which it supplied and supported U.S. troops from the Civil War through WWII and the Korean War. It was deactivated in 1963.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 199
    Caption: "Ver De Leu [sic], Santa Cruz", c. 1910. Ocean shore scene with rocks, waves, and high spray. The Vue de L'eau (View of the Water) was a station on the Santa Cruz, Garfield Park and Capitola Electric Railway electric streetcar line. The station, built in 1891, was located at the very end of the line, on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It featured an observatory on the top story. The same company also built a casino, ballroom, and restaurant nearby. The station burned down in 1925. See also 96-07-08-alb05-079.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 198
    No Caption: Grace McCarthy sits before the crashing surf at Santa Cruz, c. 1910. See also 96-07-08-alb08-195.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 197
    Caption: "Casino Santa Cruz," c. 1910-1915, on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, opened in 1907, replacing the original 1904 casino that had burned down in 1906. See also 96-07-08-alb03-007.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 196
    Caption: "Casino Santa Cruz," c. 1910-1915, on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, opened in 1907, replacing the original 1904 casino that had burned down in 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 195
    Caption: "Congress Springs.", c. 1910. Grace McCarthy seated on an unusual bench made from a tree branch and logs, in front of a timber shelter at Pacific Congress Springs, near Saratoga in California's Santa Clara Valley. Pacific Congress Springs, a mineral spring named after Congress Springs in New York, operated as a resort area from the nineteenth century until the 1930s. See also 96-07-08-alb05-108.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 194
    Caption: "Alum Rock", c. 1910. Grace McCarthy standing in front of the gazebo of Alum Rock Park. The park, founded in 1872, is one of California's oldest municipal parks. The gazebo, the park's oldest standing structure (built in about 1890), features a fountain that used to supply water from the mineral springs in the area. Today, the fountain's water comes from the City of San Jose's municipal supply. See also 96-07-08-alb05-116.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 193
    Caption: "Hotel Vendome," c. 1910, was a luxury hotel in San Jose that opened in 1889. It was purchased by a real estate syndicate in 1930 and subsequently demolished in order to subdivide the property into lots for residential housing. See also 96-07-08-alb03-100 and 96-07-08-alb05-115.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 192
    Caption: "Chino Avenue-Chino Cal," c. 1915, shows a long, dirt road through a grove of trees in Chino, California.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 191
    Caption: " Monte Rio." Boat landing and foot bridge at C.W. Meadows' place of business at Monte Rio, along the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, c. 1910. See also 96-07-08-alb03-008.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 190
    Caption: "Shasta Springs," resort in Siskiyou County, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 189
    Caption: "Main Street Watsonville," c. 1910, shows a street scene in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 188
    Caption: "Pajaro River-Watsonville," c. 1910, shows a railroad trestle in the distance over the Pajaro River in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County. See also 96-07-08-alb02-019.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 187
    Caption: "S.P. Depot, Third St. S.F.," c. 1915, shows the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot on Third and Townsend Streets in San Francisco. The mission revival architectural - style depot was built as a temporary structure in 1914 to serve the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It remained in service for almost sixty years before it was demolished and replaced by a new station on 4th and King Streets in 1975-1976.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 186
    Caption: "Portals of the Past," c. 1915, on the shore of Lake Lloyd in Golden Gate Park, was originally the entranceway to the Nob Hill mansion of railroad tycoon, A.N. Towne. The entranceway was the only part of the home that was not destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and was moved to Golden Gate Park in 1909 as a reminder of much that was lost. See also 96-07-08-alb05-065.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 185
    Caption: "Old State Capitol-Benicia," c. 1918, shows the Benicia State Capitol building, built in 1852, the third location of the state capital from February 1853 to February 1854, before it was moved permanently to Sacramento. The historic building was listed as a California State Historic Landmark in 1935, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Today the site is known as the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 184
    Caption: "Fairfield Courthouse," c. 1918, shows the Solano County Courthouse in Fairfield, built in 1911 and festooned with United States flags, possibly for an event to welcome home WWI troops from overseas.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 183
    No Caption: shows four women (Grace McCarthy is second from left) sitting on or beside an automobile while having a picnic, at an unidentified location, c. 1918.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 182
    Caption: "San Juan," c. 1918, shows the Plaza Hotel, established in 1856, near Mission San Juan Bautista in San Benito County.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 181
    Caption: "San Juan Mission," c. 1918, in San Benito County was established by Spanish Franciscans in 1797.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 180
    Caption: "Mission Carmel," c. 1918, at Carmel-by-the-Sea in Monterey County, was established by Spanish Franciscans in 1770.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 179
    No Caption: shows a building of what appears to be a large house, with several automobiles parked nearby at an unidentified location, c. 1918.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 178
    No Caption: shows a beachhead at San Francisco, c. 1918.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 177
    Caption: "City Hall, Return of American Forces from France," in San Francisco after the end of World War I, 1919.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 176
    Caption: "City Hall Monument S.F.," c. 1917, shows a monument at City Hall in San Francisco, topped with a statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, and United States Army and Marines recruitment posters on easels nearby.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 175
    Caption: "General View - Panama Pacific International Exposition."
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 174
    Caption: "Main Entrance," of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 173
    Caption: "The Racetrack," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 172
    Caption: "Motor Boat Speeding," shows a small motor boat and large, unidentified ship in the San Francisco Bay.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 171
    Caption: "California Building," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 170
    Caption: "Buddha" statue within the Japan Pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. See also 96-07-08-alb01-145.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 169
    Caption: "The Zone" was an area of popular amusements and concession stands at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. See also 96-07-08-alb01-146.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 168
    Caption: "Food Products and Educational Building," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. See also 96-07-08-alb01-143.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 167
    Caption: "Band Concourse," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. See also 96-07-08-alb01-144.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 166
    Caption: "The Netherlands," shows the Netherlands Pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. See also 96-07-08-alb01-142.
  • McCarthy Album 07, Photograph 165
    Caption: "Argentine," shows the Argentine Pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. See also 96-07-08-alb01-141.