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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 06, Photograph 050
    Caption: "Rose-Bush at Home," c. 1908, shows a large, climbing rose bush in front of the McCarthy's Watsonville home.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 049
    Caption: "Landslide, Brookdale Farm, Pajaro," c. 1908, shows trees and debris left scattered from a landslide.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 048
    Caption: "Trestle in Northern California," c. 1906, shows a railroad trestle nestled among trees and hills.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 047
    Caption: "On The Sacramento River. View from end of train," c. 1906, shows a train traveling along the Sacramento River in northern California.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 046
    No Caption: A smiling William McCarthy standing before a high fence at an unidentified location, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 045
    No Caption: An unidentified man standing in front of a house at an unidentified location, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 044
    No Caption: Grace and William McCarthy sitting together at an unidentified location, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 043
    No Caption: Grace McCarthy standing in front of a door at an unidentified location, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 042
    No Caption: Grace McCarthy (front) and three unidentified women posing for the camera at an unidentified location, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 041
    No Caption: Grace McCarthy (left) and unidentified woman, posing with a rose, at an unidentified location, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 040
    No Caption: Grace McCarthy sitting in a horse-drawn buggy next to an apple tree, likely on the McCarthy property in Watsonville, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 039
    Caption: "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree," shows William McCarthy sitting in a horse-drawn buggy next to an apple tree, likely on the McCarthy property in Watsonville, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 038
    No caption. Grace McCarthy siting in a horse-drawn buggy in front of the McCarthy home in Watsonville, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 037
    No caption. Grace McCarthy siting in a horse-drawn buggy in front of the McCarthy home in Watsonville, c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 036
    No caption. The façade of an Italianate building that appears to be of mixed residential and commercial use in San Francisco. The sign on the building reads "The Kinriu Co. Wholesale Baskets and Matting Import Silk & Tea," c. 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 035
    Caption: "Old City Hall S.F." c. 1906. Pictured is the San Francisco City Hall just days before it was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fires.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 034
    Caption: "U.S. Mint unhurt," c. 1906. Pictured is the U.S. Mint building in San Francisco, which opened in 1874, after the original 1854 building was outgrown, which had been established to serve the gold mines during the California Gold Rush. The building suffered little damage after the 1906 earthquake. The facility served as the San Francisco U.S. Mint until 1937, when workers moved to a larger and more modern building. In 1961, the old U.S. Mint, known as the "Granite Lady," was designated a National Historic Landmark.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 033
    Caption: "The Massachusetts," c. 1910, was a large ship designed for coastal defense.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 032
    Caption: "Ferry Boat Newark." c. 1910, shows the Southern Pacific's ferryboat Newark in the San Francisco Bay.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 031
    Caption: "Presidio's Mascot. The Man-faced Dog.," c. 1910, shows a small black and white dog sitting on a porch at the Presidio in San Francisco.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 030
    Caption: "Mascot Monarch Grizzly, G. G. Park," c. 1910. Captured in 1889, by a man hired by William Randolph Hearst as a publicity stunt, Monarch was one of the last known Grizzly bears in California. He lived in captivity for the last 22 years of his life, mostly in an enclosure in Golden Gate Park, before he died in 1911.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 029
    Caption: "Conservatory Golden Gate Park," c. 1910. Built in 1879, the Conservatory is the oldest building in Golden Gate Park, and the oldest municipal wooden conservatory in the country.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 028
    Caption: "Bakers [sic] Beach," c. 1906. Baker Beach begins just south of Golden Gate Point and extends approximately one half-mile southward to Seacliff Peninsula.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 027
    Caption: "Oakland City Hall," c. 1906. Pictured is Oakland's old City Hall at 14th and Broadway. Upon the completion of the new and current city hall in 1914, the old city hall was demolished to make way for City Hall Plaza, now Frank H. Ogawa Plaza.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 026
    Caption: "Berkeley University," c. 1906. Founded in 1868, the University of California at Berkeley was the first of the University of California campuses. This image shows a field of grass and trees in the foreground, three unidentified university buildings in the background, and the Berkeley Hills in the distance.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 025
    Caption: "Sutro Baths Interior," c. 1906. Designed by Adolph Sutro in 1894, the bathhouses at one time covered three oceanfront acres just north of Ocean Beach and the Cliff House. Eventually, the Sutro Baths fell into disrepair and what was left of them burned down in 1966. Since 1973, the concrete ruins have been part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 024a
    No Caption. An unidentified newspaper article detailing a brief history of the Cliff House the day after it was destroyed by fire in 1907.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 024
    Caption: "The Cliff House," c. 1906 view of San Francisco's Cliff House from Sutro Heights Park. The Victorian structure shown here is the third building on the site, constructed in 1896. It was destroyed by fire in 1907.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 023
    Caption: "Old Dutch Windmill, G.G. Park," c. 1910. Image of the Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park, built in 1903 to pump ground water within the park for irrigation purposes.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 022
    Caption: "Ordnance Machine Shop. Presidio," c. 1906. William McCarthy (far right) and two unidentified men standing in front of the ordnance machine shop at the Presidio.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 021
    Caption: "Baker's [sic] Beach S.F.," c. 1906. Baker Beach begins just south of Golden Gate Point and extends approximately one half-mile southward to Seacliff Peninsula.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 020
    Caption: "Presidio Barracks," c. 1906. Five barrack structures of the Presidio. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 019
    Caption: "Guard Mount. Presidio," c. 1906, shows two groups of men in formation on the Presidio grounds. One group of men is playing musical instruments, while the other group is carrying firearms. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 018
    Caption: "Presidio and Golden Gate," c. 1906. A high vantage point view of the Presidio and Golden Gate. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 017
    Caption: "Presidio Nursery," c. 1906, shows the gardens at the Presidio, with blooming flowers planted to spell "PRESIDIO."
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 016
    Caption: "Market St. S.F. Calif." See also 96-07-08-alb05-136, with caption: "Market St. Sept 9. 1910 S.F." Market Street in San Francisco, decked with bunting and flags for California's Admissions Day, the anniversary of the Golden State's entry as a state in the U.S.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 015
    Caption: "Casino-Santa Cruz Calif.," c. 1910. View of beach and casino building in Santa Cruz. The casino, designed by William Weeks, was constructed in 1907, replacing a previous casino building that burned down in 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 014
    Caption: "Guard mount of the 2nd Squadron, 8th Cavalry, at Fort Huachuca, Aug -- Taken from life, McNally, 1909." A photograph of a drawing of seven men of the 2nd Squadron, 8th Cavalry at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, apparently conducting military maneuvers.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 013
    Caption: "Presidio Main Avenue," c. 1906, shows a tree lined dirt road in the Presidio. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 012
    Caption: "The Alameda of Presidio," c. 1906, shows the entryway to the Presidio, lined with cannonballs. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 011
    Caption: "Lancaster Battery, Presidio," c. 1906, shows a distant view of Lancaster Battery. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 010
    Caption: "Presidio and Golden Gate," c. 1906, shows many Presidio buildings pictured in the foreground, with ships in the bay. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 009
    Caption: "Fort Point and Golden Gate," c. 1906. Fort Point in the foreground, with ships in the bay. Fort Point was part of an effort by the U.S. government to protect the Golden Gate, entrance to the San Francisco Bay. Built between 1853-1861 of brick and mortar, the fort included emplacements for 141 guns but never fired a weapon in defense of the Bay.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 008
    Caption: "San Francisco April 17, 1906. Center of Town," shows a view of the center of San Francisco from a high vantage point, taken on April 17, 1906, the day before the 1906 earthquake and fires devastated the city.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 007
    Caption: "San Francisco in 1849. Center of Town." A photograph of a drawing or painting of early San Francisco by an unidentified artist.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 006
    Caption: "Main Street, Watsonville," c. 1906. A view of a sparsely populated Main Street, with buggies and people in the distance.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 005
    Caption: "The McCarthy Home, Watsonville, Cal," c. 1906. A view of the façade of the crossed-gabled McCarthy home, with large front porch and lush vegetation.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 004
    No caption. Photograph of a forest in the foreground and a granite mountain in the distance, at an unidentified location.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 003
    No caption. Photograph of a waterfall in a mountainous, unidentified location.
  • McCarthy Album 06, Photograph 002
    No caption, c. 1910. Portrait photograph of William McCarthy.