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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 05, Photograph 024
    Caption: "Monte Rio Cal," c. 1906. Scene on the Russian River with wharf at right, some houses along the river bank in the distance, and a wooden footbridge crossing the river. Monte Rio, north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, became a resort area in the early twentieth century, after the sawmills providing the area's primary industry closed down.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 023
    Caption: "Alcatraz," c. 1906. View of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The building on the highest part of the island, just to the left of center in the photograph, is the Alcatraz Citadel (also known as Fort Alcatraz). Built in 1859 by the U.S. Army for coastal defense purposes, the Citadel began serving as a prison in 1861. It ceased function as a defense fortification and became the Pacific Branch of the U.S. Military Prison in 1907. The Citadel was demolished in 1909. Over the next two decades the facilities on the island were modified and modernized, becoming a federal penitentiary in 1934.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 022
    Caption: "Presidio Avenue. Entrance to Presidio," c. 1906. Gateway into the Presidio of San Francisco, bracketed by brick podiums topped by ornamental pinnacles. Three soldiers stand guard at the 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 05, Photograph 021
    Caption: "San Francisco Fire April 8 [sic], 1906." Photograph of a page from the Seattle Daily Times. The headline reads "Photographic Glimpses of the Once Proud City." Several photographs of significant buildings in San Francisco are shown (such as the City Hall), all of which are listed as having been destroyed by the earthquake and fire of April 6th.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 020
    Caption: "San Francisco Fire." Photograph of the front page of the Seattle Daily Times, April 20, 1906, in regard to the earthquake and fire that destroyed much of San Francisco on April 18, 1906. The primary headline reads "CITY WIPED OUT! Fire Still Raging!" See also 96-07-08-alb08-186.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 019
    Caption: "S.P. Hospital, S.F.," c. 1910. Constructed in 1908 and designed by architect Daniel J. Patterson, the hospital treated Southern Pacific Railroad workers from across the American West, as well as passengers injured while riding. As the twentieth century progressed and automobiles supplanted trains as the premier method of transportation for people and goods, the hospital entered a period of decline, closing in 1974. It has since been renovated and now serves as a senior housing complex.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 018
    Caption: "Italian Refugee Hut S.F. -- 1906." Makeshift hut with four unidentified men standing in doorway. After the earthquake and fire that destroyed much of San Francisco in April 1906, hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. Many of these people established temporary refugee camps, using debris from the destruction to cobble together shelters.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 017
    No caption, c. 1906. Grace McCarthy (left) and an unidentified woman (possibly her sister) standing on a platform near a railway line in Muir Woods. See also 96-07-08-alb05-016.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 016
    Caption: "In Muir Woods.," c. 1906. Grace McCarthy (in hat with white feather) and an unidentified woman standing at a small platform along a railroad in Muir Woods, being passed by a train car. This was likely part of the Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway, established in 1896 as a scenic tourist railway between Mill Valley and the east peak of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County. See also 96-07-08-alb05-017.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 015
    Caption: "Old Geary Street Line -- Last Days Work of our Old Faithful Friend." Photograph of a horse-drawn cable car, on the last day of operation of the Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railway. One of the first railways established in San Francisco, the line operated from 1880 until May 1912 when it was taken over by the city and converted to an electric streetcar line.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 014
    Caption: "Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park," c. 1906. Lake scene, with families and couples strolling along paths on the lake shore, and rowboats on the lake itself. Created in 1893 as part of Golden Gate Park, the man-made lake surrounds Strawberry Hill Island, seen in the center of this photograph.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 013
    Caption: "Portola. King & Queen." Actors portraying explorer Gaspar de Portolà and Queen Vergilia in a parade, part of the San Francisco Portola Festival held October 19-23, 1909. The festival celebrated Portolà as the discoverer of San Francisco Bay. It was held annually until 1913. See also 96-07-08-alb06-162.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 012
    No caption, c. 1906. Grace McCarthy sitting on couch or settee in wood-paneled parlor.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 011
    Caption: "Old State Capitol, Benicia," c. 1906. California's State Capitol moved several times in the first decade of statehood. This photograph shows the third building to serve as the Capitol building, in Benicia. The California State Legislature occupied the building from 1853-1854, until lack of accommodations for the legislators prompted the moving of the Capitol to Sacramento, in February 1854.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 010
    Caption: "State Capitol, Sacramento, Cal.," c. 1906. Façade of California's State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Much of the building is obscured by trees.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 009
    Caption: "U.S.S. California," c. 1906. This photograph shows the second U.S. Navy ship to bear the Golden State's name. Launched in 1904 and commissioned in 1907, this Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser served in the Pacific fleet. Her name was changed in 1914 to the USS San Diego, in order to free up the name for a new, Tennessee-class battleship. The USS San Diego went on to serve in both the Pacific and Atlantic fleets during World War I, until being sunk off the coast of New York by a German mine in 1918, with a loss of six lives.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 008
    Caption: "Cliff House S.F.," c. 1906. San Francisco's Cliff House. The Victorian structure shown here is the third building on the site, constructed in 1896. It was later destroyed by a fire, in 1907.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 007
    Caption: "McCarthy Residence Watsonville.," c. 1906. Grace McCarthy seated in horse-drawn buggy in front of residence. The house is mostly obscured by trees and bushes.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 006
    No caption, c. 1910. Grace McCarthy posing with parasol in garden. See also 96-07-08-alb04-249 (these two photographs appear to be mirror images of each other).
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 005
    No caption, c. 1910. William McCarthy in striped suit and bowler hat, posing in garden for photograph.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 004
    Caption: "Market St. San Francisco -- 1906." Street scene of Market Street in San Francisco before the earthquake and fire of April 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 003
    Caption: "San Francisco -- 1906." Overview of San Francisco before the earthquake and fire of April 1906.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 002
    No caption, c. 1906. Photographic portrait of William McCarthy.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 001a
    No caption, 1913. U.S. Two-Cent commemorative postage stamp, celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal. The stamp, issued in 1913, features an image of two ships passing through the locks of the Canal.
  • McCarthy Album 05, Photograph 001
    No caption, c. 1906. Photographic portrait of Grace McCarthy.
  • [Untitled]
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 165
    No Caption: Pedestrians seen walking towards the entrance to the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 164
    No Caption: A view of the Cabrillo Bridge, seen on the left, with the California Building and Tower on the right side of image, at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 163
    Caption: "La Laguna Espejada. P.C. EXP. San Diego July 18, 1915." A view of a reflecting pool at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 162
    Caption: "La Laguna Espejada." Reflecting pool at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 161
    No Caption: Cabrillo Bridge between Balboa Park and the uptown area of San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 160
    Caption: "Cabrilla [sic] Bridge." Built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, the Cabrillo Bridge continues to provide access between Balboa Park and the uptown area of San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 159
    Caption: "Cal. Building Entrance P.C. Exp. July 18, 1915," at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 158
    Caption: "Fine Arts Building" at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 157
    Caption: "Varied Industries Building." William McCarthy is seen standing near the Varied Industries Building, with the California Building in the background, at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 156
    Caption: "Prado," a continuos covered arcade and walkway demarcated by arches at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 155
    Caption: "Panama-California Exposition, San Diego," shows a view of an elaborately decorated building at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 154
    Caption: "California Building Tower," at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 153
    No Caption: View of the interior of the California building at the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 152
    Caption: "Promenade," of an unidentified building at the Panama-California Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 151
    Caption: "Panama-California Exposition," held in Balboa Park, San Diego, California.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 150
    Caption: "Coronado Hotel." The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego County opened in 1888. It was designated a California Historic Landmark in 1970, and a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 149
    Caption: "Broadway San Diego, Cal., July 18, 1915." Broadway street scene with commercial and residential buildings, streetcars, automobiles, and pedestrians.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 148
    Caption: "Art Museum - Los Angeles," c. 1915. Located in Exposition Park, the Beaux Arts building, opened in 1913, was originally known as the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art. In 1963, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art moved to its current location on Wilshire Blvd. The Exposition Park facility became the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. After two years of renovation and restoration, it was reopened in 2009.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 147
    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.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 146
    Caption: "The Zone" was an area of popular amusements and concession stands at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 145
    Caption: "Buddha" statue within the Japan Pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 144
    Caption: "Band Concourse," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 143
    Caption: "Food Products and Educational Building," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
  • McCarthy Album 01, Photograph 142
    Caption: "Netherlands" Pavilion at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.