Guide to the Julia Morgan Papers, 1835 – 1958

Nancy E. Loe, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Denise Fourie, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

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Revised October 2008.

Abstract

This collection contains architectural drawings and plans, office records, photographs, correspondence, project files, student work, family correspondence, and personal papers from the estate of California architect Julia Morgan, who practiced in San Francisco during the first half of the twentieth century. The bulk of the collection extends from 1896, when Morgan left for Paris to study architecture at the Beaux-Arts, to 1945 when her practice began to wind down. A persistent misperception exists that she destroyed records from her fifty-year practice when she retired in 1951. In fact, she carefully preserved many original architectural drawings and other business records, which were given to California Polytechnic State University by her heirs.

The National Board of the YWCA; Earl and Wright, Consulting Engineers; Mr. and Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr.; and other donors who wish to remain anonymous have made significant additional donations to the collection, which are also included in this guide.