The Bernard Maybeck collection spans the years 1897-1956 (bulk 1902-1939). The collection contains records relating to all aspects of his life. The contents include personal papers, correspondence, office files, project files, drawings, and photographs. The records describe the unique vision of Maybeck’s designs, including his use of unusual materials and color schemes. The collection is useful for researching Bay Regional style, the use of industrial materials in architecture, the use of cement and other earthquake and fire resistant materials, and the planning of campuses or town spaces. The collection does not contain any records from his work as an instructor for the University of California or his involvement with the establishment of the Department of Architecture. The collection is divided into nine series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, Project Records, University of California, Expositions, Principia College, Art and Artifacts, and Additional Donations.

The Personal Papers contain autobiographical information, correspondence, creative writings by Maybeck, photographs, medical records, and Kerna Maybeck’s (Maybeck’s daughter) scrapbook. The second series, Professional Papers, includes correspondence, writings and speeches by Maybeck, files on associations and committees, awards, and printed materials on Maybeck and his projects. The Additional Donations series also includes radio interviews from KPFA. The Office Records series is comprised of administrative materials (such as employee time cards), correspondence from Annie Maybeck, Mark White and other architects, financial records and an array of product literature.

The Project Records contain files, photographs and drawings of Maybeck’s numerous residential, commercial, recreational, and religious projects in the San Francisco Bay Area and California. Residences include those for Earle C. Anthony, Guy Hyde Chick, S.H. Erlanger, Issac Flagg, Alma Kennedy, A.C. Lawson, Charles Keeler, and Leon Roos. Commercial, recreational, and religious projects include Packard dealerships for Earle C. Anthony, the Hillside Club, and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley. See the Additional Donations series for additional project records.

The fifth series consists of projects for the University of California. The series includes materials on the Phoebe Hearst Competition for the Plan of the University, Hearst Hall, the Faculty Club, the Bath House and the Phoebe Hearst Memorial Complex. The Additional Donations series also includes other photographs of Hearst Hall, built by Maybeck for the Competition and later used by the University as a Women’s gym and recreation center.

Series six consists of work on Expositions: the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 and the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939. Buildings for the Panama Pacific International Exposition include the Palace of Fine Arts, the Lumbermen’s Building and House of Hoo Hoo and the Livestock Pavilion. The Golden Gate International Exposition materials include planning and preliminary drawings of the Music Pavilion/Temple of Youth, Pacific House and the Redwood Empire Building. The Additional Donations series also contains a plaster architectural ornament from the Palace of Fine Arts.

Series seven documents the Principia College project, a college for the Church of Christ, Scientist. The series includes correspondence, financial records, individual building project records, drawings, photographs, product literature, vendor contracts, and research on campus design. The project correspondence includes voluminous correspondence between Maybeck, his office, and Frederic Morgan, President of the Principia College. This series also contains a small amount of correspondence and reports from Julia Morgan regarding the Principia College project. Other notable records include those for the Chapel, the Men’s and Women’s Dormitory Complexes, and the planning of the college in two separate locations. The Additional Donations series also contains construction log books and progress photographs of the project.

The Art and Artifacts series contains a table designed by Maybeck, and a piece of Bubblestone, an experimental building material favored by Maybeck. In the Additional Donations series there is a large carved panel.

The Additional Donations series contains a large number of records. The previous or subsequent donations were given to the archives by various donors between the years 1953 and 2000. Each donation is a subseries, generally containing the records of one project.