Photographs
Scope and Contents
The Vernon DeMars Collection spans the years 1933 to 2001, and includes DeMars' personal papers, records from his private practice and professional career, and materials generated by the firms DeMars & Reay, DeMars & Wells, and DeMars & Maletic. The collection is organized in six series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Faculty Papers, Office Records, Project Records, and Major Projects.
The collection is extensive and contains a wide range of materials documenting DeMars' long career as a designer and planner. The Personal Papers series contains biographical material, personal correspondence, some financial records, documentation related to his service with the Navy, student work, his art and illustrations, writings, and travel photographs and portraits. Records related to DeMars' abiding anthropological interest in the Indians of the southwest United States and his performances of Native American dances appear in this series. A small number of artworks and photographs by DeMars’ wife, Betty Bates DeMars, are also represented.
The Professional Papers series includes correspondence with other architects, awards, and a mixture of records that include correspondence and presentation notes related to professional organizations, committee work, and juries. Research and reference files are extensively represented. Administrative and personnel documents from his work with governmental agencies such as the National Housing Agency and the Mutual Security Agency are represented, as well as records from the Telesis group. The Faculty Papers contain material related to DeMars' professorship at the College of Environmental Design. Primarily, this series contains official correspondence with other members of the UC Berkeley Architecture faculty, committee work documentation, and course materials such as syllabi and lecture notes from classes he taught.
The Office Records series documents administrative operations, public relations efforts, financial transactions, and correspondence. Clippings from newspapers and tearsheets from magazines in which DeMars’ projects were featured, and some photographs are included. This series also contains the partnership and dissolution documents from each of the firms.
The majority of the Projects Records series documents DeMars & Reay and DeMars & Wells projects spanning the years 1955-1977, and document the firms’ work through drawings, photographs, administrative files, and models. The Project Records series includes Farm Security Administration, where a significant number of plans and drawings are retained. This series also includes the Old Sacramento Historic District, a long-term planning commission that generated voluminous administrative files. The UC Berkeley sub-series is extensive and includes each commission carried out on the UC Berkeley campus. The San Francisco Performing Arts Center and the San Francisco Ferry Building and Embarcadero Plaza proposals are also well documented, although DeMars' designs for them were not realized.
Dates
- Creation: 1961-1969
Creator
- From the Collection: DeMars, Vernon, 1908-2005 (Architect, Person)
- From the Collection: Wells, John G. (Architect, Person)
Access Statement
Collection is open for research. Many of the Environmental Design Archives collections are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.
Extent
From the Series: 5.5 Linear Feet: (Carton 9-10; Box 11-16; 33-35 )
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives Repository