Alice R. Carey Collection
Scope and Contents
The Alice Ross Carey Collection spans the years 1982-2005 and is comprised of Professional Papers and Project Records created at her architectural practice. The Professional Papers series consists of files documenting her work with Friends of Terra Cotta and the American Institute of Architects San Francisco chapter’s (SFAIA) Blue Ribbon Task Force. Project records include correspondence, project files, drawings, and research notes on historical restoration projects. Some restoration projects include copies of original project drawings. Carey is known for her preservation work, which is well documented in this collection including such projects as the Sunol Water Temple, San Francisco City Hall, and the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House.
Dates
- 1945-1962, 1982-2005
- Majority of material found within 1982-2005
Access Statement
Collection is open for research. Many of the Environmental Design Archives Collections are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the colleciton should be discussed with the Curator.
Biographical Note
Alice Ross Carey (1949-2013) was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Toledo, Ohio. Carey worked as a carpenter and had her own small construction firm before completing a master’s degree in architecture from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley in 1976.
Following graduation, Carey worked for the firms Esherick, Homsey Dodge & Davis (EHDD) and Whisler/Patri. While at EHDD, she became interested in the Bay Region Style of architecture and its architects Joseph Esherick, William Wurster, Charles Moore and William Turnbull. She established her own practice Carey & Co., in 1983 in San Francisco, one of the first woman-owned architectural practices specializing in historic preservation in the United States. Six years later, she was named to San Francisco’s Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, her firm managed the preservation of several San Francisco historically significant civic buildings, including City Hall and the War Memorial Opera House. Her work on these projects earned Carey & Co. nearly three dozen state and national awards. During her career, Carey worked on restoring countless buildings, including Jordan Hall at Stanford University, San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel, Oakland and Berkeley City Halls, Sunol Water Temple, San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and the Marin County Civic Center. She was a founding member of the Friends of Terra Cotta and on the Boards of several organizations including the Association of Advocates for Preservation, San Francisco Heritage, and the Environmental Design Archives at U.C. Berkeley.
Carey was a champion in the preservation community and advocated for the use of historic resources. Throughout her career, Carey fought to preserve countless buildings, including the New Mission Theater, the Fairmont Hotel Tonga Room, and the Metropolitan Club at 640 Sutter Street, all in San Francisco.
Sources:
King, John. “Alice Carey dies: architect, avid preservationist.” SF Gate. 1 Aug. 2013. Accessed 3 Mar. 2015.
Extent
31 Linear Feet: (17 cartons, 64 tubes, 7 flat files)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Alice Ross Carrey Collection spans the years 1945-1962, 1982-2005 and includes files created by Carey at her firm. The collection is comprised of Professional Papers and Project Records created at her architectural practice. The records include (correspondence, project files, promotional brochures, drawings, photographs, research notes, articles, etc.). Carey is well known for her preservation work, which is well documented in this collection.
System of Arrangement
Carey’s projects maintain their original order in the structured system she created and used at her firm. It is outlined below.
Carey – File Organization
A
.0 Background/Pre-project promotion
0.1 Proposal Development
0.2 Consultants
0.3 Proposal Drafts
.05 Status reports and schedules
.1 Correspondence
.2 Meeting notes and site notes
.4 Phone conversations
.5 FEMA/SHPO, Fee/Scope of Work Development
.6 Design/Build Teams Correspondence
C
.1 History/background/background from others
.2 Site information/notes/survey elevations/historical research
.3 Existing conditions/survey
.4 Historic Structures reports
.5 Photographs
.6 Code analysis
.7 Program
.8 Design comments/sketches
.9 Construction Documents Information
.11 Products
.12 Specifications
D
no # - project consultants
.1 Structural consultant
.3 Electrical consultant
.4 Chronology of construction
.5 Archival Information
.6 Construction Costs/Estimates
.7 Cost estimates/schedules
.8 Codes/regulatory agencies/Testing lab data
.9 Products
.10 Elevator/Specifications
.11 Construction drawings/sketches
.12 Design development/Other Consultants
.13 Furniture consult
E
.1 Bidders File
F
.1 Shop Drawings/logistics/transmittals
.2 Samples/materials and tests
.4 Construction Meetings/meeting notes
.5 Construction Field Reports
.6 Changes and correspondence/construction correspondence/RFI Log Responses
.7 Change orders/Sketch File
.9 Project close-out
.10 Drawings addenda
.11 Bulletins/Specification addenda
.13 Field reports
.14 Addenda
Custodial History
The records were donated by Alice R. Carey and transferred from the Carey & Company Offices.
Funding
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by the Alice Ross Carey Bequest and individual donors.
- Title
- Alice R. Carey Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Emily Vigor.
- Date
- April 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by the Alice Ross Carey Bequest and individual donors.
Repository Details
Part of the University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives Repository