COLLECTIONS

Joseph Esherick (1914-1998)

The Esherick collection consists primarily of drawings and project files that contain specifications, correspondence, notes, product literature, and reports.

Finding Aid

Joseph Esherick graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in architecture in 1937. He moved to San Francisco the following year where he worked part-time for structural engineer Walter Steilberg before securing a full-time position in the office of Gardner Dailey. Esherick opened his San Francisco architectural firm in 1946 and was a major influence on residential design in the Bay Area. He taught at University of California, Berkeley from 1952-1985 and served as the chair the Architecture Department from 1976-1982. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he founded the firm Esherick, Homsey, Dodge and Davis (EHDD) and was awarded the AIA Gold Medal in 1989.

The Esherick collection consists primarily of drawings and project files that contain specifications, correspondence, notes, product literature, and reports. It also includes a few student drawings, travel sketchbooks, speeches, and writings on topics such as architectural education and the Bay Area Tradition, as well as records of consulting projects. Major projects include numerous residences, the store and demonstration houses at Sea Ranch, the Cannery in San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz’s Stevenson College, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.