Gillette Studio
Important Early Album Documenting Road Paving Projects in San Mateo County, CA, 1917-20
Photo album; silver prints (47)
Each 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches
With photographer's credit stamp to inside album cover.
With photographer's credit stamp to inside album cover.
Further images
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 1
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 2
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 3
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 4
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 5
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 6
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 7
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 8
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 9
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 10
)
This important collection of photos documents road paving operations in San Mateo County in the mid-1910s. With scores of crisp, uniform images showing road crews laying asphalt around the late...
This important collection of photos documents road paving operations in San Mateo County in the mid-1910s. With scores of crisp, uniform images showing road crews laying asphalt around the late gilded-age mansions of Hillsborough and San Mateo Park, the album speaks to the rise of car culture and its effects on the landscape of California at the dawn of the 20th-century.
In 1912 the first California State Highway was paved in San Mateo County, a five-mile stretch between San Bruno and Burlingame along El Camino Real. A year later, residents passed a 1.2 million dollar bond so that the County could match state grants and create more roadways for automobiles. By the middle of the decade, the area’s scenic roadways were a well-known destination for auto-travelers, often advertised as a picturesque day-trip down from San Francisco.
In the 1916 publication “A History of San Mateo County,” the chapter on the highway system begins, “Automobilists declare that San Mateo County is the leader in highway construction. This is attested to by the astonishing fact that a fair Sunday or holiday brings forth 15,000 motor cars on the main highways, exclusive of the traffic on the coastwise roads, which have just been opened to the public.”
While the photos in the album are uncaptioned, the date and location have been determined by a number of factors. One photograph shows horse-drawn wagons carrying mounds of asphalt across a busy main street. Visible in the background of this photo is a sign for the garage of J.B. Peckham, a prominent Redwood City resident. Another photograph shows the gates to what is now the Tobin Clark estate in Hillsborough. And a third image shows a sign advertising land for sale offered by M.J. Conway, a successful San Mateo-based real estate broker.
The photographs were taken by the San Mateo-based commercial artist J.F. Gillette. The back inside cover bears a stamp with his credit, and records indicate he was contracted by the county for photographic work 1917 and 1918.
In 1912 the first California State Highway was paved in San Mateo County, a five-mile stretch between San Bruno and Burlingame along El Camino Real. A year later, residents passed a 1.2 million dollar bond so that the County could match state grants and create more roadways for automobiles. By the middle of the decade, the area’s scenic roadways were a well-known destination for auto-travelers, often advertised as a picturesque day-trip down from San Francisco.
In the 1916 publication “A History of San Mateo County,” the chapter on the highway system begins, “Automobilists declare that San Mateo County is the leader in highway construction. This is attested to by the astonishing fact that a fair Sunday or holiday brings forth 15,000 motor cars on the main highways, exclusive of the traffic on the coastwise roads, which have just been opened to the public.”
While the photos in the album are uncaptioned, the date and location have been determined by a number of factors. One photograph shows horse-drawn wagons carrying mounds of asphalt across a busy main street. Visible in the background of this photo is a sign for the garage of J.B. Peckham, a prominent Redwood City resident. Another photograph shows the gates to what is now the Tobin Clark estate in Hillsborough. And a third image shows a sign advertising land for sale offered by M.J. Conway, a successful San Mateo-based real estate broker.
The photographs were taken by the San Mateo-based commercial artist J.F. Gillette. The back inside cover bears a stamp with his credit, and records indicate he was contracted by the county for photographic work 1917 and 1918.