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Myron Hunt Papers: Finding
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mssHunt, Myron papers, mssHM 27626, mssHM 27627
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Title: Myron Hunt Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1809-1957
Bulk dates: 1915-1932
Collection Number: mssHunt, Myron papers, mssHM 27626, mssHM 27627
Creator:
Hunt, Myron, 1868-1952.
Extent:
4,156 pieces in 20 boxes + 15 oversize volumes and 1 oversize photograph.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of the papers of prominent Southern California architect Myron Hunt (1868-1952) and
his wife Virginia Pease Hunt (1871-1957), chiefly related to their involvement with philanthropic and civic organizations
in Pasadena, California, from 1917-1946.
There are also two sketchbooks by Myron
Hunt (1894) and thirteen journals (1893-1913) of his first wife, Harriette Boardman Hunt, written from Europe, Evanston, North
Carolina, and Pasadena and Palm Springs, California, from 1893-1913.
The collection also contains sub-groups consisting of the papers of Myron Hunt's son, Robert Nichols Hunt, and of the Boardman
and Nichols families.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for
identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Myron Hunt Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Rear Admiral Charles Boardman Hunt, May 12, 1958.
Biographical Note of Myron Hunt
Prominent Southern California architect Myron Hubbard Hunt (1868-1952) was a native of Massachusetts. He studied at
Northwestern University and the school of architecture at the Massachusetts School of Technology.
In 1893 he married Harriette Hollond Boardman. They spent two years abroad while Hunt studied architecture in
Europe. After the return of the young
couple from Europe, Hunt joined the architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson in Boston, before going to Chicago with
Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. In 1903, the Hunts moved to California hoping the climate would help Harriette's health. Hunt entered
a partnership
with the leading architect, Elmer Gray, from 1903 to 1908, had his own office from 1908 to 1920, and then joined H. C. Chambers.
The important role that Myron Hunt played in the development of Southern California can be seen in the list of a few of the
buildings he designed: The Huntington Library, the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl, the Pasadena Public Library,
the Huntington Hospital, buildings at Occidental College and Pomona College, in addition to many other public buildings and
private residences.
After his first wife's death, Myron Hunt married Virginia Pease (1871-1957) in 1915. After their marriage, both Myron and
Virginia Hunt
were prominent in all types of civic and philanthropic organizations--helping with civilian war work during World War I
through the projects of the Army and Navy League, being on the boards of hospitals and schools as well as organizing the
Block-Aid Committee to coordinate efforts to find work for the unemployed during the Depression, and in the
Pasadena Association working for local political betterment and the recall of the city board of directors in 1931.
Both Myron and Virginia Hunt received the Arthur Noble Award from the City of Pasadena for outstanding service to the community--Myron
in 1927
"for more than 40 years [being] a forceful leader in the architectural development and civic life of Pasadena and
the Southland."
Biographical Note of Harriette Hollond Boardman Hunt
Harriette Hollond Boardman Hunt, (1868-1913), was the granddaughter of Henry Augustus Boardman (1808-1880),
a Presbyterian clergyman in Philadelphia, author, and a director of the Princeton Seminary. She married Myron H. Hunt in 1893,
and they spent two years abroad in Europe, where Myron studied architecture
and Harriette kept journals of their travels. The Hunts moved to Boston and then Chicago. During this latter period Harriette
spent long periods in North and South Carolina because
of her delicate health. In 1903, the Hunts moved to California hoping her health would improve. In 1913 Harriette Hunt passed
away after a long struggle with tuberculosis, her last year spent in a sanatorium in
Palm Springs. The Hunts had four children: Rear Admiral Charles Boardman Hunt (donor of the collection); Harriet (Hunt)
Bard (who married Philip Bard, son of Senator Thomas R. Bard); Hubbard Hunt (motion picture producer); and Robert Nichols
Hunt
(Santa Fe poet and editor of a volume of poems by Witter Bynner).
Biographical Note of Virginia Pease Hunt
Virginia Pease (1871-1957) was the founder and principal of the Polytechnic
Elementary School in Pasadena, California. She had been born in the town of Winnemucca, Nevada, and was left an orphan at
an early age.
She and her brother, Lute Pease (an editor of the
Pacific Monthly Magazine, author, and Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist)
were brought up in the home of their aunt, Mrs. Helen Webster. The children were well educated and Virginia (who originally
had been called Caroline Virginia) became a teacher and community leader. Virginia married architect Myron Hunt in 1915.
The Hunts were prominent in civic and philanthropic organizations in Southern California, and in 1932, Virginia received the
City of Pasadena's Arthur Noble Award "for the woman who conceived of a way to fight the Depression ... was founder and
first principal of Pasadena's nationally known Polytechnic Elementary School, member of the board of California Junior
Republic, La Vina Sanatorium, and the Huntington Hospital."
The collection consists of papers dealing chiefly with the work of Myron Hunt and Virginia Pease Hunt
with philanthropic and civic organizations in Pasadena, California, from 1917-1946. There are also two
sketchbooks by Myron Hunt (1894) and thirteen journals (1893-1913) of his first wife, Harriette Boardman Hunt,
written from Europe, Evanston, North Carolina, and Pasadena and Palm Springs, California, from 1893-1913. While some of the
materials concern the life and architectural work of Myron Hunt, quantitatively,
the collection is weighted toward the story of Pasadena from 1903 to 1946. The collection
also contains sub-groups consisting of the papers of Myron Hunt's son, Robert Nichols Hunt, and of the
Boardman and Nichols families.
Some of the philanthropic organizations in which Myron and Virginia Pease Hunt were active are
represented in the collection. These include: California Junior Republic, Huntington Memorial Hospital,
Pasadena Army & Navy League, Pasadena Association, and the Pasadena Block-Aid Committee.
Persons represented in the collection include: Myron Hunt, Virginia Pease Hunt, Henry A. Boardman,
Robert Nichols Hunt, Harriette Boardman Hunt, and New Mexico author Paul Horgan (a friend of Robert Nichols Hunt).
Some notable items in the collection include:
- Boardman, Henry Augustus. Autograph album of Yale College, Class of 1829 (with Catalogue of Graduates in the back). 1829 (Box 1)
- Boardman, Charles H. Autograph album of Yale College, Class of 1859 (with engravings of faculty and graduates and autograph letters from each). 1859 (Box 3)
- Horgan, Paul. Hymn and Chorale, The Eels, The Retreat (with dedications to Robert Hunt). 1925-1930? (Boxes 4-5)
- Hunt, Harriette Hollond (Boardman). Journals and autobiography which show the early life and career of Myron Hunt. 1893-1913 (Box 5)
- Hunt, Myron. Sketch books of Italian architecture made while in Europe. 1894 (Box 5)
- Japanese architectural drawings for teachouses (8 plans) (Box 9)
- Hunt, Myron. Personal letters to Virginia (Pease) Hunt. (15 letters). 1915-1919 (Box 12)
- Pease, Lute. To Virginia (Pease) Hunt. Letter to his sister re her forthcoming marriage. 1915, Mar. 13 (Volumes 10-11)
- Scrapbooks re Myron Hunt and his work (2 volumes plus loose addenda). 1903-1929
Related materials in the Huntington Library
- Henry Edwards Huntington Papers (mssHEH)
- Lute Pease Papers (mssHM 51570-51844)
- Myron Hunt Collection (archHunt)
- [Blue prints of the Henry E. Huntington residence (1909-'10) and the Library floor plans (1919-1920) : including the 1927, 1929 and 1933 alterations and additions] (286188)
This collection has been organized in the following 4 series:
- I. Boardman-Nichols family papers (Boxes 1-3)
- II. Robert Nichols Hunt papers (Boxs 3)
- III. Harriette Hollond Boardman Hunt and Myron Hunt papers (Boxes 4-5)
- IV. Virginia Pease and Myron Hunt papers (Boxes 6-20)
Although the bulk of the collection is semi-cataloged, the Harriette Boardman Hunt
journals have been item-level cataloged and have their own call number (HM 27626)
and Myron H. Hunt's sketchbooks have their own call number (HM 27627).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Boardman, Henry A. (Henry Augustus), 1808-1880.
Horgan, Paul, 1903-1995.
Hunt, Harriette Boardman.
Hunt, Myron, 1868-1952.
Hunt, Robert Nichols, 1907-1964.
Hunt, Virginia Pease.
California Junior Republic.
Huntington Memorial Hospital (Pasadena, Calif.)
Pasadena Army & Navy League (Pasadena, Calif.)
Pasadena Association (Pasadena, Calif.)
Pasadena Block-Aid Committee (Pasadena, Calif.)
Yale College (1718-1887). Class of 1829.
Yale College (1718-1887). Class of 1859.
Architects -- California -- Pasadena -- Archives.
Architects -- Family -- California -- Pasadena.
Architecture -- California, Southern.
Women -- Societies and clubs -- California -- Pasadena.
Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century.
Pasadena (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
Commonplace books -- United States.
Family papers -- California -- Pasadena.
Journals -- California -- Pasadena.
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- Pasadena.
Boardman, Henry A. (Henry Augustus), 1808-1880.
Horgan, Paul, 1903-1995.
Hunt, Harriette Boardman.
Hunt, Robert Nichols, 1907-1964.
Hunt, Virgina Pease.