Guide to the Frank B. Durkee papers

Sean Heyliger

Center for Sacramento History

551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.

Sacramento, California 95811-0229

Phone: (916) 808-7072

Fax: (916) 264-7582

Email: csh@cityofsacramento.org

URL: http://www.centerforsacramentohistory.org/

Guide to the Frank B. Durkee papers

Collection number: MS0049

Center for Sacramento History

Sacramento, CA

Processed by:: Sean Heyliger
Date Completed:: 2019-08-26
Encoded by:: Sean Heyliger

Descriptive Summary

Title: Frank B. Durkee papers

Dates: 1886-1982

Bulk Dates: 1937-1980

Collection number: MS0049

Creator: Durkee, Frank B.

Collection Size: 3.5 linear feet (4 boxes + 1 oversized box + 1 oversized drawer)

Repository: Center for Sacramento History

Sacramento, California 95811-0229

Abstract: The Frank B. Durkee papers consist 3.5 linear feet of reports, correspondence, photographs, and blueprints mostly documenting his time as the director of the California Dept. of Public Works and as a member of the Sacramento Redevelopment Agency. The papers include reports, subject files, and correspondence of urban renewal and redevelopment projects in Sacramento, California in the 1950s-1960s.

Physical location: 27E1-2, 4D1 Drawer E, MC 1:19

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research use.

Publication Rights

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Frank B. Durkee papers, MS0049, Center for Sacramento History.

Acquisition Information

The Frank B. Durkee papers were donated by Frank B. Durkee to the Center for Sacramento History on August 18, 1982 (accession #1982/105)

Processing Information

Finding aid created by Sean Heyliger, August 26, 2019.

Biography / Administrative History

Frank Bidwell Durkee (1892-1983) was born in Chitwood, Oregon on December 3, 1892 to Edward Warren Durkee, a Union Civil War veteran and a founder of Russell, Kansas, and Elizabeth (nee Monk) Durkee of Yorkshire, England. Durkee was raised in Oregon until 1900 when his family moved to a farm in Miner County, South Dakota where they lived for three years before moving to Chico, California in January 1903. After graduating from Chico High School in June 1913 he attended the University of Southern California Law School for one year (1913-1914) and was eventually admitted to the California State Bar in 1926.

Following graduation from USC, he returned to Chico where we worked as a reporter for the Chico Enterprise (1914-1915) and the Sacramento Bee (1916-1917) before his enlistment in the Mexican border mobilization in 1916 under the direction of General John Pershing and served as a private in Company A of the California National Guard stationed at Camp Stephen Littel in Nogales, Arizona. He returned to Chico in 1916 where he was the director of the Chico Chamber of Commerce. In 1921 he moved to Sacramento, California and was hired as the Auto and Outing Section editor for the Sacramento Bee (1922-1923) and California Highways and Public Works (1923-1928), the newsletter of the State Highway Commission. He joined the California State Department of Public Works in 1927 as a member of the legal department as a general right of way agent for one year before rejoining the department again in 1931 as a principal attorney. He remained with the department for the next 27 years and was promoted to deputy director in 1948. He was appointed director of the Department of Public Works by California governor Earl Warren in 1951 and served as its director until his retirement in 1958.

After his retirement from the Department of Public Works, Durkee was appointed to the Sacramento Redevelopment Agency (1958-1973) and chaired the city's Old Sacramento Committee (1966-1968). He played a key role in the development of the Old Sacramento Historic District and was awarded the California Historical Society's fifth annual award for Historic Preservation in 1978 for his work in the establishment of the Old Sacramento Historic District and the Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park. In addition to his role in historic preservation, he was also a founding member of the Sacramento Book Collectors Club (1939), Comstock Club, American Society of Public Administrators Sacramento, and the Sophie Comstock Memorial Committee which erected a memorial to the riders of the Pony Express in downtown Sacramento (1976).

Scope and Content of Collection

The Frank B. Durkee papers consist 3.5 linear feet of reports, correspondence, photographs, and blueprints mostly documenting his time as the director of the California Dept. of Public Works and as a member of the Sacramento Redevelopment Agency. The papers include reports, subject files, and correspondence of urban renewal and redevelopment projects in Sacramento, California in the 1950s-1960s. The collection is organized into six series: Series 1. Biographical sketch Series 2. Correspondence / subject files, Series 3. Sacramento redevelopment reports, Series 4. Photographs, Series 5. Membership directories, Series 6. Certificates. The correspondence / subject files series include files maintained by Frank Durkee mostly related to redevelopment, historic preservation, and parks in Sacramento, California during the 1960s-1970s. Also included are five folders of correspondence written by Frank Durkee to chief justice and former California governor Earl Warren. The second series, Sacramento redevelopment reports consist of 80 reports written by the Sacramento Redevelopment Agency, Department of Housing & Community Development, Sacramento City Planning Committee, and private design and architectural consultants on a variety of urban renewal projects in Sacramento including the Capitol Mall, Old Sacramento Historical District, and the American River Parkway. The membership and certificate series include items documenting Frank Durkee's membership in various clubs and professional organizations in Sacramento.

Arrangement

Series 1. Biographical sketch Series 2. Correspondence / subject files Series 3. Sacramento redevelopment reports Series 4. Photographs Series 5. Membership directories Series 6. Certificates

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency

Historic preservation--California--Sacramento

Old Sacramento Historic District (Sacramento, Calif.)

Urban renewal--California--Sacramento

California State Capitol (Sacramento, Calif.)

Box 1:1

Series 1. Biographical sketch 1980-06-20

Physical Description: 1 folder

Series Scope and Content Summary

Biographical survey, certificates, and newspaper clippings documenting the life and career of Frank B. Durkee.

Series 2. Correspondence / subject files

Physical Description: 14 folders

Series Scope and Content Summary

Correspondence and subject files maintained by Frank Durkee mostly related to redevelopment, historic preservation, and parks in Sacramento, California during the 1960s-1970s

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject or correspondent

Box 1:1-2

Book Collectors Club Sacramento 1947-1982

Box 1:3-4

California Historical Society Award for Historic Preservation circa 1978-1979

Box 1:5-6

Camellia Festival 1967-1981

Box 1:7

Capitol Mall building 1963-1964

Box 1:8

Comstock Club 1964-1980

Box 1:9-13

Golden Spike Centennial Committee 1969

Box 1:14

Grandfathers Club 1956-1982

Box 1:15

Historic preservation 1957-1970

Box 1:16

Sacramento Historic Landmarks Commission 1956-1960

Box 1:17

Land Park District Improvement Association 1937-1947

Box 1:18

Letter from E.W. Potter to J.M. Abbott 1886-09-23

Box 1:18

Governor Ronald Reagan inauguration ceremonies program 1971-01-04

Box 1:19-22

Old Sacramento redevelopment 1964-1982

Box 2:1-2

Old Sacramento redevelopment 1964-1982

Box 2:3

Sacramento County Historical Society 1955-1980

Box 2:4

Sacramento History Center, Inc. 1972-1980

Box 2:5

Seline, William, Executive director Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency 1980

Box 2:6-8

Sophie Comstock Memorial Committee 1962-1982

Box 2:9

Stanford Home State Monument 1963-1980

Box 2:10-14

Warren, Earl, Chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1953-1971

Series 3. Sacramento redevelopment reports

Physical Description: 80 reports

Series Scope and Content Summary

Series includes 80 reports and studies mostly related to Sacramento historic preservation, parks, and redevelopment project during the 1950s-1970s. Included are California State Capitol redevelopment project reports during the 1960s and labor studies of the Sacramento labor market in 1958.

Box 2:15

Historic preservation through urban renewal , Urban Renewal Administration 1963

Box 2:15

A guide for citizens advisory committees for the workable program for community improvement, Department of Housing & Urban Development 1965

Box 2:15

Preserving historic America, Department of Housing & Urban Development 1966

Box 2:16

Pedestrian Malls, California Department of Housing & Community Development undated

Box 2:16

Housing in California, Governor's Advisory Committee on Housing Problems 1963

Box 2:16

Redevelopment in Sacramento's West End: report # 4: analysis of potential commercial expansion, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1953

Box 2:17

Redevelopment in Sacramento's West End: report# 5: relocation study:single male population, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1953

Box 2:17

Boundaries Capital Mall project area 2-A, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1954

Box 2:17

Capital mall and riverfront area, project no. 3, Sacramento City Planning Committee 1957

Box 2:17

Planning for "core area"development in Sacramento, Sacramento City Planning Committee 1957

Box 2:17

Redevelopment in Sacramento's West End: report# 7: redevelopment plan for Capitol Mall area, project area no. 2-a, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1958

Box 2:18

A plan for trafficways & modifications to railroad operations & facilities, Sacramento metropolitan area, vol. I: reports & exhibits De Leuw, Cather & Co. 1958

Box 2:19

A plan for trafficways & modifications to railroad operations & facilities, Sacramento metropolitan area vol. II: appendices, De Leuw, Cather & Co. 1958

Box 2:20

Present & future requirements for agrciultural labor from the Sacramento labor market area, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1958

Box 2:20

Community Agency Services in relation to relocation of the labor market, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1958

Box 2:20

Report of architectural consultants: relocation of labor market, Dreyfuss & Blackford 1958

Box 3:1

Economic feasibility of relocation, Sacramento labor market area, Western Real Estate Research Corporation 1958

Box 3:1

Plan for relocation of Sacramento's labor market, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency and Housing & Home Finance Agency 1958

Box 3:1

Relocation plan: slum area labor market Sacramento, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency and Housing & Home Finance Agency 1959

Box 3:2

Redevelopment plan, Capitol Mall extension project no. 3, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1959

Box 3:2

Capitol Mall project: relocation report, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1960

Box 3:2

Telling the Sacramento story by the preservation & enhancement of historic landmarks, Sacramento Historic Landmarks Commission 1960

Box 3:2

Mall report, Sacramento Planning Committee 1960

Box 3:2

The California State Capitol plan, Capitol Building & Planning Committee 1960

Box 3:2

West End commercial complex Sacramento, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 1962

Box 3:2

Assorted pamphlets on Sacramento redevelopment undated

Box 3:2

Redevelopment plan for the Capitol Mall area, project area no. 2-A, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1962

Box 3:3

Redevelopment plan Capitol Mall extension, project no. 3, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1962

Box 3:3

The California State Capitol plan , Capitol Building and Planning Committee 1963

Box 3:3

Capitol Mall project: final relocation report, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1963

Box 3:3

Resolution no. 796, authority issuance of $3,100,000 principal amount of Capitol Mall Extension project no. 3 tax allocation bonds & of $2,800,000 prinicipal amount of bonds of series A, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1963

Box 3:3

Official statement relating to $2,800,000 Capitol Mall extension project no. 3 tax allocation bonds, series A, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1963

Box 3:4

Memorandum, recodification - California Community Redevelopment law, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1963

Box 3:4

Sacramento renewal - city on the move: recipient of the Ward Melville gold medal award for community improvement 1 Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1964

Box 3:4

First stage report: proposed Old Sacramento historic preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, area & riverfront (Embarcadero) Park, Candeub, Flessig & Associates 1964

Box 3:4

Progress report on planning for the historic restoration of Old Sacramento, California Department of Parks & Recreation 1964

Box 3:5

Old Sacramento historic area & riverfront park, Candeub, Flessig & Associates 1964

Box 3:6

The California State Capitol plan, Capitol Building & Planning Committee 1964

Box 3:6

The single man in the West End, Community Welfare Council of Greater Sacramento Area 1964

Box 3:6

Relocation profile: Capitol Mall Extension, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1964

Box 3:6

Study for Governor's residence, State of California Department of General Services 1965

Box 3:7

Old Sacramento State Historical Park study, Department of Parks & Recreation 1965

Box 3:7

Focus on the Sacramento Metropolitan Area: an economic study of Placer, Sacramento & Yolo counties, Bank of America 1965

Box 3:7

General plan Sacramento, California, Sacramento City Planning Committee 1965

Box 3:7

Environmental criteria for the California State Capitol plan, Department of General Services 1966

Box 3:8

Criteria for land disposition: Chinatown, Capitol Mall riverfront, project no. 4, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1967

Box 3:8

A new Sacramento: progress & promise, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1967

Box 3:8

The downtown plaza, Sacramento, California, Larry Smith & Co. , Inc. 1967

Box 3:9

Parking study - Capitol Mall, 7th-I-Front streets, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1968

Box 3:9

Proposal for purchase & development of land in Capitol Mall project no. 2A & Capitol Mall Extension project no. 3. downtown plaza projects properties, 1968 1968

Box 3:9

Gas street lighting, Old Sacramento, DeMars & Wells undated

Box 3:9

Gas street lighting, Old Sacramento, DeMars & Wells 1968

Box 3:9

Sacramento Chinatown signing standards, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1969

Box 3:10

The Chrysoyolis (1860-1940), Hicok & Hewitt, Inc. 1969

Box 3:10

A new Sacramento: progress & promise," Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1970

Box 3:10

Design & Development Kit: Old Sacramento, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1970

Box 3:10

Pony express memorial, California Department of Parks & Recreation 1971

Box 3:10

Stanford home: California state park system feasibility study, California Department of Parks & Recreation 1971

Box 3:10

Urban renewal: Sacramento, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency undated

Box 3:10

Calendar, Plaza Towers printing 1972

Box 3:10

Environmental impact report: Old Sacramento south parking structure & access street, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1974

Box 3:11

Sacramento History Center, Sacramento Museum and History Division 1957

Box 3:11

Official statement relating to $2,700,000 Old Sacramento south parking structure lease revenue bonds, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1977

Box 3:12

Pioneer, Vol 1, No. 1 Sacramento City College 1977

Box 3:12

Summary report: heavy commercial / light industrial corridor, Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall 1964

Box 3:12

Heavy commercial / light industrial corridor Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall undated

Box 3:12

Development & design kit, heavy commercial / light industrial corridor, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency undated

Box 3:12

Signage standards, heavy commercial / light industrial corridor, Sacramento Redevelopment Agency 1969

Box 3:12

A preliminary specific plan for the city portion of the American River Parkway, Sacramento City Planning Committee 1969

Box 3:12

American River Parkway, Sacramento County Planning Department 1967

Box 3:13

A community plan for Riverside-Land Park, Sacramento City Planning Committee 1963

Box 3:13

$25,000,000 S.M.U.D. Upper American River project revenue bonds, series A, Blyth & Co., Inc. 1959

Box 3:13

Upper American River project dedication ceremony S.M.U.D. 1971-06-18

Box 3:13

The Sacramento Union undated

Box 3:13

Sacramento: The Sacramento Union undated

Box 3:14

We the People, California State Chamber of Commerce 1970

Box 3:14

We the People, California State Chamber of Commerce 1972

Box 4:1

Government reorganization for metropolitan Sacramento, Metropolitan Government Committee 1959

Box 4:1

Background study relating to article XI: local government, California Constitution Revision Commission undated

Box 4:2

Recent electric power developments in the U.S.S.R., U.S.delegation tour to Soviet Russia 1962

Box MC 1:19

Old Sacramento Historic Area blueprints 1964

Series 4. Photographs

Physical Description: 17 photographs

Series Scope and Content Summary

Series includes 17 photographs mostly of former California governor and chief justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren.

Box 4:6

Patricia Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Frank Durkee [001] circa 1967

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Judge Peter Shields (photo of 1942 painting) [002] undated

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren, Frank Durkee in governor's new office in capitol [003] circa 1952

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren signing papers [004] undated

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren, Robert E. Reed, Frank Durkee, and George S. Pingrey at Western Association of State Highway Officials (WASHO) Convention, San Francisco, California [005] 1951-06-26

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren, James Dean and Frank Durkee in governor's office [006] 1953-09-30

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren at time of signing Chapter 47 [007] 1947

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren signing Chapter 47 [008] 1944

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Earl Warren, Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court, with inscription to Frank Durkee [009] circa 1953

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren conferring on Bay Bridge refinancing [010] undated

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren conferring on Bay Bridge refinancing [011] undated

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Governor Earl Warren and Frank Durkee at dedication of governor's portrait in capitol [012] circa 1953

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Dr. V. Aubrey Neasham and Frank Durkee in front of painting of John Bidwell at Bidwell Mansion, Chico, California [013] 1978-10-29

Box 4D1 Drawer E

K Street mall, street scene in front of Macy's [014] undated

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Frank B. Durkee and Meta Powers at Bidwell Mansion, Chico, California [015] 1978-10-29

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Frank B. Durkee and Meta Powers at Bidwell Mansion, Chico,California [016] 1978-10-29

Box 4D1 Drawer E

Morse Building, Old Sacramento [017] undated

Series 5. Membership directories

Physical Description: 10 membership directories

Series Scope and Content Summary

Series consists of membership directories of various fraternal organizations in Sacramento, California during the 1960s including the Elks Lodge no. 6, Comstock Club, University Club, and Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Box 4:5

Sacramento Elks Lodge no. 6, membership directory 1963

Box 4:5

The Comstock Club, Inc. membership directory 1965-1966

Box 4:5

University Club of Sacramento membership directory 1961

Box 4:5

University Club of Sacramento membership directory 1964

Box 4:5

Sacramento County Bar Association membership directory 1969

Box 4:5

McGeorge School of Law alumni membership directory 1968-1969

Box 4:5

McGeorge School of Law alumni membership directory 1969-1970

Box 4:6

Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce business & professional directory 1968

Box 4:6

Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce business & professional directory 1969-1970

Box 4:6

Sacramento south aea, business directory, Spring edition 1972

Series 6. Certificates and ribbons

Physical Description: 1 folder + 1 missing box

Series Scope and Content Summary

Series includes certificates awarded to Frank Durkee and six ribbons [missing as of 08/27/2019] to various events in the Sacramento area including the Centennial of the Transcontinental railroad in 1969.

Box 4:2

The Dream ... Sacramento Elks Lodge no. 6, building dedication 1979-04-21

Box 4:2

Welcome to Sacramento - California's newdestination, sales guide 1979-1980, Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau 1979

Box 4:2

Poster, reproduction, The Youth's Companion 1885-10-29

Box 4:2

Certificate, commission member, CA Commission on Interstate Cooperation 1953-03-04

Box 4:2

Certificate, commission member, Purchase Standards Committee 1955-09-15

Box 4:3

California Highways and Public Works, September 9, 1850 - September 9, 1950, centennial edition, California Highways & Public Works 1950

Box 4:4

Robin Lampson, The man who gave the golden spike 1969

Box 4:4

Douglas S. Watson, An hour's walk through Yerba Buena 1937

Box 4:4

Allan R. Ottley, In the beginning: the early years of the Sacramento Book Collectors Club 1979

Box 4:4

Socrates Hyacinth, Sacramento etchings 1975

Box Missing

Reviewing stand, 13th Annual Sacramento Camellia Festival, Children's Parade [missing as of 08/27/2019] 1967

Box Missing

Sacramento Gold Spike Centennial Celebration Committee [missing as of 08/27/2019] 1969-05-08

Box Missing

Golden Spike Centennial, Promontory, Utah [missing as of 08/27/2019] 1969-05-10

Box Missing

Committee member, dedication of the Central Pacific Passenger Station, Old Sacramento [missing as of 08/27/2019] 1976-09-25

Box Missing

Sophie Comstock Memorial Committee member [missing as of 08/27/2019] 1976-06-04

Box Missing

Delegate, State Bar of California Convention, San Francisco, California [missing as of 08/27/2019] 1963-09-23