PBA Galleries

Most of the glass negatives are 4¼x5½, about 32 are 5½x7, about 10 are 6½x8½. A large number have had positives made from them. Nearly all are in brown sleeves, the great majority with pencil captions. Housed in four wooden boxes and one cardboard one (Nike).

Highly significant collection of photographs formed by George T. Bowen, most of San Francisco, with the emphasis on San Francisco and the Bay Area prior to and just following the earthquake and fire of April 18, 1906. Well over a hundred of the glass negatives are directly concerned with the aftermath of the quake, including the ruins of City Hall; the San Francisco Chronicle building surrounded by rubble; San Mateo County Courhouse in ruins; the Sweeney Cyclorama in Golden Gate Park both before and after the fateful day; and many more. There are views of the Sunset District, Mission Dolores; Trolley Cars; motoring in Saratoga in 1909; tunnel and road building in S.F.; about 70 or so of Golden Gate Park including the bison; and other fascinating views. There are also some copy photographs of earlier views, dating from 1851 onward, showing the City in its formative stages. The many film negatives in the collection are of similar subjects, most being copies probably taken in the 1940's, still an historically valuable grouping. And lastly there are about 80 original film negatives taken during the construction of the Hoover Dam in 1934, on which massive undertaking the collector, George T. Bown, was employed, quite interesting in themselves. Most of the paper sleeves have pencil captions written on them, evidenly by Bowen.