In the early 1920s, someone climbed to a tall southern point
on the UC Farm and shot a high-resolution panoramic photograph looking northeast
over the campus.
A print of that photograph resides in folder AR-013 of the
UCD Department of Special Collections. A low-resolution scan of it introduces
this post.*
The UC Farm is the obvious topic of the photo, but “The
Farm” is not what this post is about.
Instead, when we look closely at the area above and behind
the Farm buildings, we see a panorama
of Davis. That sliver of a view is the focus of this post.
I discovered this photo and this “in the distance” feature
in 1999 and acquired a high resolution scan of it.
Not able to figure out how to best use or publish it, I have
to this point done nothing with it.
I still do not know how best to use it, but I think it is
time to at least call attention to its existence.
This “call” takes the form of enlarging and segmenting that
background into seven panels that show the Davis “skyline” from east to west.
These appear here as panels numbered 1 through 7.
In order to show how these seven relate to one another, I
also present a screenshot composite of them arrayed as a panorama.
Below, I list some salient features I think are visible in
the panels.
Panel 1
• Vertically across the lower middle of the
panel: The road called variously “The Highway,” Route 40, The Lincoln
Highway (for six months in 1927), Russell Boulevard.
• Mid-distance
area to the right: Area where College Park will be laid out in 1924.
Panel 2
• Left edge: Area where the eastern border
of College Park will be located.
• Mid-distance
left: Cluster of structures near to the three trees is just north of what
will become 216 West 8th Street. The building now at 216 West 8th Street--built
in 1935--was apparently constructed as part of that cluster of buildings.
• Horizontally
across the mid-distance: The line of trees marks the approximate route of the
future West 8th Street.
Panel 3
• House to the right of 440 A Street: 422 A
Street, still standing.
•
Above
and to the slight upper left of 422 A: 645 C Street, Datel-Dingemans House,
built 1913 and still standing.
• To the
right of and partially behind 645 C Street: 335 7th Street, Phillips House
(demolished).
• Just
above the UC Farm building on the right: Two rectangular buildings housing
the Zeta Xi fraternity. When the high school is built in 1927, the structure on
the right will be moved to the front area of the one on the left.
• Above
and between the two Zeta Xi buildings: 642 C Street. Shed used by A. R.
Pedder in organizing construction materials for about a dozen Davis homes he
built in the 1910-20s (demolished).
• To the
immediate right of Pedder’s Shed: 501 7th Street, two-story “aero plane bungalow”
built ~1915 (demolished).
Panel 4
• Beneath
the water tower looming in the middle left distance: The Highway Garage at
the B Street-Route 40 curve. It is located on property that will become part of
the northwest corner of Davis City Park (later called Central Park).
• Middle
left: City of Davis water tower at 616 D Street (taken down).
• White
bungalow style house in the middle distance: Likely 513 F Street, the
Bentley House, built 1910 (still standing).
Panel 5
• Beneath
the two trees stretching above the skyline: Davis Joint Grammar School
(later called Central School), 300 block of 3rd Street (demolished and now the
Farmers Market extension of Central Park).
• Right
edge: 255 3rd Street, the University Hotel. Demolished and since the site
of a succession of family style restaurants.
Panel 6
• To
the right of the flagpole and flag: Likely the Clancy house (rear view),
137 C Street, still standing.
• Below
and to the right of the Clancy House and partially obscured by trees: 203 1st
Street, still standing and currently a fraternity house.
• To the right of 203 1st Street: 305 1st Street, the Plant House (still
standing)
* * *
This panorama provides a vivid representation of what is
otherwise and amply documented: Davis was a diminutive place with a small
“footprint” before its transformation after World War II.
As part of this, the rate of growth was slow. For example,
we can see that although the area north of 5th Street was laid out for
development in 1913, nearly a decade later, only a modest number of homes have
been built.
________
* Too wide to fit onto even the Special Collections large format
scanner, the print was scanned in two parts. The line down the middle shows where
I have fitted the two scans together and not tried to hide the seam with Photoshop
tricks.
