Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Rebecca Wood Watkin Architectural Collection, Ms1995-009, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated by Rebecca Wood Watkin in April 1995 with the aid of Inge S. Horton of San Francisco, California. Additions to the collection were received in August 2002 and March 2011.

Processing Information

Processing of the collection was completed by J. Harlow, Student Assistant, under the supervision of L. K. Smith, Manuscripts Curator, in 1995; and by Jessica Caruthers, Student Assistant, under the supervision of Catherine G. OBrion, Manuscripts Archivist, in October 2002. The 2011 addition was processed by Kathryn Shackelford, Graduate Assistant.

Biographical Note

Rebecca Wood Watkin was born in 1913 in Portland, Oregon. She earned a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in 1933, and a B. Arch. from the Architecture School of the University of Pennsylvania. She returned to the west coast, and worked in other architects' offices during the 1930s and 1940s. She earned her California Architectural license in 1944 and opened her own practice in 1951. She collaborated with architect Fred Coolidge from 1953 to 1970, and then practiced from her own office in Sausalito, California, from 1972 to 1989. She served on the Marin County Planning Commission from 1954 to 1958. She continued to design until her retirement in 1990.

Watkin married Joseph Esherick in 1938; they divorced in 1951. She married Harold Watkin in 1958; he died in 1981. She has three children. Her avocational activities include involvement in Democratic Party political campaigns on all levels of government and work with the Ecumenical Association for Housing in Marin County, California.

Watkin passed away on December 19, 2010, at the age of 97, in La Jolla, CA.

Scope and Content

The Rebecca Wood Watkin Architectural Collection consists of architectural drawings of remodelings, alterations, additions, and new designs of buildings, mostly residences, that Watkin worked on from 1940 to 1989. The locations, unless otherwise noted, are all in northern California.

Also in the collection are photographs of three projects: the Watkin residence in Kentfield, California; the Creek Apartments in San Anselmo, Marin County, California; and the Watkin residence in Placer County, California; and a 1956 article in Progressive Architecture on the Watkin residence in Kentfield.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Architects
• Architectural drawing -- 20th century
• Architectural drawings (visual works)
• International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
• Women -- History
• Women-owned architectural firms

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Rebecca Wood Watkin Architectural Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).