San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Administration Building, Atascadero 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 23, 2006, 10:53 pm

Source:             Discovering San Luis Obispo County
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http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/administ53gph.jpg
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ADMINISTRATION BUILDING Atascadero

History and Description:

In 1913, after building University City, Missouri (1902), Edward Gardner Lewis
came to Atascadero and tried to build another model community.  He purchased J.
H. Henry's ranch and hired Bliss and Faville Associates to design the civic
complex.  Included on the plan were an administration building, an opera house,
publishing plant, a department store, a hotel and huge apartment building. But
only the administration building and the printery have been built. The printery
was started later than the administration building but finished earlier and
became one of the largest printeries in the nation for a number of years.

The Administration Building was started in 1914 and was finished in 191S under
the name of the Colony Holding Company. Originally, there was to be a post
office, bank, telephone company, exhibition area (lower rotunda), library (upper
rotunda), and other offices in the building.  Later, because of E. G. Lewis'
financial problems (he was convicted of fraud and sent to jail) the building was
converted into the Moran school for boys in 1927, and later occupied in
different periods by the National Youth Administration School, Miramonte School
for Boys and American Veteran School for Boys until 1952 when the building was
purchased by San Luis Obispo County and re-named the Veteran's Memorial Building.

The building has a Greek cross plan, in the middle of the cross there are two
rotundas, one is on top of the other and reach 100 feet in height. The domes
were coffered. Medallions of famous scholars and philosophers carved by a French
ceramist, Taxile Doat, were put in the coffers on the dome of the library on the
upper level (now they are covered by acoustic tiles).  The northern and southern
arms of the cross are pillared porticos.  The eastern and western arms are
walled-in with engaged columns on the surfaces.  The porticos have very high
walls above the entablatures. Each wall is broken by an arch in the middle (the
windows now existing were not put in originally).  The building is resting on a
podium foundation.  So from the plan, we can see the image of Palladio's Villa
Capra (villa rotunda) and from the elevation, we see four Brunelleschi's Pazzi
Chapel being put together. The whole thing is an Italian Renaissance revival, as
the architect, Mr. Bliss said in his master plan for the city,  each building
being adopted for its special needs, but generally keeping the strong shadow
color, and arcade treatment of sunny Italy.

At the four corners of the building there were four small Baroque fountains by
George Julian Zolnay, now being used for flower beds.

The interesting marble sculpture of three nymphs was originally exhibited in the
St. Louis Exposition of 1904 by the Italian Government. Mr. Lewis purchased it
and brought it to Atascadero

The Administration Building has a floor area of 48,942 square feet, built of
reinforced concrete and bricks. The original cost was $458,000.

Sources:
Eleanore McGarvey, Librarian, Atascadero Veteran's Memorial Hall
D. A. Dixon, Architect, San Luis Obispo County Court House
Women's National Weekly,   "Atascadero Plan"


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sanluisobispo/photos/administ53gph.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/

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