Edward Bright Hussey (1897-1976)

Name

Hussey, Edward Bright

Personal Information

Birth/Death:    1897-1976
Occupation:    American architect
Location (state):    CA

This record has not been verified for accuracy.

AIA Affiliation

Not a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Biographical Sources

Biographical information:
Contributed by the Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley:
Edward Bright Hussey graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in architecture in 1923. During his schooling, he spent the summers working for Julia Morgan, including work on the Hearst Castle in San Simeon during the summer of 1921. From 1926 to 1927 Hussey represented Julia Morgan in Honolulu during the building of the YWCA. As part of his duties, he wrote and sent daily progress reports to Morgan to be mailed on the weekly ship to San Francisco along with rolls of film and annotated and dated drawings. Hussey also served as supervising architect in Elsah, Illinois during the building of Principia College from 1931 to 1936. He assisted architect Bernard Maybeck with the design and construction of the college, designing several buildings on his own, including the Writer's Cabin and faculty houses, and influencing the design of the Morey Field House. During 1933 he left Elsah for approximately a year (while the work on Principia shut down) to work at Julia Morgan's Northern California Wyntoon construction site for William Randolph Hearst.
Edward Hussey lived in Japan from 1927 to 1930 while supervising the Tokyo YWCA construction for Julia Morgan. He also worked on other projects in and around Tokyo including schools and church buildings. Back in the Bay Area in 1930, he worked briefly for another architect before being hired by Bernard Maybeck for the Principia College project. After Principia, Hussey worked in the State Office in Sacramento (1938), was superintendent on a Modesto project from 1951 to 1952, and worked for the Arabia American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia (1952). While he contributed information to various historians and biographers of Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck, there is scarce documentation regarding Hussey's own life.

Related Records

Archival Holdings

Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley
Collection Number: 1977-2. Extent: 6 boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 flat file drawer, 46 tubes. The Edward Bright Hussey collection consists of correspondence, notes, reports, clippings, photographs, and drawings spanning the years 1915-1975. These records primarily relate to Hussey's architectural career, including projects completed under the direction of Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck. The records are organized into six series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, Project Records, Principia College, and Additional Donations.
Personal and professional papers are minimal, consisting of student work, a small amount of correspondence, and clippings. The office records series contains reports, specifications and standards, and product literature files. The project records series document residences and commercial buildings in Japan, Hawaii, and California, and contains specifications, correspondence, and reports on projects in Japan, including the Tokyo Union Church building, the Hirosaki Jo Gakko school building, and the Chinzei Gakuin school. Photographs and drawings of projects such as the Honolulu YWCA, the Tokyo YWCA, the Central Tabernacle (Tokyo), and the cottage for Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hussey (Mt. Herman, California) are also included. The bulk of the collection is contained in the fifth series, Principia College. Records relating to this project include correspondence, reports, photographs, and publications, though drawings form the large majority of the Principia materials. Additional Donations include Hussey's field reports from the project William Randolph Hearst's Wyntoon, photographs of Principia College, and construction photographs of the YWCA Honolulu.
Link to online finding aid: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf3g5003ct

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