Edward Flanders

Although the drawings for the project display a Charles Dean title block, it is not known at this time the extent of each individuals design involvement of the project. A review of their varied projects appears to indicate the architects chosen would have been among the more forward thinking designers of that time, and the New Helvetia Historic District complex is an important architectural statement of the era in Sacramento.

New Helvetia has recently been nominated by Historic Environment Consultants for historic preservation due to its architectural and cultural significance to Sacramento history.

Text and images contained in this blog were used from the report done by Historic Environment Consultants and the Center for Sacramento History.

Originally built for the College of Agriculture, Starks & Flanders worked under the direction of William Hays, supervising architect for the UC Davis campus. Shields Library & Administration Building was built in three parts starting in the year 1940, when the oldest north wing was built. Starks & Flanders were the architects of this first wing.

Today the library contains 3.2 million volumes, making it the largest library in Yolo County and the third largest in the University of California system.

Starks and Flanders designed CK McClatchy High School in 1937 with funds gathered from local sources and the Public Works Administration, one of the New Deal programs instituted to stimulate the U.S. economy in the wake of the Great Depression. Currently, approximately 2,000 students attend the school. In 2002, the school was officially added to the list of National Register of Historic Places.

Some photos courtesy of the Sacramento Public Library.

Starks & Flanders provided architectural services to the Eastern Star Lodge in 1937 after it was severely damaged from a fire. The local firm of Coffman, Sahlberg, Stafford, Architects & Engineering were the original designers of the building which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

The Clunie Community Center, designed by Sacramento-based architect Harry Devine Sr., in association with the architectural firm of Stark and Flanders was built in 1936. On the pool’s opening day, in August of the same year, 2,500 visitors were expected and 4,500 showed up to see a beauty contest and an exhibition of “fancy and comic diving.” The facility was financed by a 150,000 dollar bequeathal from Florence Turton Clunie and bears her name.

The main building houses the McKinley Library in the North and the South wings while the upper stories house the main hall with rooms available to the community for rent. The facility also includes a pool and clubhouse.

When the City of Sacramento proposed in 2011 to close the Clunie community center, the Friends of East Sacramento stepped forward with a proposal to manage the building.

Picture courtesy of the Sacramento Library.

This building was designed by Leonard Starks in 1935. It is still in use by the City of Williams City Council and also houses the city fire department.

Designed in 1933 by Starks & Flanders, this firehouse was one of the first in the area that served the surrounding neighborhoods. In 1980, the City of Sacramento donated the firehouse to the Fire Fighters Burn Institute. The Fire Fighters Burn Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Sacramento Area Firefighters in 1973, for the purpose of establishing a local burn treatment facility, providing recovery programs for burn survivors and many other services.

This Mission, Spanish Revival building was designed by our firm during the time of  Starks and Flanders, Architects and Engineers. The building, located across the street from the state capitol, is constructed with stucco and topped with a low-pitched red tile roof. One of the distinctive elements is a two and half story tower at the junction of the buildings two wings. On the first floor landing is multi-colored tile mosaic of a blue anchor, the insignia of the California Fruit Exchange. The building opened its doors in 1932 and was dedicated to founder and former company president George H. Cutter. The California Fruit Exchange occupied the building until 1966 when they moved to a new building in North Sacramento. Since that time, the building has been used by state agencies.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places this building was designed by Starks & Flanders in 1931 in the French Renaissance style exhibited by many government buildings in America, particularly in the District of Columbia. The facade, basement, and first floor are covered in California Granite. Upper levels are faced with terra cotta and brick. The elegance and beauty of this building is evident still today.

 

Some images contained in this blog were used from the Center for Sacramento History

Built in the 1930’s, this school was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style popular of the time. Some of the ornate ornamental facing around the central entrance was removed to comply with California earthquake standards. It was originally called the Alturas Grammar School and now houses the administration offices for Modoc Joint Unified Schools District, Modoc County Senior Center, and Warner High School.

In 1930, Starks and Flanders were commissioned by the Plumas County High School Board of Trustees to provide additions and alterations to the existing campus of Portola High School. The exterior changes are still very much visible today. The campus has since been closed due to not meeting current earthquake safety codes.

Designed by Starks & Flanders in 1929, this elementary and middle school was fashioned in the many styles popular of the time including Italian Medieval architecture with details reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts movement. Construction was completed in 1932.

Much of the campus was demolished in 1975 due to not meeting earthquake safety standards, although the main building still exists.

On the same site today sits a new school named California Middle School which is part of the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Portions of this post were provided by Joanna and Maggie Valentine.

Photos courtesy of the Center for Sacramento History and the Sacramento Public Library.

The Coolot Company Building in Sacramento, California was a building constructed originally in 1861. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The building was built by Leland Stanford and he used one of the rooms as his office. It was also a part of the underground tunnel system as a part of the raised level of buildings in Sacramento.

In 1928, Starks and Flanders were hired by the Hickman Coleman Insurance Company to remodel the building having recently moved from 724 J Street to the Coolot at 812 J Street.
It was during the Starks & Flanders remodel that the Arts and Crafts tile was added to the front façade.

By the late 1950’s the building housed the Bank of Sacramento.

Replete with 25 office suites in the early 1990s, the edifice was still in use while neighboring buildings had all been demolished. After this point, the building itself was the subject of many fires during its years of vacancy. While plans were considered to incorporate the facade of the old building with new construction planned at its site, one last fire seriously damaged it in 2003 and it was subsequently demolished.

Portions of this blog are from the Coolots N.R.H.P. report.
Pictures courtesy of Sacramento Center for History and the Sacramento Public Library.

Once named the ‘Showplace of Sacramento’ the Alhambra Theater was designed by Leonard Starks in 1927. The Alhambra seated about 1,850 and had California’s first permanently installed movie sound system, the Vitaphone, which was installed just after the theater’s opening Sept. 24, 1927.  So great was its splendor that the City of Sacramento even renamed adjacent 31st Street ‘Alhambra Boulevard’ in honor of the theater.

The legacy of the Alhambra and passion in which Sacramento’s moviegoers loved this building is evident in the grass roots effort known as “Save the Alhambra!” which attempted to save the theater from being razed.

In 1973, however, the Alhambra was demolished to make way for a Safeway grocery store. Today, the only remnant of the Alhambra is a fountain and a plaque located on the side of the store’s parking lot.

Two Images Courtesy of Preservation Sacramento

Currently the Sacramento Grand Ballroom, the firm of Starks & Flanders designed a major addition to the building in 1926. The bank was originally designed by Willis Polk of San Francisco dating back to 1912.  One of the largest banks in California in the 1850s its founder was D.O. Mills, a young New York bank employee who came to California to mine gold. Soon tiring of mining, he opened a mercantile establishment in Sacramento. Mills began storing gold for the miners, and later began buying gold and issuing notes that circulated as money. Within a few years he changed the sign on his building from “store” to “bank.” The Bank of D.O. Mills survived into the 1920s. In 1925 the bank merged with the California National Bank of Sacramento. The intense formalistic use of classical design elements in this building is an excellent example of the Neo-classical Style. It bespeaks strength and permanency befitting the second oldest bank west of the Mississippi. The building later housed the Security Pacific National Bank.

The Eastern, a J Street department store opened in 1926. It was designed by Starks & Flanders and was at that time named Eastern Outfitting Co. At the ground opening of the store Walter Christensen served as the locations general manager and then eventually as its owner. He would later go on to become Sacramento’s Mayor from 1966 to 1967 and is fondly known as “Father of the K Street Mall,” for his efforts to develop K Street to a pedestrian shopping mall.

Coincidentally during the construction of the Eastern, Starks masterpiece the Elks Building located just across the street was being completed.

Picture courtesy of The Center for Sacramento History.

Designed for J.L. Russell and J.V. Logan in 1925, this shop was known as Willards Battery Service. This was one of the first works commissioned and completed by Mr. Starks shortly after Hemmings death but before Ed Flanders was made a full partner in the firm. It once sat across the street from the Memorial Auditorium and behind the Governor’s Mansion.

 

The Frank Z. Ahl building was once an industrial facility specializing in sheet metal work. Mr. Ahl established the business in his own name, in his own two-story building designed by Starks and Flanders in 1925. The building has gone through numerous remodels over the years but still has the unique character of it’s original intended design. It is the current home of an antique shop.