Willard E. Worden was in the prime of his career at the time
of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) held in San Francisco in
1915. Worden was one of the official
photographers of the Fair, and he won a medal of honor for his own work that
was exhibited in the Palace of Fine Arts.
The upcoming deYoung Museum exhibition opening on July 25,
The Portals of the Past: The Photography of Willard Worden, showcases five Worden photographs from the California Historical Society
collections. Two of the images are of "Portals of the Past," the remains of the 1101 California Street home of Alban Nelson Towne, general superintendent of the Central Pacific Railroad. Towne's home was decimated during the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. The remnant left standing, the portico, known as "Portals of the Past," was given to Golden Gate Park by Towne's wife in 1909. The other photographs are
representative of Worden’s body of work, which focused on Bay Area locations and
events, most notably the 1906 Earthquake and Fire and Chinatown.
Worden was born in Smyrna, Delaware in 1868. He began practicing photography while serving
in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars. Though not a studio portrait photographer, he
opened his first photography business in Cow Hollow. After the PPIE, Worden established a gallery
at 312 Stockton Street which remained in business until the 1940s, though he
appears to have ceased making photographs after the gallery opened.
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The Portals of the Past (Ruins of the Towne Residence, California Street), 1906 |
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The Portals of the Past, Golden Gate Park, 1910 |
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The Call, Examiner, Chronicle, Palace Hotel and Crocker buildings from Kearny Street after 1906 Earthquake and Fire
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Anglo American Bank reconstructed one month after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire |
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Market Street decorated for the encampment of Grand Army veterans, 1903 |
Wendy Welker
Archivist & Librarian
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