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City of Merced company history timeline

1868

George B. McDougall was born in San Francisco on October 11, 1868.

1872

In 1872, Hunter purchased the corner lot at Main and Canal Streets, on which he built a wood-frame building to house his business.

It developed as a processing and shipping point for agricultural produce of the valley, irrigated by the Tri-Dam Project, 18 miles (29 km) northeast. It was founded in 1872 by the Central Pacific Railroad and was named for the Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Spanish: “Our Lady of Mercy”) River.

1873

1873: A. M. Hunter purchased the Main and Canal corner (Block 162, Lots 9-11) for his blacksmith shop and home from the Contract and Finance Company, Samuel A. Hopkins, President.

1878

1878: Hunter & Sons cleared away the debris after the fire and announced that they would build a new brick building.

1879

1879: The Merced Express, a pioneer Central Valley newspaper, moved its publishing operation to the second floor of Hunter's new brick building.

1882

After settling in Merced in 1882, Pedreira became "one of the best known and most prominent residents" of the city.

1883

He began his architectural studies in 1883, studying at the California School of Design and working in his father's office.

1884

1884: A. M. Hunter sold his residence on lots adjoining his blacksmith shop.

1889

Merced was incorporated in 1889 and operates under the Council-Manager form of government.

1891

By 1891, Oates had established himself in Stockton working as a carpenter.

1892

After working as a carpenter in Merced and Fresno, he established his own construction firm in Merced in 1892.

1896

Mark Falk was born in San Francisco on June 30, 1896.

1899

1899: D. M. Bruschi announced that he would let a contract to build a two-story building on his lot adjoining the Hunter building.

1901

In 1901, Foulkes moved to New York to work for the renowned Cass Gilbert and later for the prestigious classicists Carrere and Hastings.

1903

He graduated in 1903 from Fresno High School, where he was a star football player.

In 1903, Foulkes won the coveted Rotch Scholarship to study abroad.

1905

1905: A new annex to the Central Hotel was under construction and scheduled for completion by July 1.

More than 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km) of the desert lie below sea level, including the 300-square-mile (800-square-km) Salton Sea, a lake with no outlet that was created in 1905–07 when the nearby Colorado River broke out of its channel.

1906

After the 1906 earthquake, McDougall Bros. closed its Fresno office.

In 1906, Hart entered into an association with W.H. McElroy to manage the latter's building contracts in Tulare.

1907

By 1907, the younger Oates had relocated to San Francisco, where his father's office was then listed in the Monadnock Building.

1911

Ernest J. Kump, Jr. was born in Bakersfield on December 29, 1911, and was raised by his mother.

1. [Isaac and Jessie Pedreira sold the Pedreira Building to the owners of the Sterling Store which had occupied the ground floor retail space circa 1911]

1914

In 1914, McElroy relocated his business to Eureka, but later returned to Merced.

1915

1915: A. F. Pedreira and T. R. Stone had plans and specifications prepared to "lower the floor to official grade and . . . install modern plate glass fronts."

A native Californian, Fritz settled in the community in 1915, and quickly established himself as leading builder of custom homes and commercial structures.

1916

One of his landmark projects was a two-story home for Doctor D. W. Zirker in 1916.

Index to Precinct Registers, Fresno County, California, 1916

1919

After his father's death in 1919, Swartz formed a partnership with C.J. Ryland.

1920

Glass and Butner dissolved their partnership in the early 1920s.

1925

Franklin and Shaw became full partners in the firm of Felchlin, Shaw & Franklin in 1925.

1928

M., A., "Bank of Italy Block Opens Saturday," Merced Sun-Star, April 19, 1928, sec.

"City Buildings Point Growth," Merced Sun-Star, April 19, 1928, sec.

1932

United States Post Office, 1932

1933

One of their last premier commissions together was the masterfully designed Fresno State College Library (1933).

1935

In 1935, Franklin hired Ernest J. Kump, Jr., recently out of graduate school and a visionary designer, as a draftsman.

1936

From the same period, the duo's 1936 Fresno School Administration Building, designed for Allied Architects, a Depression-era architectural collaborative, was a "gem" in the Dutch Modern style.

1937

"Merced's Newest Food Center Opens Saturday," Merced Sun-Star, September 16, 1937, sec.

1939

His younger brother Frank, who died in 1939, was heralded as one of the finest ball players ever produced in Mariposa County.

During 1939, Butner also secured a number of commissions in Salinas.

1939: The Streamlined Moderne style remodeling of the Central Hotel was completed.

1943

Pedreira subsequently resigned his position with Bank of America in 1943, to assume management of Valley Finance Company.

1955

Falk & Booth established a solid reputation designing school facilities throughout Northern California and the Central Valley, including Lodi High School in 1955.

1956

Charles H. Franklin died on August 6, 1956.

1957

Charles E. Butner managed the firm until his death on June 10, 1957.

1960

Other than its second-story hotel rooms, which have not been operational since 1960, the Central Hotel is fully leased.

1961

1961: Thomas O. Pedreira, CPA, assumed management of the Central Hotel for the Dowst and Pedreira heirs.

1967

Edward T. Foulkes died in Oakland on December 10, 1967.

Included among Kump's other significant projects are De Anza College, Cupertino (1967) and Crown College, University of California, Santa Cruz (1967).

1968

Fred L. Swartz was regarded as the dean of Fresno architects when he died in Fresno on October 13, 1968.

1985

1985: The Central Hotel was inventoried in a historic building survey completed by the City of Merced.

1995

In September 1995, Castle Air Force Base closed after phasing down over the previous three years.

1998

1998: The Mainplace Merced Project is approved, threatening the future of the historic Central Hotel.

1999

Demolished by the Merced Redevelopment Agency, July 1999

www.fresno.edu/preserve, Enns-Rempel, Kevin (Editor), and John Edward Powell (Architectural Historian), "McDougall Bros.," A Guide to Historic Architecture in Fresno, California, expanded and updated 1999.

2005

UC Merced opened with its first 1,000 students in September 2005.

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1855
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