When Josh Weinberg enrolled in photography classes at College of San Mateo, the last thing he expected was to write an article and book about its architecture.
An amateur photographer and retired public relations specialist, Weinberg became obsessed with CSM’s neo-formalist architecture. He discovered the story between architect John Carl Warnecke, famous for designing President John F. Kennedy’s gravesite, and his work on CSM was scarce, with only a couple paragraphs available to read from different websites. Through his online article and book, people can read in depth specifically about the famous architect’s work on CSM.
At 7 years old, Weinberg fell in love with photography and tech. He promoted tech products at companies such as Intel and Cisco for over 30 years. Two years ago, now retired, Weinberg started taking photography classes at CSM. He wanted to be surrounded by an environment where everybody was inspiring each other with their work.
“There’s a lot of photography you can learn online, but being in a class with students … you inspire each other,” Weinberg said.
He had been to the College Center (Building 10) and the farmers’ market before. Now he was walking around campus, taking abstract photos. The more he took, the more he began to fall in love with the folded roofs, full height glass bay windows, square soft-edged pillars, and the diamond webbed screens used to block out the sun at the library.
Intrigued, he searched online for information about who designed the campus and read a paragraph on CSM’s website, which explained it was famous architect John Carl Warnecke who designed the campus.
It wasn’t until he read an online environmental impact report, which referenced an article on the website docomomo, Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement, that he got the idea to start writing. He reached out because the link to the docomomo article wasn’t working and they confirmed that the article was not there, but if he wished to write something about the campus, they would consider publishing it.
Weinberg, now motivated to write because he had a potential place to publish, searched CSM’s library for more information on Warnecke and CSM to no avail. However, what did help was a YouTube video. In a Stanford University video lecture on Warnecke’s projects, his daughter, Margo Warnecke Merck, and granddaughter, Alice Warnecke Sutro made an appearance. Weinberg called them and got permission to look at their archives at Warnecke Ranch and Vineyards in Healdsburg, Sonoma County.
Recommended for you
He went twice and sorted through uncategorized file cabinets filled with pictures and documents kept in an old dairy barn. He scanned those that were helpful to him and spent the next five months writing. He credits the success of the article and book to the archives.
“It was really successful,” Weinberg said. “This would have been a one-page article, if it hadn't been for the archives existing, and Margo and Alice inviting me up.”
He sent early drafts for advice to other architectural writers such as architectural journalist David Weinstein, who works at the El Cerrito Historical Society. Weinstein even joined a tour of CSM, which was set up by docomomo and led by Weinberg on Saturday, June 13. Weinberg handed out print copies of his book, “The College of San Mateo: A Bay Area Neo-Formalist Masterpiece Hiding in Plain Sight,” which has pictures and documents that aren’t seen in the online article.
Weinberg said his goal for the tour was to relay his love for the architecture onto newcomers.
“My goal is to get people to find out about the place [CSM] and then love the place,” Weinberg said.
The book dives into the neo-formalist architecture of CSM, Warnecke, and its history. When he has a final version of the book, he wants it to be in the library for anyone to read.
He said he wants to continue doing tours for docomomo members and keep spreading the word to people who haven’t visited CSM before.
“It is so much fun to show this place to people because it is a masterpiece hiding in plain sight,” Weinberg said.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.