Local Figure's Historic Photo Collection to Display at BC
By: Bakersfield College
Topics: Pierucci, gallery, Bakersfield College, photos, history
Posted by amberchiang Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:26:51 PDT
Viewed 274 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305
A special exhibit of 18 recently discovered historic photographs that were part of the Leo J. Pierucci collection will open Wednesday, September 17, in the Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery at Bakersfield College.
The photos are part of a larger collection that Pierucci and his wife, Janet, donated to the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library at Bakersfield College in 1996, which is on display on the library’s second floor. The photos chronicle the history of Kern County as only great photography can. Janet recently found more photos which will become part of the permanent collection following the Gallery showing of The Leo J. Pierucci Collection: Capturing Kern’s History.
Pierucci, who died in December 2006, loved Bakersfield and Kern County. He was born and grew up at 18th and L streets in what is today downtown Bakersfield. His tie to Bakersfield College began as a student and starting quarterback on the Renegade football team. He graduated in 1937 and he entered the local banking business, eventually becoming one of Bakersfield’s best-known and most beloved bankers.
He loved history, and throughout his life collected photographs of historic Bakersfield and Kern County events and landmarks. During the 1980s, while he was president of California Republic Bank, which was on the corner of Chester Avenue and 17th Street, mere blocks from his childhood home, he began to display his growing collection of historic photographs in the bank. Customers and visitors began recognizing Pierucci’s affinity for historic photos and helped to bolster his collection. Years later, he and his wife, Janet, donated the collection to the Grace Van Dyke Byrd Library at Bakersfield College.
Recently Janet discovered another 18 photographs which she has donated to the library to add to the collection. These latest additions to the collection add to the richness of the images already on display, with many rare images which are not on public display until now.
The images show the diversity of life in early Kern County, from the famed Tehachapi loop, to a massive steam locomotive used to pull trains over the mountains to the east.
The source of the photos is as varied as the subject matter. Bakersfield photographer Greg Iger, who worked with Pierucci on his collection over the years, said people in the community knew of Pierucci’s interest and would bring their old photos to the bank to share with him. Many of those photos were copied and added to his collection.
The exhibit opens on September 17 and runs through October 2. The Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery at Bakersfield College is open Monday through Thursday from 1 - 7 p.m.
Those attending the gallery exhibit, titled The Leo J. Pierucci Collection: Capturing Kern’s History are also invited to view the permanent collection on display on the second floor of the library. A special pamphlet describing each of the photos has been prepared to enhance viewers’ self-guided tour. The exhibit will continue for two weeks before being added to the permanent collection display.
“I hope people will come to this special event to honor Leo’s support and love for Bakersfield College,” Janet said. “He was always interested in preserving history, and was honored to donate his collection of historic photographs to the college, knowing that they would be preserved for posterity. Our future depends on knowing, preserving and understanding our past.”
For more information, please call the Bakersfield College Archives at 661-395-4949.
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