Description
The Roger L. Lathe papers includes the professional documentation of a
“housewright,” working throughout the Sacramento area and Northern California cities. Lathe spent
his professional career as an architectural historian, preservation and restoration contractor and
licensed home inspector. He wrote numerous articles in the
Sacramento
Bee
entitled, “The Housewright,” addressing issues pertaining to restoration, preservation,
architecture, and other home improvements. The bulk of the collection contains reports of home
inspections, an inspection checklist for private residences, including Lathe’s comments and repair
recommendations.
Background
Roger Lee Lathe was born on October 27, 1933 in Delaware. Lathe was a professional preservation
and restoration contractor, a licensed home inspector, and called himself a “housewright,” meaning a
person who works on houses. In 1976, Lathe and his wife, Louise “Liza” Mehler, settled in Alkali
Flat, an older Sacramento residential neighborhood that was undergoing a thirty-year plan for
redevelopment and preservation. He worked for three decades, as well, to restore his 1894 home on F
Street. He had an affinity for Victorian homes and championed the cultural heritage present in
midtown Sacramento.
Extent
9.25 linear feet
(8 boxes)
Restrictions
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento
History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of Center for Sacramento History as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
Availability
The collection is open for research use.