Goehner, Gustave Adolph

GUSTAVE ADOLPH GOEHNER  was born in 1852 in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1871. According to Wisconsin history records, Goehner began working as a photographer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1886. Minnesota Historical Society records document him working as a photographer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the 1890s. In June 1906, he arrived in Petaluma and established his photographic studio on the upper floor of the Wickersham building over Agnew’s shoe store at 909 Western Avenue. An announcement for the studio opening published in the Petaluma Daily Morning Courier on June 28 proclaimed, “Mr. Goehner’s reputation as a photographer extends from New York to San Francisco, and as an author of photographic works and an authority of photographic crafts, he is not only well and favorably known in America but in Europe as well.” In 1915, Goehner’s studio was refurbished and “Newly equipped with the best of lenses and cameras.” In February 1920, Goehner sold his studio, which was then located in the Maclay Building at 23 Western Avenue, to Walter Kersey Waters (1896 -1988) and Wilfred J. Geoffroy (1895-1952), two young artists from San Francisco who had served in the air photography service of the United States Army during World War I. They renamed the studio, “Sunset Studio”. By 1922, Goehner had retired and moved to Southern California. He died in 1926 in Santa Clara, California.

petaluma daily morning courier, June 28, 1906, P. 3

Petaluma Argus-Courier, May 13, 1912, p. 6

Goehner was a painter and educator as well as a photographer. He advertised his ability to create portraits “in crayon, water color, pastel crayons and oil painting, either from life or from photographs of any description”, and while living in Southern California towards the end of his life, he painted scenery for the famous Los Gatos’ California Annual Pageant. By the turn of the century, the Kodak box camera was available to the general public, and Goehner was willing to share his knowledge about photography with the Petaluma community. The directors of the Petaluma Camera Club in September of 1908 asked Goehner to present a talk on “How to Take a Picture” or “General Instruction to an Amateur for Outdoor Work”. On May 13, 1912, Goehner posted a notice in the Petaluma Argus-Courier addressed to all amateur photographers, “Kodakers”, announcing the intention to form his own camera club and to hold its first meeting at Brady’s Studio, 170 Main Street, over the Gem Theater.

Petaluma Photographic Studio: “Goehner’s Petaluma Portrait Studio”, also known as “Goehner’s Photo and Art Studio”, was established June 1906 in the Wickersham building at 909 Western Avenue. When he sold his studio in 1920 it was in the Maclay Building at 23 Western Avenue.

Active in Petaluma: June 1906 - February 1920

Bibliography: http://www.jsenterprises.com/john/famhist/html/I397.html ; https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/pdfs/WHI-Wisconsin-Photographers-Index-1840-1976.pdf ; https://mnhs.gitlab.io/archive/photographers/www.mnhs.org/people/photographers/G.html . Petaluma Argus-Courier, August 4, 1906, p.4; May 13, 1912, p.6; Feb. 20, 1920, p.3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, June 28, 1906, p. 3; September 22, 1908, p. 2; August 13, 1915, p. 3. Los Gatos Star, June 21, 1923, p.1; June 28, 1923, p.10.