All collections in the Ryerson & Burnham Archives, including
those unprocessed and partially processed, have been arranged in the thematic groups below to present their range and relationships. However,
only processed collections are included in the libraries'
on-line catalog, with appropriate subject headings assigned. Finding aids in searchable
Encoded Archival Description [EAD] format are available for all processed collections. Unprocessed or partially processed collections are not
available to the public. Please consult the Ryerson and Burnham Archivist for further information.
Collections are grouped by subject area. Within each group, collections are listed alphabetically. Size is expressed in linear
feet. Date ranges are expressed parenthetically to indicate an individual's life dates or non-parenthetically to
indicate the span of years documented by a subject collection. [P] = processed, [PAR] = partially organized or in process,
and [U] = unprocessed.
Collection Areas:
Group I - Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright,
the Prairie School, and Organic Architecture
Group II - Burnham, Beaux-Arts Architecture
and Planning, and the Fairs
Group III - Mies van der Rohe, Illinois
Institute of Technology, and the Second Chicago School
Group IV - Chicago Commercial, Residential, and Landscape
Architecture, 1900-1970+:
Pre-World War II and Post-World War II
Group V - The Historic Architecture and Landscape Image collection
Group VI - Individual Artist or Subject Collections
Group VII - Decorative Arts and Industrial Design Collections
Group I - Louis Sullivan,
Frank Lloyd Wright, the Prairie School, and Organic Architecture
Back to top
These collections bring together the seminal work of Louis H.
Sullivan, "lieber meister" of Frank Lloyd Wright, early
and late projects by Wright himself, and work by colleagues and
students of Wright, such as Marion Mahony Griffin, Bruce Goff,
and Allan Gelbin. The generational and intellectual relationships
within this group are well represented. The Sullivan collection
contains the most important group of original manuscripts of
his influential writings and early drawings, essential material
for the history of the first Chicago School.
Dankmar Adler papers, 1844-1941. .2 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Comprehensive guide to Louis Sullivan materials at the Art Institute and related resources.
List and photographs of Louis Sullivan buildings extant in Chicago.
Born in Germany, Adler immigrated to the United States with his family in 1854, settling in Detroit. Adler studied architecture and engineering under several apprenticeships and in the military before establishing an architectural office in Chicago in 1871. Adler's noted partnership with architect Louis Sullivan began in 1879, with Adler providing the engineering and planning expertise that complemented Sullivan's talent for form, material, and ornament.
Before the dissolution of their partnership in 1895, Adler and Sullivan
had designed more than one hundred buildings and made significant innovations in steel-frame construction. This small collection consists of business and personal letters and papers, a short autobiography, and family photographs.
Joseph J. Bagley Cottage collection, c.1916-c.1925. .5 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Bagley Cottage was one of three Frank Lloyd Wright-designed
residences completed in 1916 in Grand Beach, Michigan, a resort
frequented by Chicagoans. The cottage is documented in photographs
and architectural drawings. As the house has been severely altered,
these documents are the only record of its original state.
Francis Barry Byrne collection, 1941-1952. .5 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
For seven years Francis Barry Byrne apprenticed to Frank Lloyd Wright in
Wright's Oak Park studio. In 1913 he agreed to manage Walter Burley Griffin's
office while Griffin and his wife, Marion Mahony, were in Australia
developing the plan for the new capital city of Canberra.
Although steeped in the Prairie School design idiom, Byrne's
exposure to modernist European architects such as Mies, Mendelsohn, Loos
and Poelzig produced an individualized, streamlined form of the Prairie
School style with bolder masses, unadorned surfaces, and clean-edged
openings. Byrne was notable as a designer of residences, churches
and civic buildings; as an architecture critic and theorist he wrote
extensively on the design of religious architecture in response
to the Catholic Church's liturgical reform movement. The
collection includes typescripts and published versions of his
articles and reviews. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Dana-Thomas House restoration: plans and documents, 1981-1989.
2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The State of Illinois, as new owner of one of Frank Lloyd
Wright's most sophisticated Prairie School houses, undertook an extensive
restoration project of the Dana-Thomas house in Springfield, Illinois, between 1987 and 1990.
The documentation of that restoration includes restoration reports, project manuals,
historical research, condition reports and architectural plans.
First National Bank of Dwight collection, 1905-1920 (bulk 1905-1906). 1.25
linear feet [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
Col. Frank L. Smith commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design
one of his earliest commercial buildings in order to accommodate both
the First National Bank of Dwight (Illinois) and an office for
Col. Smith's insurance business. True to the stereotype of Wright,
the correspondence from Wright and his assistants, Walter Burley
Griffin and William Drummond, equivocates on the delivery of
drawings while haranguing the client on his choice of a stock
vault door with an "overdressed, gaudy, disreputable door
frame." The project is documented from design development through
construction with extensive architect/client/contractor
correspondence and some architectural drawings. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Allan J. Gelbin papers, 1900-1995 (bulk 1949-1994). 40 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
A comprehensive webpage for the Gelbin Papers is also available.
Deeply impressed by Frank Lloyd Wright's theories about organic
architecture, Gelbin (1929-1994) quit college to become an apprentice to
Wright at Taliesin from 1949 to 1953. He then worked as a general contractor
and supervisor overseeing the construction of three Wright homes
in Canton, Ohio, and one in New Canaan, Connecticut. In private
practice on the East Coast, Gelbin continued Wrightian design
in residential architecture and authored Sun, earth, and sky:
ideas for a new city (1989), an "up-dated" version
of Wright's Broadacre City plan. Gelbin's career is extensively
documented in correspondence, photographs, drawings, and project
files. A life-long follower of Wright, Gelbin gathered much research
documentation on Wright's projects and photographed nearly all of
Wright's extant buildings. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Bruce Goff archive. 132.5 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
A comprehensive website providing an overview of all Goff materials at the Art Institute is also available.
Although he never studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, Bruce Goff (1904-1982) shared many of the architectural principles
of Wright and other organic architects--the use of natural materials, idiosyncratic
designs, free-flowing interior spaces, and individualized projects
for individual clients--all contributing to a "timeless"
architecture. An influential and iconoclastic architect,
Goff was also an inspirational teacher, heading the School of Architecture
at the University of Oklahoma (1947-1955) and training apprentices
throughout his career. His design for the Bavinger residence in Norman, Oklahoma,
won the prestigious 25-year award from the American Institute of Architects
in 1987. During a career that spanned six decades, Goff designed hundreds of projects,
nearly one hundred and fifty of which were built. In 1995, The Art Institute of Chicago mounted a
large retrospective exhibition with an accompanying catalog,
The Architecture of Bruce Goff, 1904-1982: Design for the Continuous Present.
This collection consists of Goff's entire professional papers, business and
personal correspondence, project files, photographs and slides, published
and unpublished lectures and articles, business and personal
financial papers, personal collections of shells and rocks, clothing, player-piano
rolls composed and cut by Goff, and taped interviews and lectures.
Griffins in Australia collection, 1915-1968. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Both husband and wife and architectural partners, Chicagoans Walter Burley Griffin and Marion
Mahony Griffin were invited to Australia in 1913 to execute Walter's winning city plan for
the new capital, Canberra. The Griffins eventually settled in the suburbs of Sydney, where they
established "Castlecrag," a neighborhood of small houses and community buildings for
like-minded artists and intellectuals. This collection is comprised of
microfilmed drawings--by the Griffins and others architects--and contemporary newspaper articles about Castlecrag and
Walter's design for an incinerator in Willoughby, Australia. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Herbert and Katherine Jacobs—Frank Lloyd Wright collection,
1936-1974. 4.5 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed three houses for the Jacobses,
two of which were built. The first house, known as Usonia #1,
was built in 1937 in Madison, Wisconsin; the second house, the
"Solar Hemicycle," was built in 1948 in Middleton,
Wisconsin. This collection documents the construction of these
houses through correspondence, annotations, newspaper articles,
photographs, periodical literature, and drawings. The collection
is augmented by photographs of other buildings designed by Frank
Lloyd Wright, newspaper articles about Wright's architecture
and life, brochures on Taliesin projects and Wright memorabilia:
announcements, programs, candid photographs, and Taliesin publications.
The collection comprehensively records the design development and construction
of Wright's first Usonian residence, an important summation of
Wright's theories on the use of materials and space. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Ralph Marlowe Line collection, 1944-1960. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Comprehensive guide to Louis Sullivan materials at the Art Institute and related resources.
List and photographs of Louis Sullivan buildings extant in Chicago.
An avid scholar of architect Louis Sullivan, Line was an associate professor
in the Department of Architecture at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
Line's writings and photographs about Sullivan were most notably published in the
1956 reprint of Sullivan's literary masterwork, The Autobiography of an Idea.
This collection includes Line's photographs of buildings and ornament designed by
Louis Sullivan. Most of the images are of projects in the Midwest, although there
are representative images from across the United States.
Luxfer Prism collection, 1897-c.1920.
.5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Luxfer Prism Company, a Chicago-area manufacturer
of prismatic windowpanes and fittings, was in business from c.1897 to 1920.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed prismatic panes for the
company and illustrated some company publications. The collection
contains several prisms, correspondence, slides, and patent information.
Magic of America, c.1937-1949. 2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Magic of America, Electronic Edition
Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin
were both influential designers in Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park
studio. They won the competition to design the new Australian
capital city of Canberra and moved to Australia in 1913. Written
after Walter's death in 1937, the unpublished "Magic"
typescript is the biography of Walter and the autobiography of
Marion, who also wished to clarify the roles played by Wright, Sullivan,
and other architects in the development of Prairie School
architecture. The approximately 1100 pages of annotated typescript
are accompanied by an image collection of approximately 200 photographs,
articles, and drawings selected by Marion. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Louis Penfield Residence collection, 1959-1982. .1 linear foot [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
This collection is comprised of architectural drawings relating to Frank Lloyd Wright's
1959 second design for the unbuilt Louis Penfield house in Willoughby, Ohio.
Prairie School Press archives, 1961-1981. 16.5 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
In 1961 Wilbert and Marilyn Hasbrouck established the Prairie
School Press in Chicago to publish important but out-of-print
architecture sources on or by the Prairie School architects.
They issued facsimile editions of numerous titles, including
Louis Sullivan's A System of Architectural Ornament According
with a Philosophy of Man's Powers, and The House Beautiful,
illustrated by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Hasbroucks' journal,
The Prairie School Review, published from 1964 to 1981,
was the earliest scholarly journal to feature illustrated articles
on various Prairie School projects, reviews of current publications,
and preservation news. The collection includes much unpublished
material: manuscripts, photographs, research notes, and correspondence
with scholars regarding current research projects. It also holds
the editorial and production records of The Prairie School
Review.
John D. Randall papers, 1884-1993. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Comprehensive guide to Louis Sullivan materials at the Art Institute and related resources.
List and photographs of Louis Sullivan buildings extant in Chicago.
Champion of [Dankmar] Adler and [Louis H.] Sullivan's Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York, and the
Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Missouri, John D. Randall was a prominent Chicago
architect, author, and preservationist. A graduate of the Illinois Institute of
Technology and a student of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Randall led campaigns to
save important works of Louis Sullivan's architecture in Chicago and throughout the United States.
In the 1990s, Randall was also the author of a revised and expanded edition of his father
Frank D. Randall's comprehensive History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago.
This collection is comprised of Randall's writings, correspondence, photographs, and
miscellaneous publications.
Homer Grant Sailor papers, 1914-1993. .5 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
After graduating from Armour Institute of Technology in 1911,
Sailor became one of the last draftsmen for Louis Sullivan. In
1917 he established his private practice, designing small Prairie School
residences, low-rise commercial buildings and churches in the
Chicago area. His work drew upon Sullivan's simple massing and
exhibits a program of applied terra cotta ornament more restrained
than that of Sullivan. The collection is comprised of photographs
representing more than 30 projects.
Sullivan/Van Allen Building collection, 1910-1918. .5 linear
foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Comprehensive guide to Louis Sullivan materials at the Art Institute and related resources.
List and photographs of Louis Sullivan buildings extant in Chicago.
In 1910 John D. Van Allen commissioned Louis Sullivan to
design a new department store for his family business in Clinton,
Iowa. By this date Sullivan had few commissions and thus spent
considerable time attending to his immediate projects. In frequent
letters to his client (occasionally daily), Sullivan wrote of
his design, guiding and persuading the client toward Sullivan's
desired end. In addition to more than one hundred letters, the collection
includes financial documents and rare construction photographs.
Sullivaniana collection, 1780-1972 (bulk 1870-1930). 7 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Comprehensive guide to Louis Sullivan materials at the Art Institute and related resources.
List and photographs of Louis Sullivan buildings extant in Chicago.
The Sullivaniana collection is largely the gift of George
Elmslie, one of Sullivan's last colleagues and the executor of his estate.
This grouping forms the largest extant collection of Sullivan documents
(excluding architectural and design drawings). Among Sullivan's contributions
to the development of modern American architecture was the new
aesthetic for the visual organization of tall buildings: a strong
base at grade level, top floors capped with an eye-arresting
cornice, and the general office floors in the central shaft repeatable
ad infinitum. Sullivan was one of the most prolific architect/critics
of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and numerous draft manuscripts and typescripts
of his writings are held in this collection. Also included are sketches, personal
and business correspondence, personal and project photographs,
and memorabilia. Related material can also be found in the Department of Architecture.
Thomas Eddy Tallmadge collection, 1908-1938. .5 linear
foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1898,
Tallmadge spent seven years in the office of architect and planner Daniel Burnham.
He then joined in partnership with Vernon Watson to design numerous Prairie School-style buildings
in the Chicago area. Tallmadge was also a frequent lecturer and
prolific author; during the first decades of the 20th century
his articles on contemporary architecture in Chicago were published
in Architectural Record, Architectural Review,
Building for the Future, and The Architect (London).
The collection includes his travel diary/sketchbook of 1908,
a typescript for one of his books, and digests of lectures given
at The Art Institute of Chicago. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
John S. Van Bergen collection. [U]
John Shellette Van Bergen was born on October 2, 1885 in Oak Park, Illinois in 1885. Van Bergen went to work for Walter Burley Griffin in 1907 as an apprentice draftsman and in January of 1909 left for Frank Lloyd Wright's office in Oak Park. While at WrightÕs studio he did working drawings and supervision for the Frederick Robie and Mrs. Thomas Gale houses. Van Bergen later worked for William E. Drummond until opening his own office several years later. Van Bergen designed dozens of Prairie School style residences in the Chicago area, predominantly in the suburbs of Oak Park and River Forest.
Frank Lloyd Wright in Michigan collection, 1945-1988. .5 linear
foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
This collection contains research documents assembled by the donor, R. Dale Northup,
while writing his book, Frank Lloyd Wright in Michigan, (Reference Publications Inc., 1991).
Primarily composed of photocopies of correspondence between Wright and his clients and
also between Mr. Northup and Wright's clients and the current owners of the homes,
the collection also includes a few photographs and blueprints documenting Wright's Michigan projects.
Wrightiana collection, c.1897-1997 (bulk 1949-1969). 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
One of the founders of the Prairie School of architecture, and renowned for
his prodigous contributions to American architectural philosophy, teaching, and practice, Frank Lloyd Wright
began his career in the Chicago office of [Dankmar] Adler and [Louis H.] Sullivan in the early 1880s.
Wright established his own firm in 1893 and continued to practice until his death in 1959.
In addition to his design work for buildings, furniture, decorative and graphic arts, Wright also wrote
extensively on his architectural ideas. Amassed from various sources,
this collection includes booklets, pamphlets, brochures, letters, transcripts of lectures,
published articles, and photographs of and/or about Frank Lloyd Wright, his design projects, exhibitions, honors, lectures, writings, Taliesin East, and Taliesin West. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Group II - Burnham,
Beaux-Arts Architecture and Planning, and the Fairs
Back to top
The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago is recognized today
as one of the defining moments of American cultural history.
Whether it marked "the first expression of American thought
as unity," as Henry Adams believed, or, as Louis Sullivan later
remonstrated, "The damage wrought by
the World's Fair will last for half a century from its date,"
the Exposition had a profound impact on American architecture
and urban planning. The defining style of the Exposition, a modern interpretation of
classical Greek and Roman forms, was an outgrowth of the influential Ecole des
Beaux-Arts in Paris, one of the few sources of formal architectural education in the 19th century.
The Beaux-Arts, or "City Beautiful," style proved to be nearly as long-lasting as Sullivan had warned and
through the work of prominent architects such as Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett in Chicago
it became especially popular in the design of major civic buildings and in the master planning of
urban centers in the United States and abroad. In addition, the important role of architects
in world's fairs was repeated forty years later in the 1933-34 Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago,
when Burnham's sons were closely involved in its planning and design, although in this instance,
in a forward-looking international Moderne idiom.
William Peirce Anderson collection, 1886-1915. 1.5 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Anderson was one of the most important Beaux-Arts-trained
architects in Daniel Burnham's office. He largely shaped the
office's plan for the cities of Manila and Baguio in the Philippines, and directed
the design work for Marshall Field's flagship store in Chicago and Union
Station in Washington, D.C. After Burnham's death in 1912, he became a partner in the successor
firm of Graham Anderson Probst & White. This collection primarily
consists of his Ecole des Beaux-Arts student work, including
assignments, class notes, essays, and drawings. It also includes
exquisite travel sketches and watercolors, correspondence, and
photographs. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Edward H. Bennett collection. 18 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Bennett (1874-1954) was one of the first young architects with a Beaux-Arts
education hired to work in Daniel Burnham's Chicago office. With
Burnham he co-authored the Report on a Plan for San Francisco (1905) and
the influential Plan of Chicago (1909). Bennett
maintained a national practice from his Chicago office for nearly
four decades after the publication of Plan of Chicago.
From the Chicago model Bennett developed comparable City Beautiful
plans for numerous cities, including Minneapolis, Detroit, Portland,
Oregon, and Ottawa, Canada. With the onset of the Depression,
Bennett's most important professional activity was the chairmanship
of the Board of Architects. The Board was responsible for the
development of the Federal Triangle in Washington, D.C., a large
complex of government buildings housing the Departments of Labor,
Commerce, and Justice, the Post Office, the Interstate Commerce Commission,
the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Trade Commission, and
the National Archives. The collection contains correspondence,
project files, published and unpublished speeches and articles,
photographs, architectural drawings, and reports. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Daniel H. Burnham collection. 20 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Although he was never formally educated in architecture, Burnham (1846-1912) established
a successful Chicago practice with John Wellborn Root, producing
such significant buildings as the Rookery and the first building
for The Art Institute of Chicago. As Director of Works for the
World's Columbian Exposition (1893) he supervised the design
and construction process for all buildings on the fair grounds.
During the next twenty years his firm became internationally
known for commercial skyscrapers, department stores, and railroad
stations primarily designed in the classical Beaux-Arts style.
Burnham's vision of the City Beautiful ideals, tentatively
explored in the planning of the world's fair, was realized in
his report Plan of Chicago (1909). The plan has long served
as the most important of City Beautiful documents and continues
to be the benchmark for planning decisions in Chicago. The Art
Institute holds the largest body of documents on Burnham's life
and works, including business and personal correspondence, diaries,
project files, photographs, drawings, memorabilia, published and unpublished manuscripts
for speeches, articles, and reports. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Daniel H. Burnham, Jr. and Hubert Burnham papers, 1890-1978 (bulk 1912-1943).
25 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Daniel H. Burnham's sons continued to work in his successor
firm for a few years after their father's death in 1912, then
established their joint practice in Chicago. The collection documents
many commercial and civic buildings in Chicago and northern Illinois
designed by the brothers. Both men played important roles in
the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago (1933-1934): Daniel,
Jr. was secretary and director of works, and Hubert served as
a member of the Architectural Commission. The collection reflects
their roles with extensive holdings of business and design papers
generated by some of the commercial ventures at the fair, particularly
the Foreign Village Corporation. The collection includes business
diaries, scrapbooks, photographs (including construction views),
correspondence, and several thousand architectural drawings representing
projects from the brothers' various partnerships, including the Carbon and Carbide Building in Chicago. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Century of Progress collection, c.1920s-1980 (bulk 1931-1934). 3 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Century of Progress, Chicago's world's fair of 1933-1934,
brought international modernism to the country's heartland. The
foreign government buildings and the progressive designs for
contemporary residences and corporate exhibits introduced many
Americans to the new style. Buildings of the fair are documented
in building and exhibit brochures, photographs, souvenir memorabilia,
and newspaper and magazine articles. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Continental and Commercial National Bank photographs, c.1914.
.25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The photograph album contains black-and-white images of this significant
Beaux-Arts building (1914) in Chicago's financial
district, designed by Daniel H. Burnham's successor firm, Graham, Burnham and Co.
New York World's Fair collection, 1937-1940.
.25 linear foot [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
The New York World's Fair, which opened in New York City in 1939, was organized around the theme, "building the world of tomorrow." In seven zones--Amusement, Food, Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, International Affairs, Production and Distribution, and Transportation--modern achievements of the 20th century and proposed visions of the future were presented to an international audience. The fair's avant-garde aesthetic style received particular acclaim, as seen through the work of such architects and designers as Norman Bel Geddes, Delano and Aldrich, Donald Deskey, Harrison and Fouilhoux, Albert Kahn, and Gilbert Rohde. This collection of press releases, published materials, ephemera, and photographs documents many of the exhibitions and activities of the fair.
Bertha Honoré Palmer correspondence collection, 1883-1899.
.5 linear foot [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
Bertha M. Palmer, wife of the famed hotelier Potter Palmer,
was both a social leader in Chicago and an astute art patron.
As President of the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian
Exposition of 1893, she was instrumental in organizing the exhibits in
the Woman's Building and took particular interest in the fine
art exhibition. In addition to correspondence about the world's
fair exhibition, the collection contains letters concerning the acquisition
of European paintings for her personal art collection--much of
which was bequeathed to The Art Institute of Chicago--
including correspondence with Mary Cassatt, Camille Claudel, Isabella
Stewart Gardner, Sarah Hallowell, Mary Fairchild MacMonnies, and Augustus Saint Gaudens.
Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker photographs, 1930-c.1933. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
The prominent New York firm of Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker was known for numerous Art
Deco buildings built in New York City during the 1920s and for
buildings at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. One of the partners in the firm,
Ralph Walker (1889-1973), designed several buildings for Chicago's 1933-1934 Century
of Progress exposition, including the unbuilt central tower. His designs are featured in the two
photograph albums that constitute this collection. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Peter J. Weber papers, 1888-c.1945. 1 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Photographs, correspondence, and printed matter documenting a selection of German-American architect
Peter J. Weber's (1863-1923) built and unbuilt projects in the United States and abroad, though predominantly
in the
Chicago area. Projects represented in this collection span from his early years as a student at Berlin's
Charlottenburg Institute in the late 1880s, through his appointment as the assistant to Charles B. Atwood,
the designer-in-chief of Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, to his tenure with Chicago's D.H.
Burnham and Company in
the 1890s and then to the establishment of his own firm in 1900, which he maintained until his death
in 1923. Examples of Weber's work include the Silversmith Building, Chicago, IL; the Fisher Building Annex,
Chicago, IL; the Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA; and Ravinia Park, Highland Park, IL. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture and in the
oral history of Weber's son, Bertram.
World's Columbian Exposition collection, 1890-1896. 1.5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Within this collection are various materials pertaining to all aspects of the Chicago fair of 1893,
from initial preparations to specific buildings and exhibitors. It includes photographs of the
exposition buildings and exhibits, publications and published articles, and ephemera
such as exhibition maps, guides, and tickets. Also included is a scrapbook by Halsey Ives, Chief of the Fine Arts
Department of the exposition, that contains newspaper articles and correspondence. Additionally, black and white and hand-colored stereocards depict many of the fair's buildings, exhibits, and events. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
World's Columbian Exposition Photographs by C.D. Arnold,
1891-1894. 3 linear feet [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
Nearly eight hundred platinum photographic prints and several dozen smaller sepia prints by C.D.
Arnold, the official photographer of the World's Columbian Exposition,
illustrate the development of the lakeshore for the fair, the
construction of the buildings on a daily basis, the fair while
open to the public, and the fires that destroyed many buildings
at the end of the fair. The platinum prints, made under the direct supervision
of the photographer in highly limited numbers for presentation
to important individuals associated with the fair, have a richness
and detail not found in the cheaper albumen prints produced for
the public. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
World's Fair and Exposition Collection, 1882-1985. 2.5 linear feet [P]
An EAD
finding aid is available.
This collection is an amalgamation of graphic and
textual materials--photographs, postcards, and printed materials--relating to fairs,
expositions, and Olympic Games
held in and propsed for both Western
Europe and the United States during the later quarter of the 19th and throughout
the 20th century. Well-documented
and notably influential events, such as Paris's Exposition Internationale des
Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes of 1925 and
the Exposition Universelle de 1889 are documented in this collection alongside
less reknowned fairs such as
the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, held concurrently
with the World's Columbian
Exposition, and others.
Group III - Mies
van der Rohe, Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Second
Chicago School
Back to top
The architectural world of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts was ended by the
Depression, which halted all large-scale private construction,
and by the changes in architectural education that occurred
with the arrival of modernism from Europe in the mid-1930s. Evidence
of this change is well documented in the Art Institute's archival
collections centered on the work of Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who came
from Germany to Chicago in 1938 to direct the architecture school at Armour
Institute of Technology (later the Illinois Institute of Technology,
or IIT). Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture
and in the
Chicago Architects Oral History Project collection.
Brenner Danforth Rockwell papers, 1957-1988. 11 linear feet. [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Architectural project files, award submissions, correspondence, architectural drawings, photographs, and slides documenting the work of the Chicago architectural partnership of Daniel Brenner, George Danforth, and H.P. Davis "Deever" Rockwell. Noteworthy photographers include the Hedrich-Blessing firm and Richard Nickel. The architectural partnership of Daniel Brenner (1917-1977), George Danforth (b. 1916), and Harry Phillips Davis "Deever" Rockwell (b. 1926) was formed in 1961 in Chicago under the name Brenner Danforth Rockwell, with offices at 646 N. Michigan Avenue. Brenner Danforth Rockwell's best known work was for Chicago museums and other cultural institutions, including three projects for the Lincoln Park Zoo: the Education-Administration Building (Crown-Field Hall), the Great Ape House, and the Penguin-Seabird House. Other notable projects include renovation work for the 30 North LaSalle Building (Old Stock Exchange), the Madlener House (Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts), the Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Design Center in Marina City, and the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago. The firm received Awards of Merit from the American Institute of Architects for their work on the 30 North LaSalle Building, the Madlener House (Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts), the National Design Center (Marina City) and the Rockwell Residence (House on a Bluff).
Daniel Brenner papers, 1947-1986. 2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
As both a student of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at Armour Institute
and an architect in Mies's office, Brenner (1917-1977) inevitably worked
in a Miesian modern vocabulary. However, he maintained an eclectic
practice, overseeing the renovation of the historic Glessner House by
H.H. Richardson and serving on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
For The Art Institute of Chicago, Brenner designed numerous installations
for travelling exhibitions and permanent collections. This collection consists of architectural drawings, articles,
photographs, correspondence, and other business papers. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture
and in George Danforth's oral history.
Thomas R. Burleigh collection, 1940-2000 (bulk 1940-1942). 1.5 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
As a student of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at Armour Institute during
the first three years of Mies's tenure, Burleigh (b. 1919) executed the
comprehensive set of design exercises assigned by Mies to all
students: brick pattern studies, glass wall studies, and studies
for brick, wood, and half-timber houses. In addition to drawings
documenting Mies's teaching methods, the collection includes
other student memorabilia such as candid photographs and yearbooks.
Edward A. Duckett collection, 1931-1978.
2.5 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Edward Duckett (b. 1920) first studied under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology
in Chicago, then was hired as an architect in Mies's office, and later taught classes
at IIT with Mies. In these various capacities Duckett gathered
extensive documentation of Mies's Chicago projects of the 1940s and 1950s.
The collection includes newspaper and magazine articles, photographs
and slides, job notebooks, and correspondence. It is especially rich in photography documenting
architectural study models in Mies's office and buildings under
construction. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
William E. Dunlap collection, c.1926-1957 (bulk 1946-1950). 1.25 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
William E. Dunlap (1922-1973) graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago with a degree
in architecture in 1947. After joining the Chicago architectural office of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill
in 1951, Dunlap began a prolific design partnership with the firm that lasted until his death in 1973.
This collection includes transcripts of class lectures, architectural drawings, and project photographs
of design work by architects William E. Dunlap, George Edson Danforth, Charles "Skip" Booher Genther, and
Mies van der Rohe. Related material can also be found in the oral histories of
George Danforth and
Charles Genther..
James Wright Hammond papers, 1951-c.1985. .25 linear
foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Educated at Illinois Institute of Technology under Mies van
der Rohe, Hammond first worked in the office of Eliel and Eero
Saarinen and then at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Chicago office, where he
was elected to partnership in 1961. Subsequently, he was a founding
partner of Hammond, Beeby, Babka. Hammond's career typifies that of
many mid-20th century architects: a post-Beaux-Arts
education, experience in large architectural offices working
on large projects, then the establishment of a small firm with
a specialized "boutique" practice. The collection contains
photographs of projects and business
brochures from his various partnerships. Related material can also be found in
Hammond's oral history.
Ludwig Karl Hilberseimer papers. 43 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
A colleague of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Bauhaus in Germany, Hilberseimer (1906-1967)
contributed his design for a residence to the groundbreaking
Weissenhofsiedlung exhibition in Stuttgart (1927) and to other
important expositions of new architecture. Following the breakup of the Bauhaus, he
then joined Mies at the Armour Institute in Chicago in the late 1930s. As an educator and
practitioner, Hilberseimer was in the vanguard of architect/planners
concerned with energy conservation, solar orientation, and environmental
controls. He was a noted author, publishing nine books and numerous
articles on city planning and modern architecture. The collection
formed the research base for the Art Institute's exhibition and
catalog In the shadow of Mies: Ludwig Hilberseimer, architect,
educator, and urban planner (1988). This collection includes
personal and professional correspondence, personal and professional
photographs, published and unpublished manuscripts for lectures,
articles and books, academic papers, and Bauhaus and IIT memorabilia.
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe collection, 1929-1969 (bulk 1948-1960). 1 linear
foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
This collection documents Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's (1886-1969) academic activities
at Armour Institute of Technology. It includes correspondence
with students, colleagues and visiting faculty, publicity material,
newspaper and periodical articles, curriculum documents, and
faculty memoranda. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe/Metropolitan Structures collection,
1961-1969. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The real estate development firm Metropolitan Structures
evolved from an earlier firm owned by Herbert Greenwald, for
whom Mies designed the 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments and
several other buildings in Chicago. For Metropolitan Structures
Mies designed Nuns' Island (Montreal), 111 East Wacker Drive
(Chicago), Illinois Central Air Rights Project (which would become
Illinois Center), and Highfield House and One Charles Center (Baltimore).
The collection is comprised of scrapbooks containing photographs,
articles, brochures, advertisements, and other printed matter
that document the design development, construction, and leasing
of the Mies projects.
Pace Associates records. [PAR]
Pace Associates, Inc. (successor to Neri & Sit, Inc.) were a Chicago, Illinois firm founded in 1946, including the principals Sam C. Sit, Charles Booher Genther,
John F. Kausal, Jerome J. Neri, and M. Ali Yusuf. Major works include: Carman Hall Apartments, Illinois Institute of Technology, (1951-1953); College of Architecture, aka S.R. Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, (1956); 900-910 N. Lake Shore Drive, aka Esplanade Apartments, (1953-1956); 860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive (1949-1951); Promontory
Apartments (1949) -- all Chicago, Illinois, with Mies van der Rohe -- and Algonquin Apartments, Chicago, IL (1950-1952).
A. James Speyer collection, 1931-1996 (bulk 1947-1974). 2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Speyer (1913-1986) was in the first graduate-level class taught by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
at the Armour Institute in Chicago. While maintaining a private practice, designing
in the Miesian style, Speyer taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology
and then served as curator of Twentieth-Century Paintings and Sculpture at The
Art Institute of Chicago (1961-1986). Speyer was best known for the innovative,
contemporary design of his museum installations. His architectural
projects and his museum exhibition designs are documented in
architectural drawings, photographs, and published and unpublished
articles. There is also a small collection of personal papers
and photographs. The exhibition and its accompanying catalog
A. James Speyer: architect, curator, exhibition designer
(1997) drew heavily from this collection. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture and in
Speyer's oral history.
Paul Theobald and Company records, 1935-1988. 2.5 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Paul Theobald, an amateur artist and bibliophile, combined
his interests and opened a bookstore/gallery in Chicago in 1936.
The gallery offered exhibitions of George Grosz, Hans Hoffmann,
and Archipenko, which attracted clients from the large émigré
population in Chicago. At first simply encouraging his clients
to write, Theobald ultimately became a publisher, drawn to books
that related the visual arts to social issues. Among the titles
Theobald published are: Walter Gropius' Rebuilding Our Communities
(1945); Gyorgy Kepes' Language of Vision (1944); Kazimir
Malevich's The Non-Objective World (1959); Laszlo Moholy-Nagy's
Vision in Motion (1947); and five books by Ludwig Hilberseimer.
The collection includes correspondence with authors, manuscripts,
contracts, and reviews.
Group IV - Chicago
Commercial, Residential, and Landscape Architecture, c.1870-1970+
Back to top
Situated distant from other cities of influence, Chicago
has been a strong center of architectural development since its
rise from the ashes of the devastating 1871 fire. Between the European-inspired urban
works of the Beaux-Arts and the nativist residential emanations
of the Prairie School lie the day-to-day commercial and residential
activities of the city. These are represented in substantial
detail in these archival collections, giving a nuanced view of
the urban construct and all its participants.
This material logically falls into two groupings, covering
the periods c.1870-1940 and 1945-1970. The pre-World War II material is
especially strong in documenting the historicizing domestic architecture
and commercial skyscrapers of the 1920s. The radically changed architectural aesthetic and
economic conditions of the post-World War II period produced different
concerns, all represented in the archival collections: urban
redevelopment, suburban housing and landscape design, and urban regional expansion
through the highway system.
Group IVA
- Pre-World War II
Back to top
David Adler collection, 1925-1978. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Educated on the East Coast and in Europe, David Adler was known for his sensitive adaptations of classical and vernacular styles to fashionable townhouses, apartments, and opulent country houses
in Chicago and its suburbs, on the East and West Coasts, and in Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition, his sister, designer Frances Elkins, contributed interior designs for many of his commissions. Adler
worked independently in Chicago for most of his career, although he did have a professional association with Robert Work from 1917 to 1928. Arranged in one series of photographs, the David Adler collection is comprised of a portrait
photograph and project photographs for the Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Field Residence in New York City and the Mrs. Kersey Coates Reed Residence in Lake Forest, Illinois. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
The Architects Club of Chicago records, 1925-1937. .1
linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Architects Club of Chicago was organized in 1925 under the leadership
of the members of the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
and the Illinois Society of Architects, and later joined by the Chicago Architectural Club.
The club was formed to establish a "suitable and proper club building" for the architectural
community in Chicago. Arrangements were made to purchase the Glessner House, designed by
architect H.H. Richardson, after the owner's death, and the club purchased the Kimball House
for interim quarters. This collection consists of correspondence between members, volume one
of their published bulletin, membership lists, and other organizational documents.
Maurice L. Bein papers, 1920-1936. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Born in Russia but raised and trained in Chicago, architect Maurice L. Bein was known mainly for his apartment house and residential hotel designs.
This small collection consists of Bein's papers and photographs.
The professional papers and photographs of Bein's buildings provide an overview of his
professional pratice, while the journal articles and unidentified building photographs suggest his concerns and influences. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Solon S. Beman and Spencer S. Beman collection, 1892-1959. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
After working for architect Richard Upjohn in New York, Solon Spencer Beman (1853-1914) moved to Chicago in 1879
to design the model company town of Pullman, Illinois, for railcar magnate George Pullman. Beman remained in
Chicago, receiving commissions to design the company town of Ivorydale, Ohio and public and commercial buildings in the midwest. Through his designs for several buildings at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Beman developed
a long-standing relationship with the Christian Science Church, bringing a classical architectural vocabulary to
Christian Science churches across the United States. Solon's son, Spencer (1887-1952), practiced in partnership
with his father until Solon's death. Spencer continued to design Christian Science for several decades,
but introduced Georgian and Colonial architectural influences. Spencer was also the architect of numerous Tudor and French Revival-style residences in Chicago's North Shore communities. This collection includes a
scrapbook of Solon and Spencer's architectural designs--including advertisements, photographs, and published
articles--and photographs of Spencer's religious and residential designs. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Burnham Library-University of Illinois Project to Microfilm
Architectural Documentation Daybooks collection, 1950-1952. .25
linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
In the early 1950s, the Burnham Library and the University
of Illinois co-sponsored a project to microfilm 11,000 architectural
drawings by Chicago architects or of Chicago buildings. In the
process of borrowing the drawings from architectural firms, building
owners and managers, the project director interviewed many elderly architects, including Mr. Elgh, chief
draftsman at Burnham & Hammond; George B. Eich, an engineer
who worked in the offices of Howard Van Doren Shaw and David
Adler; George Elmslie, at age 80; and Richard E. Schmidt, at
age 85. The director's daybooks record these interviews, with
their revealing comments about working in various offices, about
design responsibilities, contributions and attributions.
Chicago Architectural Exhibition League records, 1924-1953. .25 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Chicago Architectural League was organized in 1924 to sponsor annual design exhibitions,
although their activities waned after the mid-1930s. The collection consists of a notebook
containing the minutes of the Board of Directors and miscellaneous
correspondence concerning proxy representation and other business matters.
Chicago Tribune Tower collection, 1922-1953. .25 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
In 1922, the Chicago Tribune newspaper sponsored an open international design competition for a new office tower and printing plant in downtown Chicago. The competition gave strong evidence to the eclectic stylistic influences in the architectural profession at that time, attracting entries in wildly divergent forms, from ornately classical temples to sleekly futuristic monoliths. The winning entry, which was constructed between 1922 and 1925, was designed in a modified Gothic style by the New York firm of Hood & Howells. Related material can also be found in the Department of Architecture.
Childerly Chapel photograph album, c.1926-c.1930. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Childerly Chapel was commissioned by the Crane family for their estate in Wheeling, Illinois,
and was completed in 1926. Although the architect of the chapel is unknown, the interiors were
finished with painting and sculpture by André Derain and Alfeo Faggi. This album of eleven mounted black-and-white photographs depicts the chapel, Derain's painting Last Supper of 1911 and Faggi's sculpture Holy Child, two standing sculptures of St. Francis, and his well-known Stations of the Cross.
Edwin H. Clark collection, 1885-1960. 2 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Educated at Yale University, Edwin Hill Clark began practicing architecture
in Chicago in 1906 in partnership with William Otis. Although
a small firm, it produced a broad variety of projects:
large estates in Chicago's northern suburbs, libraries and city
halls, animal habitats for the Lincoln Park Zoo, and several
buildings for the 1933-1934 Century of Progress exposition in Chicago. The collection
includes diaries, project photographs, and scrapbooks documenting
Clark's architectural and military careers. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Knight Cheney Cowles album, c.1929-1931. .2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Educated at Yale, Harvard, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, after graduation, Knight C. Cowles worked in the Chicago office of Holabird & Root from 1925 to 1928. After 1928, Cowles opened the office of Cowels and Colean, designing projects in Illinois and the Midwest. This collection is comprised of a portfolio of black and white photographs of Cowles' architectural designs for a restaurant in Chicago, a laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, a residence in Lake Forest, Illinois, and residences in Louisville and Glenview, Kentucky.
Barbara Crane collection, 1972-1979. 2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Barbara Crane (b.1928) graduated from New York University
and the Institute of Design at IIT. She has taught photography
at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, exhibited internationally,
and has received both NEA grants and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
From 1972 to 1979, she was commissioned by the Chicago Commission
on Historical and Architectural Landmarks (currently known as
the Commission on Chicago Landmarks) to photograph Chicago buildings
being evaluated for possible landmark designation. Crane photographed
numerous Chicago neighborhoods, capturing many pre-war commercial
buildings and residences before the current trend of teardowns
and extensive remodelings. The collection is comprised of approximately
1000 black-and-white images of Chicago buildings and neighborhoods,
as well as the 4"x5" negatives used for the prints.
Hugh and N. Max Dunning collection, 1900-1994. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Brothers N. Max Dunning (1874-1946) and Hugh Dunning (1883-1958)
established their architectural practice in Chicago in the early
1910s. In partnership until 1933, they designed residential and
commercial buildings, banks, hotels, schools and Masonic temples.
The collection includes travel diaries, professional papers,
and project photographs.
Charles S. Frost letterpress copybook, 1922-1930. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Charles Frost (1856-1931) established a sixteen-year architectural partnership with Henry
Ives Cobb in Chicago in 1882. The firm produced such notable buildings as the Union League Club
and the Newberry Library, as well as several buildings for the University of Chicago.
In a subsequent partnership with Alfred H. Grainger,
Frost was well known for designing railway stations in the Chicago region.
This single volume letterpress copybook contains Frost's copies of bills for
services rendered, contract prices, cost breakdowns for contractors' bids,
and other financial matters between 1922 and 1930. At this late period in his life, Frost's work was
mainly the remodeling of buildings which he had designed earlier in his career.
Granada Theater collection, 1925-1987. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Granada Theater, designed by Edward E. Eichenbaum for
Levy and Klein Architects, opened in 1926 and continued to operate
as a movie theater into the mid-1970s. However, the theater was demolished
in 1989. The Spanish Baroque-style theater was the fifth
largest movie palace in the United States at the time of its
demolition. The collection is comprised of architectural drawings
and photographs taken shortly before demolition and now represents
the final and most complete documentation of the lost building.
Gilbert P. Hall collection, c.1934. 1.25 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Hall was employed with the Chicago architectural firm Holabird & Roche
(later Holabird & Root) as a designer and draftsman. This collection is comprised of
twenty-seven mounted photographs of Gilbert Phelps Hall's nuanced renderings of Holabird & Root buildings in
Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin from c.1928 to c.1934.
Hurter Family collection, 1894-1999. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Businessman Louis P. Hurter, Sr., hired Chicago architect Ernest Mayo in 1895 to design his family's home at 6316 North Magnolia Ave., in the Edgewater neighborhood in Chicago. Much of the elaborate woodwork inside the home came from the family's millwork company. In 1921 Hurter's son, Louis P. Hurter, Jr. hired Chicago architect Arthur Jacobs to design a two-flat apartment building for his wife and himself at 6435 North Leavitt St. in the Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park. At the same time he also had Jacobs design a mirror-image two-flat apartment building for Hurter's mother, located four blocks away at 6434 North Claremont Ave. The Hurter Family collection includes photographs, architectural drawings, documents and business papers that represent typical single-family and multi-family urban housing of turn-of-the-century Chicago.
Lake Shore Drive (Outer Drive) and Link Bridge photograph album, c.1937. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Immediately north of the Chicago River, the increasingly dense
development of both residential and commercial properties after
World War I concentrated too much traffic on Michigan Avenue. The
Lake Shore Drive and Link Bridge, completed in October 1937,
was built to relieve this congestion. The bridge and its approaches
were the first projects in Chicago completed under the auspices
of the Public Works Administration. This presentation album contains large-format construction and finished
photographs. The handsome, classically detailed bridge was destroyed
in the re-design of Lake Shore Drive in the 1990s.
J.C. Llewellyn and Associates records, 1894-1971. 25
linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Joseph C. Llewellyn (1855-1932) graduated from the University
of Illinois in 1877 but did not establish his practice in Chicago
until 1892. His son Ralph became his partner in 1907 and his grandson
Joseph P. joined the firm in 1947. Before World War II the firm was well known
for sophisticated industrial buildings, designing
for such clients as Advance Thresher Co., N.K. Fairbank, and other
large Midwestern manufacturers. The firm also designed numerous banks
and office buildings throughout the Midwest. After World War
II their work focused on public school design. The collection
contains project files, architectural drawings, correspondence, and photographs.
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
London Guarantee and Accident Building collection, 1921-1990. .25 linear
foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The London Guarantee and Accident Building occupies a prominent site on
Michigan Avenue at the Chicago River, facing the Wrigley Building
and the Tribune Tower. All three buildings were constructed in
the early 1920s, when commercial Chicago stretched north across
the river into previously residential land. The Guarantee Building
collection consists of real estate documents, leases, and management
reports generated during the development and initial leasing of the
building. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Maywood Company records, 1869-1901. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
In 1869, the town of Maywood, Illinois, now a western suburb of Chicago, was chartered
after a joint stock corporation, the Maywood Company, had established settlement there.
After the devastating 1871 fire in Chicago, general migration to the suburbs spurred housing
construction in Maywood. The Village of Maywood was officially incorporated in 1881 and
between 1880 and 1890 the population doubled. This collection presents a grouping of
documents that trace the early development of the community, including the Maywood Company's
charter, stockholders' reports, stocks, bonds, illustrated advertising pamphlets and
brochures, and village maps, as well as documents relating to the Maywood Company's
subsidiary, Chicago Scraper and Ditcher Company.
900 North Michigan Avenue Building collection, 1925-1938. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Designed by Jarvis Hunt, the 900 North Michigan Avenue Building
exemplified the elegant, low-scale, classically detailed commercial
buildings for which North Michigan Avenue was well known in the
early 20th century. The collection includes plans, architectural
drawings, specifications, and miscellaneous brochures for the
building that was demolished in 1984. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Otis Elevator Company collection, 1903-1906. 2 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Elisha Graves Otis's invention of the safe elevator in the
1850s greatly increased the practicality of constructing tall buildings
and played a significant role in the evolution of the skyscraper.
This collection contains elevator plans for forty-seven buildings,
prepared by the Chicago office of Otis
Elevator Company between 1903 and 1906 for such architectural firms
as D.H. Burnham & Co., Holabird & Roche, and Richard
Schmidt.
Patton and Fisher records, c.1885-c.1908. .2 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Architects Normand Patton and Reynolds Fisher practiced in Chicago from 1885 until 1901, designing
residences, schools, commercial buildings, and churches throughout the upper Midwest. Many of their
buildings were designed in a Romanesque Revival style, using locally available stone, brick, and terra cotta
ornament. This collection contains working drawings for several buildings and project illustrations
for commissions primarily in the Chicago area.
Pond and Pond collection, c.1895-1938. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Practicing in the Arts and Crafts idiom, brothers Irving Kane Pond and Allen Bartlit Pond
opened their Chicago architectural office in 1895. Drawn to social reform, they are best
known for their ongoing association with Jane Addams' Hull House organization in Chicago, where they contributed
numerous buildings over more than a decade. Irving Pond was also a nationally recognized essayist
and critic, most notably for his book The Meaning of Architecture (1918). This collection was
created from various sources and includes a small group of Pond and Pond papers,
a portrait of Irving K. Pond, and four photographic albums documenting the brothers' architectural careers.
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Pullman Town construction photographs collection, c.1881-1882.
.25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
On land near Lake Michigan and far to the south of Chicago's
business Loop, George Pullman built one of America's first model
company towns. Over 1300 houses, factories, and institutional
buildings were designed to accommodate the employees of Pullman's Palace
Car Co. manufacturing plant. The collection consists of
rare construction photographs of the first phase of Pullman's
development. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Radford Architectural Company collection, c.1903. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Radford Architectural Company, based in Chicago, sold
architect-designed plans for residential and commercial buildings
to the American consumer, providing well-designed buildings without
the cost of the architect's fees. The company published catalogs
with detailed floor plans, accompanied by renderings and estimated
building costs. The blueprints and specifications in this collection
are for house number 504, a three-bedroom, two-story house published
in The Radford American Homes (Riverside, IL: Radford
Architectural Company, 1903).
Schillo Motor Sales Company collection, 1917 .2 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Chicago architects Mundie and Jensen designed office, commercial,
manufacturing, and private club buildings in a variety of architectural styles.
This small collection of drawings and specifications for the Schillo Company building at
2317-19 S. Michigan Avenue, on Chicago's famed Auto Row, dates from 1917.
Schmidt, Garden and Martin records, 1898-1922. 3.5 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Among the last members of the first Chicago School were Richard
Ernst Schmidt (1865-1959) and Hugh Mackie Gordon Garden (1873-1961)
who entered into partnership in 1895. Edgar D. Martin (1865-1951)
joined them in 1906. Garden, the senior designer, had worked
for Frank Lloyd Wright, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, and Howard
Van Doren Shaw. With this exposure to varying styles, Garden
designed buildings with Prairie School massing and ornament, as
well as those in a classical vocabulary. This collection of 2,500+
items from more than one hundred projects documents the firm's output
between the years 1898 and 1922. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Howard Van Doren Shaw collection. 4 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Educated at Yale University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shaw (1869-1926) established his
architectural practice in Chicago in 1894. As a facile designer
in the eclectic historical styles popular at the beginning of
the 20th century, Shaw attracted a clientele drawn from Chicago's
society and business leaders, including the Donnelleys,
Ryersons, Rosenwalds, Swifts, and Wards. His architectural designs were
based on detailed observations of buildings during
frequent trips to Europe which he carefully recorded in his sketchbooks.
Shaw received the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal
in 1926. His projects are documented in drawings, photographs,
correspondence, and travel diaries and sketchbooks. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Richard M. Skinner House collection, 1878-1979. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The papers concerning the Richard M. Skinner house in Princeton, Illinois, span
the century from 1878 to 1978, during the period that the house was owned by the Skinner family.
Documents detail the initial construction, including specifications and correspondence
relating to some interior fixtures. In addition, the collection includes records
of maintenance and improvements by the Skinners through the decades of ownership, and are a useful
record of the techniques and practices of 19th- and early 20th-century merchants and tradesmen.
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
B. Leo Steif collection, 1916-1953. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Steif initially attended the University of Illinois and
continued his studies at Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago,
graduating in 1916. After World War I he established his own
architecture practice in Chicago, becoming well known for elegant apartment
buildings and small commercial buildings. His projects are documented
in three photograph albums and one album of articles, correspondence
and brochures. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Bertram A. Weber and John Weber papers. [U]
Bertram A. Weber was born in Chicago in 1898, the second of three generations of Chicago architects. His study of liberal arts at Northwestern University was interrupted by WW I, and before he returned to school he took a job in his father's architectural office (Peter J. Weber). Before organizing a partnership with Charles White in 1923 (White & Weber), he worked in the office of noted Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw. After White's death in 1936, Bertram practiced independently, specializing in residential and institutional buildings. In 1973 he was joined by his son, John, and the office was then renamed Weber & Weber. Bertram Weber was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1953. Major works include numerous hospitals, YMCAs, and other institutional buildings throughout the Midwest.
Peter Bonnett Wight papers, 1863-1915. .75 linear foot
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Peter B. Wight's architectural career flourished in the 1860s and
1870s in New York, where he developed a decorative, historicist style that showed
affinities to the work of European designers John Ruskin and A W. N. Pugin.
Immediately after the devastating Chicago fire of 1871, Wight came to Chicago and entered a successful
architectural partnership. An interest in modern technologies for fireproof construction
led Wight to found the Wight Fireproofing Co. by 1881, which designed and manufactured hollow terra
cotta tiles-impervious to fire and non heat--conductive--for construction. This collection contains
manuscripts for lectures and publications. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Arthur Woltersdorf papers, 1860-1947 (bulk 1899-1933). 2.25 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
After attending architecture classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Woltersdorf (1870-1948)
returned to Chicago where he opened a successful practice noted
for its commercial and institutional buildings. Woltersdorf also wrote extensively
on the theory and practice of architecture and many of his articles
were published in the professional journals and in Chicago newspapers. He also
edited the book Living Architecture: a discussion
of present day problems in a collection of essays written for
and sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute
of Architects (1930). This collection consists of drafts of
articles, project photographs, scrapbooks and memorabilia. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
YMCA College Building collection, c.1988. .25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The YMCA College Building, at the intersection of Drexel Avenue and 53rd Street,
was designed by Emery Stanford Hall and completed in 1915. From 1966 to 1973 the
building was owned by the University of Chicago and subsequently by the Chicago College
of Osteopathic Medicine, which renamed the building Chauncy S. Boucher Hall.
Although the Commission on Chicago Landmarks staff researched the building
in December, 1988, as a preliminary to landmark consideration, the building was demolished in 1989.
The collection includes seven microfilm aperture cards, with paper prints, of plans, elevations,
and detail drawings, as well as a copy of the December 1988 "Preliminary Staff Summary of Information
submitted to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks."
Group IVB
- Post-World War II
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Altman Saicheck Adams records. [U]
The Evanston, Illinois firm of Altman Saicheck Adams (previously Altman & Saichek Associates, Chicago, IL) has completed numerous projects in the Chicago area including the 1978 renovation of
the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Office (aka City Colleges Building), 226 W. Jackson Blvd. and the 1971 addition to the
Ascher Buildings of the Gage Group, 24 and 30 S. Michigan Ave. Includes or has included the principals of Seymour Altman, Robert Saicheck, and Charles R. Adams.
Michael and Jane Bizzarri House papers, 1949-1990. .5 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The Michael and Jane Bizzarri house, completed in 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio, was designed by
architect Richard J. Neutra (1892-1970), a Modernist known for such buildings as the Kaufmann Desert
House in Palm Springs, California, and the Lincoln Memorial Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which
display his desire to find harmony between architecture and nature. Included in these papers are correspondence,
publications, photographs, and architectural drawings, which document aspects of the design and
construction of the Bizzarri house as well as the friendship that developed between the Bizzarri and Neutra
families as a result of the project.
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Arthur A. Carrara collection, 1910-1991 (bulk 1961-1974). 3.25 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Born and raised in Chicago, Arthur Carrara incorporated
both Prairie School and Modernist influences into his education and architectural practice.
After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in architecture,
Carrara worked briefly for former Frank Lloyd Wright draftsman John van Bergen before serving in the Army
in the South Pacific during World War II. During and after the war, he was commissioned
to design buildings in Australia and the Philippines. Carrara returned to Chicago in 1946
and opened his own architectural practice, designing private homes,
corporate buildings, exhibition spaces, and industrial products. Carrara opened a
second office in Buffalo, New York, in the mid-1960s. Correspondence, magazine articles,
exhibition reviews, and other printed materials, project files, and photographs document
the varied aspects of Carrara's career as an architect, designer, author, and lecturer.
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Christopher John Chamales papers, 1928-1985. 22.75 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1931, Chamales (1907-1993) studied planning under Eliel Saarinen at Cranbrook
Academy. With his professor he completed a master plan for Athens
(Greece) and its port, Piraeus. Chamales worked for the noted
industrial designer Raymond Loewy and then at the Chicago office
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill before establishing his own
firm in 1945. He was best known for designing churches and commercial
structures in the Chicago area and for urban plans for the post-World
War II suburbs. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture and in
Chamales's oral history.
Chicago Library Design Competition collection, 1987-1990.
6.7 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
In 1987 Chicago conducted a juried competition to select
an architect/developer/builder team for its new central public
library building. The innovative competition program required
a complete package from the entrants: a well-developed design
from the architect, a construction schedule from the contractor
with lists of subcontractors, and a guaranteed final construction
cost from the developer. This collection, assembled by one of
the jurors, documents the design submissions from the finalists.
The architectural firms included Hammond Beeby and Babka;
Eisenman Robertson; Arthur Erickson; Lohan Associates; Murphy/Jahn; and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/Legoretta.
The collection also includes the competition program, all finalists' statements
of qualifications, technical reviews of qualifications, project
descriptions, and final design/build proposals.
I.W. Colburn papers. [U]
Irving Walker Colburn founded the firm of I.W. Colburn and Assoc., Inc. in Chicago in 1955. Major works include:
John H. Leslie Residence, Winnetka, IL (1963); I.W. Colburn Residence, Lake Forest, IL (1965); St. Anastasia Church, Waukegan, IL (1965);
Henry Hinds Laboratory for Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (1965); and Cummings Life Science Library, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (1973).
Colburn received numerous awards during his career including the AIA-Homes For Better Living first honor award in 1960 and the AIA Honor Award for Architectural Design in 1966.
Edward Dart collection, 1841-1993 (bulk 1940-1993). 2.5 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Trained at Yale's School of Architecture, Edward Dart
came to Chicago after World War II to establish a private practice.
Later, as partner in the large Loebl Schlossman Bennett firm,
Dart was chief designer of the influential vertical shopping
mall Water Tower Place (Chicago) and St. Procopius Abbey (Lisle,
Illinois). The collection includes research materials gathered
by his biographer: family records, publications, correspondence,
photographs, military records, honors and citations, and audio-taped
interviews. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Bertrand Goldberg archive, c.1935-1997. c.260 linear feet. [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Comprehensive guide to Bertrand Goldberg materials at the Art Institute and related resources.
Catalog records of Bertrand Goldberg drawings in The Department of Architecture and Design.
Trained at the Bauhaus in Berlin and at the Armour Institute of Technology (now IIT) in Chicago, Goldberg (1913-1997) opened his own architectural practice in Chicago in 1937. Known for his commitment to socially progressive design in large-scale residential and institutional projects, Goldberg's distinctive work often juxtaposed fluid, organic shapes against the rectilinear forms popular during the post-World War II period. His work can be seen in such noted buildings as Marina City and River City in Chicago, and in hospitals across the United States. The Goldberg collection includes office records, architectural job files, correspondence, speeches and manuscripts, published materials, personal ephemera, and photographs. Related material can also be found in the Department of Architecture, in Goldberg's oral history, and in the oral history of a colleague, Ben Honda.
Charles Herrick Hammond papers, 1894-1963. 2 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
In partnership with Daniel Burnham's sons, Hammond worked
on numerous high-rise buildings in the Midwest, represented in
articles and photographs. In addition, as architect for the State of Illinois,
Hammond supervised the restoration of Abraham Lincoln's home at New Salem
State Park and of the Cahokia Court House, which are documented in photographs
and published materials. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Frances Burdette Holgate Papers, 1947-1963. .25 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Photographs, negatives, correspondence, professional papers, and printed materials documenting the career of Evanston based architectural model maker Frances Burdette Holgate.
Inspired Partnerships Collection, 1898-2002. [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Inspired Partnerships was a Chicago-based non-profit group that helped over 200 religious congregations maintain their buildings,
providing leadership training, information, and technical guidance to city congregations struggling with the realities of aging facilities.
Inspired Partnerships was an outgrowth of a 1989 Endowment-sponsored initiative of the Midwest Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Chicago
and funded through the Lilly Endowment and the National Trust. In 1991 the initial demonstration project became an independent organization and took the name Inspired Partnerships until its dissolution in 1993.
Fazlur R. Khan (1929-1982) collection, 1944-1988. 16 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Born and educated in Bangladesh, with advanced degrees in
engineering from University of Illinois, Fazlur Khan (1929-1982) proposed
elegant engineering solutions to the design problems of high-rise
buildings. Khan is best known as the Skidmore Owings & Merrill
partner who designed the structural systems for the John Hancock
Center and Sears Tower in Chicago, as well as many other innovative
designs for the SOM firm. As a professor of engineering at Illinois
Institute of Technology he exercised enormous influence on a
generation of architects and engineers who would bring the architecture
and engineering design processes in much closer harmony. Khan was also highly influential in the American Bangladeshi community, particularly during the country's struggle for independence during the early 1970s. This
collection includes published and unpublished articles, lectures,
curriculum files, project files and reports, research materials,
slides, and photographs.
Gertrude Kuh papers, 1942-1997 (bulk 1967-1972). .7 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Chicago landscape architect Gertrude Eisendrath Deimel Kuh graduated from
the Lowthorpe School of Horticulture and Landscape Design (Groton,
Massachusetts) in 1917 and subsequently apprenticed with Ellen
Biddle Shipman, 1918-1922. From the 1930s to her retirement in
the early 1970s, Kuh designed at least four hundred projects
in the Chicago area, primarily for residential sites, in an elegant
Modernist style that complemented the contemporary houses of her clients. The collection
includes slides and photographs of Kuh's designs. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Franz Lipp papers, 1930-1997. 2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Born in Germany, Lipp immigrated to the United States after World War I
to train at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University and under the great American landscape
architect Jens Jensen. Lipp settled in Chicago in the late 1920s and built a versatile
practice designing landscape programs for commercial complexes,
hospitals, schools, homes, and churches, collaborating with many of Chicago's
noted architectural firms. The Lipp collection includes
photographs and slides, and an album documenting his professional
career. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
McCormick Place on the Lake (1971) collection, 1967-1972. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Project files, photographs, slides, drawings, and printed materials, collected by project engineer Barry A. Goldberg, documenting
the construction of McCormick Place on the Lake (Gene Summers for C.F. Murphy and Associates, 1971), convention center in Chicago.
McNally and Quinn records, 1922-1980. 105 linear feet
[P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
McNally and Quinn, a Chicago-based architecture firm, built its
reputation designing elegant apartment buildings in Chicago's
Gold Coast neighborhood in the 1920s. It managed to survive the
Depression on very small jobs but the partnership dissolved in
1939. In the burgeoning years of highway construction after
World War II, Quinn established his new firm as a leader in the
design of highway bridges and expressways for the City of Chicago.
The collection presents a comprehensive view of both of Quinn's
partnerships, providing insight into the evolving practice of
architecture through six decades. The collection includes correspondence,
accounting and staff ledgers, architectural and engineering drawings
documenting the complete design development and construction
phases of numerous projects, product literature, reports,
personal and professional photographs, and film. Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture.
Carter Manny papers, 1893-1991 (bulk 1972-1976). 4.5 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Scrapbook albums, correspondence, loose and oversize materials related to Carter Manny's
boyhood visit to the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago, his involvement
in the planning and construction of Marc Chagall's mosaic The Four
Seasons at the First National Bank Plaza (now Chase Bank) in Chicago, and his role
in the planning and construction of Alexander Calder's Flamingo sculpture for
the Federal Center plaza in Chicago.
Alfred L. Mell papers. 1 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Alfred Lorenz Mell (1905-1972) graduated from Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago
with a degree in architecture in 1931. Appointed an instructor of architectural design
there in 1936, Mell continued to hold that post after Armour was reshaped as Illinois
Institute of Technology in 1940. Key to Mell's role at IIT was the arrival in 1938 of German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,
for whom Mell served as a translator. In the late 1940s, Mell left IIT to work as an architectural designer
in several Chicago offices, eventually joining Fox and Fox Architects, where he became
chief designer. This collection is comprised mainly of photographs, paper reproductions, and process prints of
various architectural projects that Mell designed, primarily while at Fox and Fox. Personal and professional papers,
some original graphite drawings, and a few examples of architectural designs by others complete the collection.
Powell/Kleinschmidt records, 1975-1985. 13 linear feet. [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Powell/Kleinschmidt, an interior architecture firm in Chicago Illinois, was formed in 1976 by Donald Powell and Robert Kleinschmidt, formerly of the Chicago architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. This collection is built around the project files, office notes and memos, correspondence, and material samples from projects designed during the first decade of the partnership's existence.
Arthur Purdy collection, c.1933-1995. 2 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
The projects of Arthur Purdy typify a post-World War II design
trend: the architect-designed large suburban residence with a
relatively high budget built on a large lot. Purdy was known throughout
the Chicago area for well-designed, sensitively-sited comfortable
suburban residences. Several of his projects won Distinguished Building Awards
from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. This collection
includes architectural drawings, project files with correspondence and product literature, photographs, and published materials.
Mary Long Rogers collection, 1931-1953. .5 linear feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Project reports, maps, statistics, and correspondence comprise this collection of papers of the landscape architect, Mary Long Rogers.
This collection documents a variety of projects that Mary Long Rogers was involved with, most notably those concerned with city planning, urban renewal, or public housing in Chicago.
These projects include work for the Southtown Planning Association (1939-1940), the Jane Addams Housing project (Racine and Roosevelt area, 1941),
the Near West Side Redevelopment plan (early 1940s), and A Plan for a Better Chicago Contest (1945).
Norman J. Schlossman collection, 1925-1987. 1.5 linear
feet [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Norman Schlossman (1901-1990), along with partners Jerrold Loebl, John DeMuth, Richard Bennett and Edward D. Dart,
designed and built a variety of residential, commercial, governmental, medical, religious and educational buildings in predominantly
midwestern locales for nearly three-quarters of a century. Perhaps most significant are their projects in the sectors of public housing
(Dearborn Homes, Wentworth Gardens), urban renewal (Michael Reese Hospital Complex, Prairie Shores Apartments), shopping centers
(Old Orchard, Oak Brook) and suburban planned communities (Park Forest, IL). This collection consists of newspaper and magazine articles,
correspondence and printed matter documenting select built work of the firms Loebl and Schlossman (1925, c.1933-1946), Loebl,
Schlossman and DeMuth (1926-c.1933), Loebl, Schlossman and Bennett (1947-1965) and Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett and Dart (1965-1975).
Related material can also be found in the
Department of Architecture and in
Schlossman's oral history.
Paul Schweikher House and Studio collection, 1964-1988 (bulk 1984-1988).
.25 linear foot [P]
An EAD finding aid is available.
Schweikher completed his bachelor's degree at Yale's School
of Architecture in 1929. Moving to Chicago in 1930 he worked
for several local Modernist architects, including
George Fred Keck and Philip Maher. His early reputation as an
avant-garde architect was bolstered by his inclusion in the 1933
landmark exhibition on modern architecture at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York City. Schweikher continued in various private partnerships
until he was appointed chairman of the School of Architecture
at Yale University, and subsequently, in 1958, head of the Department
of Architecture at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University).
The collection consists of correspondence, research materials
and photographs generated in the process of nom
