Harris Armstrong Collection (WUA00372), 1924-1972 | WUA University Archives

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Collection Overview

Title: Harris Armstrong Collection (WUA00372), 1924-1972

ID: WUA/06/wua00372

Primary Creator: Armstrong, Harris

Extent: 33.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into twelve (12) series as follows:

Series 1: Personal and Professional Development (arranged alphabetically)

Series 2: Publications Featuring Prominent Architects and Contemporary Architectural Subjects (arranged alphabetically)

Series 3: Specifications and Correspondence for Commercial Architectural Projects (arranged alphabetically)

Series 4: Specifications and Correspondence for Residential Architectural Projects (arranged alphabetically)

Series 5: Oversized Plans for Commercial Architectural Projects (arranged alphabetically)

Series 6: Oversized Plans for Residential Architectural Projects (arranged alphabetically)

Series 7: Oversized Plans for Residential Furnishing Projects (arranged alphabetically by project name)

Series 8: Oversized Renderings, Photographs, and Miscellany for Unidentified Architectural Projects (arranged by size)

Series 9: Oversized Renderings, Photographs, and Miscellany for Various Architectural Projects (arranged by size)

Series 10: Oversized Education, Professional Qualifications, and Miscellany

Series 11: Supplemental Information for Commercial and Architectural Projects (includes photographs and documents) (arranged alphabetically)

Series 12: Photographs of Various Projects (arranged by size, then alphabetically) This series includes photographs from at least one exhibit of Armstrong’s work, “Midwest Modern”, based on the label on the back of most photographs. See the text explaining this exhibit in Box 4. Posters from another exhibit are also included in Box 4, which may have included these photographs.

When given, project numbers generally indicate that a contract was signed, bids secured, and the project completed. Armstrong assigned the year and project order. For example 57-6 would indicate the initial planning was in 1957 and was the sixth project of that year.

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection documents the career of St. Louis architect Harris Armstrong. Materials include specifications, plans, and architectural drawings for residential, commercial, and furnishing projects; photographs of projects; and professional publications and correspondence.

Collection Historical Note

Harris Armstrong (April 6, 1899 – December 15, 1973) was a well-read and largely self-taught modern architect revered for his masterful application of strikingly colorful, innovative, and spacious structures for every use conceivable. Especially popular in America's Middle West from the 1930's to 1960's, Armstrong's favored designs quietly echoed the Scandinavian and Asian tendency of observing economic resourcefulness of material and elegant simplicity of form, coupled with his self-defined brash interpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright's work.

After serving in the United States Army Air Corps as a private during the First World War, Armstrong studied architecture at both Ohio State University and Washington University, though he never graduated from either institution. From 1924 to the early 1930's Armstrong served as a draftsman in several firms in New York and St. Louis. It was when Armstrong worked as a landscape gardener during the Depression that his novel architectural vision of combining flavorful interior and exterior design elements began to mature. In the mid 1930's, Armstrong formally started his own practice in Kirkwood, Missouri.

Highly sought after for his daring designs and known for his flamboyant and engaging disposition, Armstrong was equally successful in procuring scores of residential and commercial contracts. In St. Louis, some of his residential clients included Doctors Carl and Gerty Cori (Nobel Peace Prize recipients) and Dr. Henry Hampton. His notable commercial projects and clients in St. Louis included Washington University, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, American Stove Company, Scruggs-Vandervoort-Barney, the St. Louis Ethical Society, the Kirkwood Community Center, the Lutheran Church of the Atonement, and various Y.W.C.A. branches. Additionally, Armstrong was the only solo-finalist in the design competition for the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis.

Administrative Information

Repository: WUA University Archives

Accruals: Accruals have been added to form Series 11 at the end of the collection.

Access Restrictions: Open

Use Restrictions:

Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.

Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.

If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)

Acquisition Method: Harris Armstrong’s wife, Louise McClelland Armstrong, donated the material to Washington University’s School of Architecture in 1974-1975 when Constantine Michaelides was Dean of the School of Architecture. In 1997, Cynthia Weese, then Dean of the School of Architecture, worked with Carole Prietto, then University Archivist, to transfer the material from the School of Architecture to University Archives.

Preferred Citation: [Item description]. From the [collection title, series, box, folder]. University Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.

Processing Information: Processed by Jay Kempen in August 1999. Revised by Sarah Pabarcus in November 2006. Revised by Jane Fiegen in August 2009.

Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid was entered into Archon by Hannah Barg in July 2012.

Other Note: When given, project numbers generally indicate that a contract was signed, bids secured, and the project completed. Armstrong assigned the year and project order. For example 57-6 would indicate the initial planning was in 1957 and was the sixth project of that year.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal and Professional Development],
[Series 2: Publications Featuring Prominent Architects and Contemporary Architectural Subjects],
[Series 3: Specifications and Correspondence for Commercial Architectural Projects],
[Series 4: Specifications and Correspondence for Residential Architectural Projects],
[Series 5: Oversized Plans for Commercial Architectural Projects],
[Series 6: Oversized Plans for Residential Architectural Projects],
[Series 7: Oversized Plans for Residential Furnishing Projects],
[Series 8: Oversized Renderings, Photographs, and Miscellany for Unidentified Architectural Projects],
[Series 9: Oversized Renderings, Photographs, and Miscellany for Various Architectural Projects],
[Series 10: Oversized Education, Professional Qualifications, and Miscellany],
[Series 11: Supplemental Information for Commercial and Architectural Projects],
[Series 12: Photographs of Various Projects],
[All]

Series 2: Publications Featuring Prominent Architects and Contemporary Architectural Subjects

(arranged alphabetically)

Box 1

Folder 21: Airplane Hangers and Airports
Folder 22: Apartments (Foreign)
Folder 23: Apartments (Hotels)
Folder 24: Apartments (Houses)
Folder 25: Architect's Writings (On Planning): [Folder 1 of 2]
Folder 26: Architect's Writings (On Planning): [Folder 2 of 2]
Folder 27: Architectural League Exhibition (1938)
Folder 28: Armstrong, Harris
Folder 29: Belluschi, Pietro
Folder 30: Bomb Shelters
Folder 31: Buchard, John E.
Folder 32: Builder's Houses (1949)
Folder 33: Camp Buildings (Scouts, Children)

Box 2

Folder 1: Cemeteries, Crematoriums, Chapels, and Churches (American): [Folder 1 of 3]
Folder 2: Cemeteries, Crematoriums, Chapels, and Churches (American): [Folder 2 of 3]
Folder 3: Cemeteries, Crematoriums, Chapels, and Churches (American): [Folder 3 of 3]
Folder 4: Cemeteries, Crematoriums, Chapels, and Churches (European)
Folder 5: City Halls, Town Houses, Court Houses, Jails
Folder 6: Club Houses, Beach Clubs, Ski Lodges, Tennis Clubs, Yacht Clubs, Ballrooms
Folder 7: Corbett, Mario
Folder 8: Department Stores and Shops (American)
Folder 9: Department Stores and Shops (Foreign)
Folder 10: Department Stores and Shops (by Lustig, Soriano, Gropius, Eames)
Folder 11: Dormitories and Dining Halls
Folder 12: Douglas and Haskell
Folder 13: Dow, Alden
Folder 14: Drake, Gordon
Folder 15: Eames, Charles

Box 3

Folder 1: Elkington, Robert
Folder 2: Ellwood, Craig
Folder 3: Elting, Winston
Folder 4: Embassy and Government Buildings
Folder 5: Eashbach, William
Folder 6: Esherick, Joseph
Folder 7: Federal Public Housing
Folder 8: Fehr and Granger
Folder 9: Fireplaces and Hearths
Folder 10: Flats and Duplexes
Folder 11: Foreign Buildings (General)
Folder 12: Forester, Russel
Folder 13: Francis, Willard Hall
Folder 14: Fuller, Buckminster (Bucky)
Folder 15: Funk, John
Folder 16: Gallion, Arthur
Folder 17: Garriot, Becker, and Bettman
Folder 18: Geddes and Brecker
Folder 19: Gehron and Ross
Folder 20: General Purpose Hotels
Folder 21: Girard, Alexander
Folder 22: Glaser, Samuel
Folder 23: Glass, J.
Folder 24: Goff, Bruce
Folder 25: Goldberg, Bertrand
Folder 26: Goodman, Charles
Folder 27: Goodman, Michael
Folder 28: Goodman, Percival
Folder 29: Gores, Landis
Folder 30: Granger, Charles T.
Folder 31: Greene Brothers
Folder 32: Gropius, Walter
Folder 33: Grossi, Olindo
Folder 34: Grossman, Greta M.
Folder 35: Gruen and Krummeck
Folder 36: Gymnasiums

Box 4

Folder 1: Hall, Raymond
Folder 2: Hampton, Mark
Folder 3: Hamilton, Richard and Marvin Goody
Folder 4: Hare, Michael
Folder 5: Harris, H.H.
Folder 6: Harrison and Fouiloux
Folder 7: Harvard University School of Architecture
Folder 8: Hatch, Don
Folder 9: Hayne, F.B.
Folder 10: Hebbeln, Henry
Folder 11: Hegner, Casper
Folder 12: Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassbaum
Folder 13: Henken, David
Folder 14: Hill, Henry
Folder 15: Hillmer, Jack
Folder 16: Historical Architecture (American)
Folder 17: Holabird and Root
Folder 18: Homsey and Homsey
Folder 19: Hornbein, Victor
Folder 20: Hornborstel, Caleb
Folder 21: Hospitals (Foreign)
Folder 22: Hospitals (General)
Folder 23: Hospitals (Large)
Folder 24: Hospitals (Small)
Folder 25: Hoyt, Burnham
Folder 26: Howard, Henry
Folder 27: Howe, George
Folder 28: Howe and Lescaze
Folder 29: Howell, Ardent, Mosher and Grant
Folder 30: Hudnut, Joseph
Folder 31: Hunter and Hunter
Folder 32: [Ives, Albert Ely]
Folder 33: Jackson, Huson
Folder 34: Jacobsen, John
Folder 35: Janssen, Paseling, Keller
Folder 36: Johnsen, John
Folder 37: Johnson and Whitcomb

Box 5

Folder 1: Jones, Quincy
Folder 2: Johnson, Philip (with signature)
Folder 3: Kaeser, William
Folder 4: Kahn and Jacobs
Folder 5: Kahn, Lewis
Folder 6: Kamrath, Karl
Folder 7: Kassler, Kenneth
Folder 8: Katz, Waisman, Blumenkranz, Stein, and Weber
Folder 9: Kehm, Bimel
Folder 10: Ketchum and Gina
Folder 11: Keyes and Lethbridge
Folder 12: Kiesler, Frederick
Folder 13: Kiley, Dan
Folder 14: King, [ ]
Folder 15: Kirk, P.H.
Folder 16: Kling, Vincent
Folder 17: Koch, Carl
Folder 18: Kochler and Ziegler
Folder 19: Kolb, Keith
Folder 20: Konigshofer, Jon
Folder 21: Kosmak, George
Folder 22: Kotch, M.A.
Folder 23: Ladd, Thornton
Folder 24: Landsberg, W.W.
Folder 25: Langhorst, Fred
Folder 26: Langhorst and Langhorst
Folder 27: Laszlo, Paul
Folder 28: Lawerence, Charles
Folder 29: Le Courbusier
Folder 30: Lee, John B.
Folder 31: Lee, Roger
Folder 32: Lemaire, Eleanor
Folder 33: Leuven, Karl van
Folder 34: Levy, Alexander
Folder 35: Lind, Kenneth
Folder 36: Lippmann, Herbert
Folder 37: Lodges
Folder 38: Lowry, Ritchie
Folder 39: Lyndon and Smith
Folder 40: Marden, Rowan
Folder 41: Marquis, Robert
Folder 42: Marx, Samuel A.
Folder 43: Maston, Carl L.
Folder 44: Matsumoto, George
Folder 45: Matthias, John
Folder 46: Mayhew, W.W.
Folder 47: McCarthy, F.J.
Folder 48: McNulty, John J.
Folder 49: Medical Offices
Folder 50: Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig
Folder 51: Military Installations
Folder 52: Millkey, Herbert
Folder 53: Mills, Mark
Folder 54: Minick, James W.
Folder 55: Mitchell and Ritchey
Folder 56: Models and Modelmaking

Box 6

Folder 1: Modern Architecture (European)
Folder 2: Modern Architecture (Mexician and South American)
Folder 3: Multi-Family Homes
Folder 4: Murphy, Joseph Dennis
Folder 5: Muschenheim, William
Folder 6: Musical Halls, Concert Halls, and Broadcasting Stations
Folder 7: Mutrux and Bernoudy
Folder 8: Nagel, Chester E.
Folder 9: Nelson, George
Folder 10: Nemeny, Goerge and Geller
Folder 11: Neutra, Richard
Folder 12: Nicholson and Maier
Folder 13: Niemeyer, Oscar
Folder 14: Nims, Rufus
Folder 15: Noyes, Eliot
Folder 16: Obata, Gyo
Folder 17: Ossipoff, Vladimir
Folder 18: Overstreet, R.K.
Folder 19: Pancoast, Ferendino, Skeels and Burnham
Folder 20: Parker, Alfred
Folder 21: Parking Garages, Filling Stations and Bus Terminals
Folder 22: Parkinson, C.N.
Folder 23: Pereira, W.L.
Folder 24: Perkins, G. Holmes
Folder 25: Perkins and Will

Box 7

Folder 1: Perkuhn, John
Folder 2: Perrin, Howard
Folder 3: Polevitzky, Igor
Folder 4: Pomerance and Breines
Folder 5: Post Offices
Folder 6: Pre-Fabricated Houses
Folder 7: Preston, John
Folder 8: Pries, Lionel
Folder 9: Public Housing
Folder 10: Public Shelters
Folder 11: Rado, Ladislav
Folder 12: Railway Stations
Folder 13: Rahman and Langlois
Folder 14: Raney, Vincent
Folder 15: Raport, Lucille Bryant
Folder 16: Rapson, Ralph
Folder 17: Raymond, Antonin
Folder 18: Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Lunch Counters and Roadside Taverns
Folder 19: Resort Hotels
Folder 20: Rixmann, Diedrich
Folder 21: Rudolph, Paul
Folder 22: Runnells, David
Folder 23: Ryan, Milton
Folder 24: Saaringen, Eliel and Eero
Folder 25: Salerno, Joseph
Folder 26: Sanders, Morris
Folder 27: Schweikher and Elting
Folder 28: Scott and Teegen
Folder 29: Scully, Vincent
Folder 30: Seidler, Harry
Folder 31: Sert, Dean
Folder 32: Sert, Jose
Folder 33: Sharp, Stanely
Folder 34: Short and Murrell
Folder 35: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Folder 36: Skylarek, [_dph]
Folder 37: Smith, Whitney R.
Folder 38: Soleri and Mills
Folder 39: Sorensen, Erik
Folder 40: Soriano, Raphael
Folder 41: Spaulding, Sumner
Folder 42: Special Interest Buildings

Box 8

Folder 1: Spencer, Eldridge
Folder 2: Sport Facilities
Folder 3: Stagel, Otto
Folder 4: Staub, John F.
Folder 5: Stein, Joseph
Folder 6: Steinbrueck, Victor
Folder 7: Stengade, Eric
Folder 8: Stone, Edward D.
Folder 9: Stonorov, Oscar
Folder 10: Stubbins, Hugh
Folder 11: Swimming Facilities
Folder 12: Synder, Wahl
Folder 13: Tafel, Edgar
Folder 14: Talcott and Talcott
Folder 15: Terry and Moore
Folder 16: Thiry, Paul
Folder 17: Tourist and Motor Camps, Cabins and Motels
Folder 18: Turner, George P.
Folder 19: United Nations Headquarters
Folder 20: Van der Gracht and Kilham
Folder 21: Vandervoorts, Bullocks, Lord and Taylor's and Goldwater's Department Stores
Folder 22: Van Pelt and Lind
Folder 23: Wachsmann, Konrad
Folder 24: Walker, Bruce
Folder 25: Walker, Rodney
Folder 26: Ward, Thomas
Folder 27: Ware, Edward
Folder 28: Warner, Charles
Folder 29: Water Towers
Folder 30: Weese, [ ]
Folder 31: Weese and Weese
Folder 32: Weston, Eugene
Folder 33: While, Arthur B.
Folder 34: Wiener, Paul Lester
Folder 35: Wiener and Wiener
Folder 36: Will, Philip
Folder 37: Williams, Williams and Williams
Folder 38: Wills, Barry
Folder 39: Woollen, Evans
Folder 40: Woolsey, George H.
Folder 41: Wright, Frank Lloyd: [Folder 1 of 4]
Folder 42: Wright, Frank Lloyd: [Folder 2 of 4]
Folder 43: Wright, Frank Lloyd: [Folder 3 of 4]
Folder 44: Wright, Frank Lloyd: [Folder 4 of 4]
Folder 45: Wright, Henry
Folder 46: Wright, John Lloyd
Folder 47: Wurdeman and Beckett
Folder 48: Yamasaki, Minoru
Folder 49: Yean, John
Folder 50: York, John
Folder 51: Yorke, F.R.S.
Folder 52: Zak, Ladislav