.
Collection Overview
Title: Harris Armstrong Collection, 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

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]