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Philadelphia City Planning Commission surveys conducted with New Deal Federal Work-Relief funds records, 1933-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:

156.0 cubic feet

Abstract:

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission had barely come into existence (April 1929) when the stock market crashed, marking the onset of the Great Depression. The PCPC requested federal funding, made possible through President Roosevelt’s New Deal work relief programs, to subsidize general administrative costs of PCPC and support the continuation of work on a master plan for the city of Philadelphia which had already begun. The agency also proposed to conduct a survey of central Philadelphia which would help address the problems of decaying older neighborhoods. From 1933 to 1939, the Commission employed hundreds of architects, engineers, social workers, and other professional and clerical staff in efforts to analyze the physical, economic, and social conditions of the city and to address these problems through a combined program of research, planning, and public advocacy. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission Survey files (Record Group (RG) 145-50) consist of 156 cubic feet of...(see more)

Held at: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, City Archives [Contact Us]

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Mitchell Giurgola Architects records, circa 1959-1990 (inclusive)

Extent:

6.88 linear feet (60 folders + 5 boxes + 1 tube)

Abstract:

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Architectural Archives [Contact Us]

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G. Robert Le Ricolais records, 1923-1997 (inclusive) 1954-1975 (bulk)

Extent:

18.25 linear feet (18 boxes + 6 flat file folders + 21 mounted photographs + 186 models (models not included in linear footage))

Abstract:

This collection includes records of Robert Le Ricolais's academic career at the University of Pennsylvania (1954-1975), professional and personal papers relating to his activity as an engineer and inventor, and published writings by other authors about the works of Le Ricolais. The documents date from 1923 to 1997.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Architectural Archives [Contact Us]

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Minerva Parker Nichols Collection, circa 1811, 1891-1973 (inclusive)

Extent:

3.5 linear feet (5 boxes + 1 flat file folder + 2 framed drawings)

Abstract:

Minerva Parker Nichols was the first independent woman architect in the country, with an office in Philadelphia and commissions nationwide. Working during the early suffrage movement, Minerva had many clients who were women. Her commissions included dozens of private residences, large and small, the New Century Clubs of Philadelphia and Wilmington, as well as the unbuilt Queen Isabella Association Pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The Minerva Parker Nichols Collection includes architectural drawings (especially the New Century Club in Philadelphia and a pair of houses in Germantown, Pa.), as well as an assortment of personal and family correspondence, photographs and other mementos related to Minerva Parker Nichols' life, work, and family. The collection also includes research files and writings about Minerva Parker Nichols.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Architectural Archives [Contact Us]

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Frank Weise architectural records, 1940-2002, undated (inclusive)

Extent:

14.25 linear feet (14 boxes + 24 flat file folders)

Abstract:

Frank Weise was a Philadelphia architect who practiced throughout the mid-20th century. The Frank Weise architectural records includes drawings, photographs and other records related to the professional work of Frank Weiss.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Architectural Archives [Contact Us]

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Penn Women's Center records, 1969-2023 (inclusive) 1973-2009 (bulk)

Extent:

12 cubic feet (8 record cartons, 1 document box, and 1 oversize flat box) and 6.8 gigabyte(s)

Abstract:

The Penn Women's Center at the University of Pennsylvania was founded in the fall of 1973 following a four day "Stop Rape" protest on campus. The Center's mission is to provide advocacy, education, support, and outreach services to all women in the greater Penn community. The records in this collection are not comprehensive, but they nevertheless provide a good overview of the Penn Women's Center's first fifty years of history, with the decades of the 1980s and 1990s best represented. The types of material most commonly found are reports, committee meeting materials, reference files, and event planning records and ephemera.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]

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Holy Land scrapbook, 1850-1860s, 1898 (inclusive)

Extent:

.3 linear feet

Abstract:

The Holy Land scrapbook contains clipped black and white printed reproductions of photographs, maps and architectural plans dating mostly from the 1850-1860s. In the mid-19th century, the area of what was then known as Palestine was under the control of the Ottoman Empire and would be until the end of World War I. Many of the photographic reproductions included in this scrapbook date to a period of renewed European religious and historical interest in Palestine.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

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Union League archives, 1833-2010 (inclusive)

Extent:

1643.0 items

Abstract:

Founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, the Union League of Philadelphia laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by Civil War. From its founding to the present, the League has been a leading civic organization and has played an important role in the history of our country and the City of Philadelphia. Over the past 150 years, this service has ranged from raising troops during the Civil War and lobbying for enforcement of the “freedom” amendments during Reconstruction, to feeding the hungry during the Great Depression, to finding jobs for returning veterans after World War II. The Union League archives houses a wide variety of records related to the general administration of the Union League, its mission, building and history. Additionally, researchers will find a small sampling of papers more generally related to the Civil War, including some letters written by Abraham Lincoln....(see more)

Held at: Union League of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

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Firestone Library Architectural Drawings Collection, 1931-1963 (inclusive)

Extent:

4 boxes and 1 folder

Abstract:

R. B. O'Connor & W. H. Kilham, Jr. is the New York City architictural firm that was appointed in 1944 to design Princeton University's Firestone Library, which opened in 1948. The collection includes architectural drawings, plans and photographs of Firestone Library (1948) and the later addition of the John Foster Dulles Library of Diplomatic History (1962).

Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]

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School of Design. Office of the Dean Records. Warren Powers Laird Administration, 1900-1932 (inclusive)

Extent:

48 cubic feet

Abstract:

Warren Powers Laird served as head of the School of Architecture from 1891-1920 and Dean of the School of Fine Arts from 1920-1932. The records of the Laird Administration document the administration of the School under Laird's long tenure, spanning the years 1900-1932.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]