Architectural records
and personal papers of Dwight Perkins
Descriptive Inventory for the Collection at Chicago History Museum, Research Center
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Historical Society, 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL. 60614-6038
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Title: Architectural records and personal papers of Dwight Perkins
Main entry: Perkins, Dwight Heald, 1867-1941.
Inclusive Dates: [ca. 1890-1975]
Call#: 1991.0230AT ms
3 linear ft. (5 boxes).
Call#: 1991.0230AT ph
ca. 50 photographic prints (2 boxes).
Call#: 1991.0230AT ds
ca. 20 architectural drawings
Accession#: 1991.0230
Restrictions: Advance appointment required to view materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center (312-642-4600).
Summary:
Correspondence, reports, newsclippings, articles, scrapbooks, photographs, and architectural drawings relating to the career and family life of noted architect Dwight Perkins, including 2 scrapbooks in box 4 (1890-1891 on religion and Jenkin Lloyd Jones; 1906-1910 on Chicago Board of Education trial); office files, photographs, and drawings for some of the buildings designed by Perkins or his firms (Perkins & Hamilton; Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton; Perkins, Chatten & Hammond), including school buildings designed for the Chicago Board of Education. Also present are correspondence and a drawing by Lucy Fitch Perkins (wife of Dwight Perkins) and correspondence about Marion Mahony Griffin. Correspondents with Dwight Perkins include Marion Heald Perkins, Lawrence Bradford Perkins, Eleanor Ellis Perkins, Margery Blair Perkins, and Jane Addams.
Descriptive inventory available at the Chicago History Museum, Research Center, filed under Perkins, Chatten & Hammond in Architectural Finding Aid Binders.
Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the "Architectural records for Chicago school buildings" from the Chicago (Ill.) Board of Education (1993.0285).
The collection is arranged in 4 series:
Series 1. Manuscripts: Call#: 1991.0230AT ms (5 boxes).
Series 2. Photographs: Call#: 1991.0230AT ph
Subseries 1: Schools and other educational facilities
Subseries 2: Public and Civic Buildings
Subseries 3. Residences
Subseries 4. Portraits
Subseries 5: Miscellaneous
Series 3. Architectural drawings: Call#: 1991.0230AT ds
Series 4. Publications: Call#: 1991.0230AT ms
List of online
catalog entries:
The following headings for this collection were placed in the online catalog:
Main entry: Perkins, Dwight Heald, 1867-1941.
Subjects:
Perkins, Dwight Heald, 1867-1941
Jones, Jenkin Lloyd. scrapbook 1, box 4.
Addams, Jane, 1860-1935 mss box 4.
Griffin, Marion Mahony, 1871-1962.
Perkins, Lawrence Bradford.
Perkins, Lucy Fitch, 1865-1937
Chicago (Ill.). Board of Education
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond (Architecture firm : Chicago, Ill.)--Archives.
Perkins & Hamilton (Architecture firm : Chicago, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton (Architecture firm : Chicago, Ill.)
Buildings--Illinois--Chicago.
Religion
Public school buildings--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Architectural firms--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Chicago (Ill.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--20th century.
Form/genre headings:
Architectural drawings.
Scrapbooks.
Sketches.
Travel sketches.
Portrait photographs.
Silver gelatin prints.
Added entries:
Addams, Jane, 1860-1935 mss box 4.
Lowe and Speer, Architects
Perkins, Lawrence Bradford.
Perkins, Lucy Fitch, 1865-1937.
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond (Architecture firm : Chicago, Ill.)
Perkins & Hamilton (Architecture firm : Chicago, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton (Architecture firm : Chicago, Ill.)
Chicago (Ill.). Board of Education
United States--Illinois--Cook County--Chicago.
Series 1. Manuscripts: Call#: 1991.0230AT ms (5 boxes).
Box 1 (size B) Board of Education, Chicago 1905-1910:
Folders:
1 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1903-1904
2 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1905
3 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1906
4 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1907
5 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1907 (cont’d.)
6 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1908
7 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1908 (cont’d.)
8 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1909
9 Visit of President William H. Taft 1909 Sept./Oct. correspondence, program, etc.
10 Correspondence, reports, etc. 1910
11 Correspondence, reports, etc. n.d.
12 Statistics on schools, school construction
13 Architect’s Department personnel, expenditures, responsibilities, etc.
14 Articles, reproductions, etc. re: various DHP school building designs
Box 2 (size B) Board of Education vs. D. H. Perkins, 1910:
1 Correspondence
2 Reports, DHP’s notes, etc.
3 General statement of Architectural Dept. of Chicago Board of Education, June 1905-Feb. 1910
4 Newspaper and periodical clippings
5 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 7, 1910
6 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 8, 1910
7 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 14, 1910
8 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 17, 1910
9 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 21, 1910
10 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 24, 1910
11 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 25, 1910
12 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 28, 1910
13 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 29, 1910
14 Transcript of proceedings Mar. 31, 1910
15 Transcripts of DHP’s statements
Box 3 (size B) Professional
Practice: D. H. Perkins, Architect; Perkins & Hamilton; Perkins, Fellows
& Hamilton; Perkins, Chatten & Hammond
1 D. H. Perkins correspondence, 1928
2 D. H. Perkins writings (articles, essays, etc.)
3 D. H. Perkins: Charles Hitchcock Hall articles, reproductions, etc.
4 D. H. Perkins various buildings: articles, reproductions, etc.
5 D. H. Perkins reference material on school-related topics
6 D. H. Perkins re. forest preserve district
7 D. H. Perkins biographical information
8 D. H. Perkins miscellaneous items
9 Perkins & Hamilton correspondence, 1908
10 Perkins & Hamilton various buildings: articles, reproductions, etc.
11 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton correspondence, 1912-20
12 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton lists of schools designed
13 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton information re. school building designs
14 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton notebook: inventory of commissions (with drawings and statistics), 1911-1922
15 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton lists of references
16 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton various buildings: articles, reproductions, etc.
17 Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton “The Tower Court Soviet” program
18 Perkins, Chatten & Hammond firm history/information
19 Miscellaneous clippings, reproductions
Box 4 (size A) Perkins Family History
1 D. H. Perkins / Marion Heald Perkins correspondence, n.d.
2 D. H. Perkins / Lucy Fitch Perkins correspondence 1925
3 D. H. Perkins / Lawrence Bradford Perkins correspondence 1938-1941
4 D. H. Perkins / Eleanor Ellis Perkins correspondence 1938
5 D. H. Perkins / Margery Blair Perkins correspondence ca. 1930-1940
6 D. H. Perkins / Jane Addams correspondence 1897-1932
7 D. H. Perkins miscellaneous correspondence 1908-1936
8 Lucy Fitch Perkins / Margery Blair Perkins correspondence, ca. 1930
9 Lucy Fitch Perkins articles, essays, etc., 1900
10 LBP/MBP research re. DHP: notes, interviews, articles
11 LBP/MBP correspondence re. DHP 1973-1977
12 MBP correspondence re. Lucy Fitch Perkins 1974
13 MBP correspondence re. Marion Mahony Griffin 1975
14 D. H. Perkins: Massachusetts Institute of Technology photographs, articles
15 D. H. Perkins’ death, 1941: correspondence, execution of will
16 Miscellaneous items
Box 5 (size D) Miscellaneous materials
D. H. Perkins scrapbook, 1890-1891 clippings re; religious subjects, Jenkin Lloyd Jones
D. H. Perkins scrapbook, 1906-1910 clippings re; work for CBE and trial, civic involvement
D. H. Perkins newspaper clippings, 1910 re. CBE trial
D. H. Perkins travel sketches, 1926-1934 France, Greece and other European countries
Lucy Fitch Perkins: ink/paper drawing, “An old corner in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston”
Series 2. Photographs
(including photoprints and negatives of buildings, architectural drawings and
renderings) Call#: 1991.0230AT ph
Subseries 1: Schools and other educational facilities (in alphabetical order by name; all Board of Education schools for which exact dates are not given were built between 1905 and 1910)
Box 1
Agassiz Elementary School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education
Alma College (Alma, Michigan)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects
Bay City Senior High School (Bay City, Michigan)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1922
James H. Bowen High School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1907-1908
Grover Cleveland Public High School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1907
Dante School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education
David Worth Dennis School (West Side Junior High School; Richmond, Indiana)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1921
Englewood High School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education
Evanston Township High School (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1924
James A. Garfield School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1922
Thomas L. Handy Junior High School (West Side Junior High School; Bay City, Michigan)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects
Friedrich L. Jahn School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1907
Albert G. Lane Technical High School (Washburne Trade School; Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1908
Lincoln Senior High School (Manitowoc, Wisconsin)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1923-1924
Lincolnwood School (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1913
Mishawaka High School (Mishawaka, Indiana)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, ca. 1924
Bernhard Moos Elementary School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1910
New Trier Township High School additions (Kenilworth, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1923
Oak Park River Forest High School stadium (Oak Park, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, ca. 1924
Ogelsby Public School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education
William Penn Public School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, ca. 1908
Post Graduate Medical School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, ca. 1895
Princeton-Yale School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, ca. 1895
Proposed New High School (Racine, Wisconsin)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects
John G. Rogers Elementary School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education
Roosevelt Junior High School (East Side Junior High School; Appleton, Wisconsin)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, ca. 1924
St. Clair High School (St. Clair, Michigan)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1922
St. Joseph High School (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1915
Joseph Sears School (Kenilworth, Ill.)
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond, Architects
Jesse Spaulding School for Crippled children (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, ca. 1907
Julia Test Junior High School (East Side Junior High School; Richmond, Indiana)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1923
George W. Tilton Elementary School (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1906-1908
Lyman Trumbull Elementary School (Chicago, Ill.)
D.H. Perkins, Architect for the Board of Education, 1910
University of Chicago, Charles Hitchcock Hall (Chicago, Ill.)
D.H. Perkins, Architect, 1901
University of Chicago, Morgan Park Academy Gymnasium (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, 1900
University of Michigan, Educational Building (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Perkins, Fellows 7 Hamilton, Architects, 1924
Wartburg College (Clinton, Iowa)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1913
Willard (?) School (River Forest, Ill.)
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond, Architects
Woodrow Wilson Junior High School (West Side Junior High School; Appleton, Wisconsin)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, ca. 1924
Unidentified school buildings
Subseries 2: Public
and Civic Buildings:
Free Museum of Science and Art
D. H. Perkins, Architect (?)
Lincoln-Belmont Y.M.C.A. (Chicago, Ill.)
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond, Architects, 1927
Machinery and Electricity Building, Trans-Mississippi Exposition (Omaha, Nebraska)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, 1898
Gen. Richard L. Jones Armory (12th Field Artillery Building; Chicago, Ill.)
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond, Architects, 1930
Subseries 3. Residences
J. Scott Clark residence (Evanston, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, 1901
William A. Colledge residence (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins & Hamilton, Architects, 1906
Charles M. Fairchild residence (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1911
Joseph H. Kearney residence (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1911
Dwight H. Perkins residence (Evanston, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, 1904
Harrison Riley residence (Evanston, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect
Edwin F. Walker residence (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins & Hamilton, 1908
Mrs. H. M. Wilmarth residence (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin)
D. H. Perkins, Architect
Robert A. Worstall residence (Evanston, Ill.)
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects, 1912
3929 & 3931 South Indiana Avenue (Chicago, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect, ca. 1890
Unidentified residence (Evanston, Ill.)
D. H. Perkins, Architect
Unidentified residence
D. H. Perkins, Architect
Unidentified residence
D. H. Perkins, Architect
Subseries 4. Portraits
D. H. Perkins (2)
Lucy Fitch Perkins
Mrs. Annie Hitchcock
Subseries 5: Miscellaneous
Forest Preserve District: Perkins Woods (Evanston, Ill.)
Series 3.
Architectural drawings: Call#: 1991.0230AT ds
Note: some architectural drawings are also stored in box 2 with the photographs listed above. See individual catalog sheets (in Architecture Finding Aid Binders) for drawing location.
Dwight Heald Perkins:
Sketches of residence at 3929 & 3931 Indiana Avenue (Chicago, Ill.), ca. 1890
Lowe and Speer,
Architects (associated architects):
Wartburg College, Science Building (Clinton, Iowa), 1932
Perkins, Fellows & Hamilton, Architects:
High School Building (Pontiac, Michigan), n.d. (1912)
Perkins, Chatten & Hammond, Architects:
Senior High school (PCH Job # 872) (Fort Smith, Arkansas), 1927
Elementary School (PCH Job #873) (Fort Smith, Arkansas), 1927
Addition to Roycemore School (Evanston, Ill.), 1928
North Elementary School (River Forest, Ill.), n.d.
Joseph Sears School (Kenilworth, Ill.), n.d.
Other architects:
Emergency Fleet Corporation, Branch of Design School (Bath, Maine) 1918
Anonymous
Miscellaneous school drawings, 1918
Series
4. Publications, Call#: 1991.0230AT ms
Note: A list of publications relating to Perkins is in the accession authority file for this collection.
“American School Buildings,” by Fletcher B. Dresslar, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1924, No. 17.
“Co-operative Citizenship in Delaware,” report to the Annual Meeting of the Service Citizens of Delaware, May 12, 1922, by Joseph H. Odell, Director.
“Tendencies and Developments in the Field of Public Recreation, 1910-11”, by H. S. Braucher. Reprinted from The Playground, July 1911.
Address to the American Park and Outdoor Art Association, by J. W. Langmuir.
American Park and Outdoor Art Association, Reports of the Standing Committees of the Seventh Annual Meeting, Buffalo, July 7, 8, 9, 1903
American Park and Outdoor Art Association, School Garden Papers of the Sixth Annual Meeting, Boston 1902.
American Park and Outdoor Art Association, Park Commissioners’ Session of the Sixth Annual Meeting, Boston 1902.
“Report on the Intermediate or Junior High School,” by Jeremiah H. Burke, 1916. Reprinted from the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools.
American Civic Association, October 1918: “Standards Set by the New Federal War Suburbs and War Cities,” by Andrew Wright Crawford.
Checking Schedule for Project School Buildings. A Guide for School Boards and Superintendents, by James O. Betelle, 1919.
“Safety Education in the Public Schools” an Address Before the National Education Association, Milwaukee, July 4, 1919,” by Albert W. Whitney.
National Education Association, “Report of Committee on School House Planning”, 1925
“A Primer of Forestry,” Farmers’ Bulletin No. 173, (Department of Agriculture?)
The Playground, April 1908
Review of Educational Research, October 1938.