Photographic slides,
etc. of Harry Weese architectural projects, ca. 1956-1999.
Finding aid for the collection at Chicago History Museum, Research Center
By Diane Burant, August 2011
Please
address questions to:
Chicago
History Museum, Research Center
1601
North Clark Street
Chicago,
IL 60614-6038
Web-site:
http://www.chicagohistory.org/Research
© Copyright 2011, Chicago Historical Society, 1601 North Clark St., Chicago, IL 60614-6038
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Title: Photographic slides, etc. of Harry Weese architectural projects, ca. 1956-1999.
Main entry: Harry Weese and Associates.
Inclusive dates: ca. 1956-1999
Size:
Call#: 2010.0087 PCT:
ca. 5800 transparencies : col., slide ; 35 mm.
3 negatives : col.
Call#: 2010.0087 PNG:
33 photomechanical prints, etc.
Restriction: Advance appointment required to view color material in cold storage.
Accession numbers: 2010.0087.
Provenance statement: Gift of James Torvik, George Vrechek, and David Munson (2010.0087).
Terms governing use: Copyrights owned by James Torvik, George Vrechek, and David Munson to photography by staff of Harry Weese and Associates and by staff of Harry Weese Associates Architects were transferred to Chicago History Museum. Copyright to other materials in the collection may be retained by other creators of items, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.
Please cite this
collection as:
Photographic slides, etc. of Harry Weese architectural projects (Chicago
History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a
specific item.
This descriptive inventory contains the
following sections:
Biographical/historical
note,
Summary
description of the collection,
Description
of some material related to the collection,
List
of online catalog headings about the collection,
List
of contents of the collection.
Biographical/historical
note:
Harry Weese, a Chicago modernist architect, was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1915. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1938 and in 1939 completed a fellowship in urban planning at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, a meeting place for modernist designers in the 1930s and 40s. Although his training at MIT was based on the classical architecture curriculum of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, his modernist aesthetic developed from several influences. At MIT, he studied under architect Alvar Aalto; as a student, he was exposed to modern architecture while traveling through Europe; and he collaborated with fellow designers at Cranbrook.
Weese returned to Chicago after serving as an engineer in the Navy during World War II. He established the firm of Harry Weese and Associates in Chicago in 1946, and began his architectural career working on residential and small commercial projects. A majority of the firm's high-profile commercial work was completed in the 1960s and 1970s. Most commissions were for work on buildings in Chicago and the Midwest, but his most famous project was the design of the Metro subway stations of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit System in Washington (D.C.).
Weese maintained a lifelong friendship and professional relationship with the architect I.M. Pei, his classmate at MIT. Among Weese's many awards, he was named a member of the College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects in 1961. He retired from architecture in 1992 and in 1998 suffered from a stroke and died in Manteno, Illinois.
Summary description
of the collection:
Photographic slides containing views of 223 projects of the Harry Weese architectural firms taken by staff of those firms or by outside photographers, including Balthazar Korab Studios, Hedrich-Blessing photography firm, and Lambros Photography. Slides are arranged alphabetically by the name of the project. Includes views of building interiors and exteriors; building sites, construction, and demolition; images of project drawings and models; and presentation slides. Projects include new buildings, transportation projects, and building restorations commissioned by commercial, residential, or government and institutional clients. Major projects in the collection include the Time-Life Building, Metropolitan Correctional Center, and the Auditorium Theater restoration in Chicago; Arena Stage, Union Station, and the Metro subway in Washington, D.C.; and Shadowcliff house at Ellison Bay, Wisconsin. The collection includes images of drawings submitted to competitions for proposed projects, most notably drawings and pre-construction site photographs for the Los Angeles Transit Authority. The Union Station, Washington (D.C.) project is represented by some photographic laser-printouts and manuscripts as well as slides.
Description of some material related to the
collection:
Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include a large collection of drawings, photographs, and other archives named the "Architectural records for buildings by Harry Weese and Associates" (1978.0246; 2001.0167). Models of buildings by that firm are part of the artifact holdings of Chicago History Museum.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Burnham Library, holds the Ben and Harry Weese papers.
List of online catalog headings:
The following headings have been made for this collection in the online catalog.
Subjects:
Harry Weese and Associates--Photographs.
Harry Weese Associates Architects--Photographs.
Weese, Harry, 1915-1998.
Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)
Auditorium Theater (Chicago, Ill.)
Metropolitan Correctional Center (Chicago, Ill.)
Shadowcliff (Ellison Bay, Wis.)
Time-Life Building (Chicago, Ill.)
Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Architectural firms--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Buildings--Illinois--Chicago--1950-1999.
Buildings--United States--1950-1999.
Buildings--Washington (D.C.)--1950-1999.
Interior decoration--United States--1950-1999.
Mass transit--United States--1950-1999.
Railroad stations--United States--20th century--Designs and plans.
Subway stations--Washington (D.C.)--1950-1999.
Chicago (Ill.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--1950-1999.
Washington (D.C.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--1950-1999.
Form/genre:
Architectural
drawings.
Architectural photographs.
Exterior
views.
Film
negatives--Color.
Film
transparencies--Color.
Interior
views.
Photographic
prints.
Photomechanical
prints--Color.
Slides--Color.
Added
entries:
Harry Weese Associates Architects.
Weese, Harry, 1915-1998.
Balthazar Korab Studios, Ltd., photographer.
Hedrich-Blessing (Firm), photographer.
Lambros Photography (Chicago, Ill.), photographer.
List of contents of the collection:
Call#: 2010.0087 PCT:
ca. 5800 color slides and 3 negatives
box 1 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1-2 Actors Theatre
3 Adams/Wabash, Chicago
4 Amoco Des Moines
5 Amoco Research Center, Naperville
6 Amoco Raleigh
7 Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.
8 Arena II/Kreeger
9 Auditorium Theater, Chicago
10 Bank of Wheaton, Illinois
11 Banker's Trust
12 Bartholomew CC
13 Bartholomew Home for the Aged
14 Bernadin Parish Center
15 BNR trans. Control Center
16 British Consulate
17 Brown Foreman Warehouse "A"
18 Brown Foreman Warehouse "D"
19-20 Buckingham Fountain, Chicago
21 Carbondale Public Library, Illinois
22 Carleton College
23 Carmel Plaza
24 Carta Charleston, South Carolina
25 Case Bridge
26 Chanel Square
27 Chicago scenes
28 Chicago Federal Plaza
29 Chicago Public Schools
30-33 Chicago State University
34-35 Chinatown Square
36 Cornell College Commons
37 Cornell College Chapel
38 Cornell College Dorm
39 Prototype courthouses
40 Crown Center Hotel (Weston), Kansas City, Mo.
41 Cummins Building #60
42 Cummins Building #64
43 Cummins Cafeteria
44 Cummins Fostoria
45 Dade County Transit, Florida
46 Dart
box 2 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1 Dayton First National Bank
2 Dirksen Federal Building, Chicago
3 Donahue Building
4 Drake Dining Hall
5 Drake University Fine Arts
6 Drake University Married Housing
7 Drake University Master Plan
8 Drake University Men's Dorm
9 Drake University Student Center
10 Drake Hotel, Chicago
11 43 East Ohio Street, Chicago
12 East St. Louis Courthouse
13 Eisenhower presentation
14 ETZ Chaim
15 Euclid Place
16 Euro Tunnel
17 1100 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
18 411 East Wisconsin, Chicago
19 540 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
20 545 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
21 Federal Triangle, Washington, D.C.
22 Fenwick
23 Fenwick High School
24 Fenwick Field House
25-26 Field Museum of Natural History
27 Field Museum, Ancient Egypt Exhibit
28 Field Museum, Maori & Pawnee
29 Field Museum, Traveling the Pacific
30 First Baptist Church, Columbus, Indiana
31 First National Bank of Albuquerque
32 Forest Park Community College
33 Formica Building
34 Francisco Terrace
35 Francis Xavier Warde School
36 Fulton House, 345 N. Canal Street, Chicago
37 Gale House
38 Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.
39 Gary Library
40 Gary Multi-Modal
41 George Rogers Clark
42 Grace St. Elderly
43-44 Grand Central Station
box 3 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1 Grand Rapids Convention Center
2 Greenhill School
3 General Services Administration Social Security Admin.
4 General Services Administration Social Security Admin. Day Care
5 Habitat
6-7 Hamilton Transit Complex
8 Harbor Club
9 Heritage Landing
10 High Rise Building Study
11 Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
12 HWA Charts
13-14 Intercontinental Hotel
15 IBM Endicott
16 IBM Milwaukee
17 IL Center for the Visually Handicapped
18 Irwin Union Bank
19 Irwin Union Bank Hope Branch
20 Irwin Union Bank Everroad Branch
21 Jens Jensen School
22 Jens Jensen Studio
23 JFK exhibit
24 John Knox Home
25 Kansas City Music Hall
26 Korean Transit
27 Lake Michigan College
28 Latin School (high school), Chicago
29-31 LA Transit
32 Lincoln Center
33 Lincoln Heights
34 List Aerospace
35 Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery
36 Market Square
37 MAT New Orleans
38 Mayo Clinic Harwick
39 McCormick Theological Center
40 Mercantile Bank, Kansas City, Mo.
box 4 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1-3 Metra/C&NW, Chicago
4 Metropolitan Correction Center, Chicago,
later known as the William J. Campbell United States Courthouse Annex
5 Middletown Civic Center
6 Midway Station CTA
7 Milwaukee Performing Arts
8 Mormon Temple, Logan, Utah
9 Mormon Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah
10 Mt. Carmel High School
11 Mt. Carmel Priory
12 Museum Square
13 Newberry Library, Chicago
14 New Frontier Transit
15 New Trier Gym
16 New York Public Library
17 Nimes Competition
18 999 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
19 Northside Junior High School
20 Northwest Industries
21 NW Medical Arts Building
22 Northside Elementary (Schmidt) School
23 O'Hare International Airport, Chicago
24 150 Story Tower
25 199 East Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
26 Orchestra Hall, Chicago
27 Orlando Music Hall
28 Park Evanston
29 Pershing Square
30 Prairie State Convention Center
31 Purity Graphics
32 Q Street Bridge
33 Radisson Hotel Chicago
34-35 Raffles Hotel
box 5 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1 Reed College
2 River Cottages, Chicago
3 Riverbend
4 Rochester Institute of Technology
5 Saitama Hiroba Competition
6 75 East Wacker Drive, Chicago
7 Schwendener Interiors
8 Seventeenth Church of Christ, Chicago
9 Shadowcliff house, Ellison Bay, Wisc.
10 Sinai Temple
11 St. Mary's Freemont
12 Singapore
13 Southern University of Illinois School of Medicine
14 Smithsonian Institution
15-16 South Cove
17 Steelcase
18 St. Isaac Jogues
19 St. Louis Transit
20 St. Thomas Episcopal
21 SUNY Law & Jurisprudence
22 Swably Marina
23 Swiss Grand Hotel
24 Swissotel (Chicago?)
25 200 South Wacker, Chicago
26 227 East Walton Street, Chicago
27 2144 North Hudson Avenue, Chicago
28 Tangeman Island Home
29 Title slides
30 Terman Engineering Stanford
31 345 Fullerton Parkway, Chicago
32 Theatre plans
33-34 Time Life Building, Chicago
box 6 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1 Toronto Transit
2 Trans Union
3 Trizec Tower
4 Tyler Davidson Fountain
5 University of Chicago, Court Theatre
6 University of Chicago, Pierce Hall
7 University of Chicago, Pierce Hall II
8 University of Illinois, Faculty Center
9 UIC Business School
10 UIC Education & Communication Building
11 UIC Physical Education Building
12 UIC Planning
13-24 Union Station
25 Union Underwear
26 University of Dubuque
27-28 University of Wisconsin: Chazen Museum of Art, Humanities Building, Madison, Wisc.
29-30 US Embassy Housing (Ghana?)
31 United States Postal Service, Elmwood Park, Illinois
32 United States Postal Service, Roseland
33 United States Postal Service
34 Vail Terrace
35 Vienna South Competition
36 Virginia Railway Competition
37 The Washington Opera
38-39 Harry Weese Grand Plans
40 HWA Office
41 Weese Studio
42 Wheeler Opera House
box 7 of 7 (8 1/2 x 11 inches)
folders:
1 Whitehurst Freeway
2 Williams College Library
3 Willow Townhouses
4 Willowlake Center
5 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, METRO, HW concept
6-7 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
8 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Family of Curves
9 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority plans and sections
10 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority charts/station
11 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority world tour 1966
12 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority maps
13 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority models
14 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Anacostia
15 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Farragut Square connection
16 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Farragut North & West
17 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Forest Glen
18 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Fran./Spring.
19 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Grosvner
20 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Ft. Totten
21 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metro Center
22 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Prince George's Plaza
23 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Shady Grove & New Carrollton
24 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Smithsonian
25 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Wheaton
26 Wolf Point Landing
27 World's Fair 1992
28 Zaiser House
Call# 2010.0087 PGN:
non-graphic materials in 1 folder:
1 folder re. Union Station, Washington, D.C., containing 33
color laser prints, 44 p. of manuscripts, 1 vellum drawing, and 12 color
slides.