Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- Bulk, 1947-1962 (Creation)
- 1937-1980 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
86 rolls
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Robert S. Arnold was born in 1907. In 1940, he became a member the Architectural Institute of America Chicago Chapter and is listed in AIA's Directory in 1956, 1962, and 1970. Arnold attended the University of Pennsylvania where he studied Architecture. After college, he settled in Glencoe and started his own architecture firm. In the late-1970s Arnold moved to Troy, Alabama.
Repository
Archival history
It appears that drawings of non-Highland Park, Illinois structures distributed to respective local historical repositories.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Unknown.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The Robert S. Arnold Architectural Collection consists of architectural plans, site surveys, perspective sketches, contracts, and job schedules. The collection contains materials relating to the Highland Park Library, The Moraine Hotel, and several prominent Highland Park residents. Homes, buildings, and churches from the Chicagoland area can also be found in the collection including Kelly's Day Camp in Wheeling, Illinois, St. Martins Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, and the Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois. The collection also contains items relating to homes built outside the Chicagoland region, including those built in Troy, Alabama. This collection contains the exhibit plans for Arnold's submission for the Chicago Tribune's Chicagoland Prize Homes Exhibition. The collection originally contained 369 rolls. The collection still contains many of the rolls relating to Highland Park, Illinois. A large collection of rolls relating to Chicago, Illinois; Glencoe, Illinois; Wilmette, Illinois, and several other North Shore communities are missing. Seven rolls were deaccessioned to the Lake Forest Lake Bluff Historical Society in 2006. One roll was deaccessioned during 2010 processing as it did not fit in The Highland Park Historical Society's collection policy. It is unclear where the other rolls are located.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Rolls are arranged by Job Number, chiefly in chronological order. If the materials lacked a Job Number an artificial number outside of the scope of the collection was created.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
This collection has no conditions governing its access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Plans relating to the Highland Park Library and Herman Kagen residence were removed from their rolls and placed in a flat archival box due to fragility and deterioration. . Furniture and house plans for the Herman Kagen residence can also be found in the archival box. Several of the rolls show age, wear, and damage.
The following rolls were found to have damage during processing and should be handled with care:
70 The Highland Park Library Alterations --
141 Mandel, Eugene D. Memorial Fountain (Elm Place School, Highland Park, Illinois) -- 1937
172 Kagen, Herman Residence --
200 Lederer, Gretta Residence (Wilmette, Illinois) --1948
214a Gordon, Mr. & Mrs. Milton Residence (Glencoe, Illinois) --
Kelly, Mr. & Mrs. Lester J. Residence (Wheeling, Illinois) --
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Other Arnold drawings may be located at historical repositories where the structures were located.
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Robert S. Arnold (1907 - ) was a North Shore architect who designed and constructed homes, apartments, churches and commercial and municipal buildings, primarily in the Chicagoland region. This collection contains architectural plans, sketches, contracts, site surveys, and work schedules for approximately 70 buildings. Many of the buildings represented in this collection are or were located in Highland Park, Illinois including alterations to the Highland Park Library, the Moraine Hotel, the Mandel Memorial at Elm Place School, and the homes of prominent Highland Park residents. The collection also contains buildings in Glencoe, Illinois; Wilmette, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois: and other North Shore communities.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
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Sources
Archivist's note
Processed by Jami Thompson, 2010.