Collection robt.arn - Robert S. Arnold Architectural Collection

Identity area

Reference code

US IlHpHS robt.arn

Title

Robert S. Arnold Architectural Collection

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.

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

Related descriptions

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)

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Processed by Jami Thompson, 2010.

Accession area

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places

Physical storage

  • Box: 1
  • Drawer: #70 (1 of multiple sheets)