Architecture Research

CHM holds substantial archives of the following architectural firms and projects, just to name a few: 

• Holabird & Roche/ Holabird & Root  

• C.W. and George L. Rapp/ Rapp & Rapp  

• Harry Weese Associates  

• John Lloyd Wright  

• Francis Barry Byrne  

• Andrew N. Rebori  

• Alfred Alschuler/ Friedman Alschuler and Sincere  

• Graceland Cemetery  

• Graham, Anderson, Probst and White  

• C.F Murphy and Associates 

Not every collection is organized by architect. Another historically valuable collection is from the Chicago Board of Education, consisting of architectural plans of Chicago Public Schools built, added onto, or altered during the 1890s through the 1920s.

There are also several smaller collections organized around a real estate firm or developer. 

Below are some tips for navigating some of these collections.

A large portion of the architectural holdings of Harry Weese and Associates were donated to CHM over time, so there are several different accession numbers to look out for. The collection spans a wide range of architectural projects both locally and internationally including including drawings of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority aka the Washington DC Metro (1966 and onward) as well as the United States Embassy (1962) in Accra, Ghana.

The various accruals to the collections are processed to varying levels, with some material remaining unprocessed and offsite. Requests for Weese material most often requires 2-3 months advance notice. It is also important to note that due to the condition of the some of the material research center staff may need to restrict access to some rolls. It helps to know the job number of the building you are looking for in order to navigate the various portions of the collection. There is an alphabetical listing of all Weese jobs with their job numbers available in the research center. There is also collection level record in ARCHIE available for the collection, which is loosely arranged around the various accruals as follows: 

• 1978.0246 - This portion is made up of approximately over 300 boxes of manuscript material stored onsite, with a paper-based, draft finding aid available to view in the research center. There are also drawings from this accrual stored offsite. The drawings are searchable in the online inventory. These may be viewed with 2-3 months advance notice. 
• 1999.0115 - Approximately 500 sets of architectural plans and job files, stored in large oversize folders located onsite. There is also an additional 206 Hollinger boxes of manuscript material available onsite. A paper-based, draft finding aid is available to view in the research center for the boxes, or you may email research@chicagohistory.org for more information about this accrual, advance request is required since it is largely unprocessed. The drawings are searchable in the online inventory.
• 2001.0167 - This collection comprises two parts: 
  • Visual Materials – 141 boxes of visual materials, stored onsite. A finding aid for this portion of the collection is online
  • Over 2,000 unprocessed, rolled drawings stored in tubes onsite. These are listed alphabetically by name in the 2nd half of the 3rd Weese binder, available in the research center. 
• 2010.0087 - This accession contains 7 boxes of color slides. As with all color photographic material at CHM, these require 48 hours advance notice to retrieve as they are stored in cold storage and need to acclimate before serving. A separate catalog record with a finding aid is available: Photographic slides, etc. of Harry Weese architectural projects

Research files of Robert Bruegmann, author of Holabird & Roche & Root: An Illustrated Catalog of Works, 1880-1940, is a great place to start for materials by this firm (H&R). These are located in file cabinets in the research center (please ask research center staff to retrieve these for you). They can be useful for finding research notes relating to H&R buildings as well as smaller reproductions of drawings, for which there is a finding aid available online. Checking the book first is also helpful to determine basic information about a building.

The main accession number for this collection is 1979.0242, but there are some exceptions. These materials are stored offsite and are organized by type: DF (Design Folder), NC (Non-Commission), Other Architects, and Other . These folders should be discoverable in the online inventory, but require 2-3 months advance notice since they are offsite.

While there is also a later accession of materials from H&R, consisting of post WWII building, this material is currently unprocessed and stored offsite. The material is inaccessible until further notice. 

The main set of drawings by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White (GAPW) are from accession 1985.130. Many of these job files are stored in tubes onsite at CHM, while folders of drawings are stored offsite. These should all be searchable via the public inventory. 

Manuscript material relating to various GAPW buildings is also available onsite. There is a legacy finding aid available for this material in the research center. 

There is also a later accession of material (1999.0148) which is currently being processed and cataloged. This material is onsite, and upon completion of the project will be searchable in our library catalog.