Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Organization established to promote civic, cultural, and recreational interests and activities of Ann Arbor's African American community. Administrative reports, informational brochures, collected information, and photographs.

The records of the Ann Arbor Community Center spans 0.5 linear feet and document the Center's service to Ann Arbor's African-American community. The records, including annual reports, brochures, clippings and photographs have been arranged into three series: Administrative, 1936-1998; Topical, 1936-1997; and Visual, 1920s-1990s

Architect based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Project files relate to work with George Brigham and his system of constructing prefabricated homes, 1944-1947; files relating to design and construction of Huron High School in Ann Arbor; other projects concern design of mobile home parks and other Michigan school buildings.

The collection is arranged into five series, Brigham Building System, Lane Projects, Huron High School, Personal and World War II Military Service. The series include the many projects that Charles Wesley Lane worked on during his architectural career and some materials from his military service as well. The collection is composed of photographs, slides, microfilm, microfiche and prints. The researcher will be interested in the variety of architectural projects in which Lane was involved, which include schools, mobile homes, churches, and other types of structures. A small number of photographs of Nagasaki after the atomic bomb may also be of interest.

Student papers written for courses in architectural history research, mainly about Michigan architects, buildings and communities.

The records consist of student papers prepared for courses in the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Design (later Architecture and Urban Planning), primarily for classes in architectural history research; topics concern the architecture of specific Michigan communities, the architecture of historical buildings and homes, and studies of types of structures in Michigan; papers include historical description and appended visual material. Many of the papers include photos, postcards, and other illustrations relating to the architecture of specific Michigan communities, prominent historical buildings and houses in the state, and types of structures

Professor of architecture at the University of Michigan; includes correspondence, professional organizational activities files, documentation, photographs, and architectural drawings accumulated during his work with the Michigan Historic Buildings Survey

The Emil Lorch papers are valuable for their documentation of the career of this important architectural educator and for that material about Michigan architecture and historic structures that Lorch accumulated in the course of his professional study and organizational involvement. The collection includes extensive correspondence with many of the country's leading architects, most notably members of the "Chicago School," and architectural educators, and manuscript and photographic documentation resulting from Lorch's involvement with the Michigan Historic Buildings Survey and various restoration projects, including Mackinac Island.

Architect; professor of architecture at the University of Michigan. Client files, topical file, and miscellaneous presentation drawings.

The George Brigham collection consists of three linear feet and 10 oversize drawers of architectural drawings, photographs, correspondence, and subject files relating to his career as a practicing architect in southeastern Michigan (mainly Ann Arbor), but also including some materials when he was based in Pasadena, California.

The collection has been arranged into five series: Client Files; Client Drawings Files; Prefabrication Drawings Files; Miscellaneous Drawings Files; and Topical Files

The Client Files and the Topical Files have been placed together in the collection (boxes 1-3). The Client Drawings Files, the Prefabrication Drawings Files, and the Miscellaneous Drawings Files, consisting of oversized architectural materials, have been placed together in flat storage drawers.

The Client Files and the Client Drawings Files will be discussed here together as the distinction between them is primarily one of size rather than content. Each of these series is arranged alphabetically by the name of the client for whom Brigham either designed a structure (mainly private residences), additions to existing structures, or proposed a design for which the structure was never built. As a rule, the Client Files consist of photographs, specifications, smaller original drawings, correspondence, and other materials relating either to the project or to the client, while the Client Drawings Files, as the name states, consists of the original designs from conception to final revisions as given to the contractor. There is some mixing of materials between the two series with an occasional oversize photograph located in the Client Drawings Files and with some smaller-sized drawings located in the Client Files. The researcher should also note that while the lists of names for the two series are basically the same they are not identical. The disparities depend upon whether a structure was actually built or not and whether all of the materials have survived. As a group, these two series document Brigham's creative process from first contact with a client through to the construction phase. The series also documents the introduction of a new style of domestic architecture into the Ann Arbor community, particularly areas where the faculty of the University of Michigan resided such as Barton Hills.

The Prefabrication Drawings Files and the Miscellaneous Drawings Files are not client-based files and instead concern Brigham's design innovations in the area of low-cost, prefabricated structures. Unfortunately with the passage of time and the transfer of material about, the original order of these drawings has been lost. An attempt has been made to put the drawings into a subject arrangement but there are still many items imprecisely identified or fragments that were once part of a series of drawings. Some identification is of course possible with clearly defined units of material carrying such labels as 12 panel recreation shelter, a square folding portable shelter and plank wall construction. The largest grouping of drawings here is for Brigham's modular designs, which he called "Unit Built Structures." Perhaps the most significant portion of the Miscellaneous Drawings series relates to the Youtz Unit System of building on which Brigham worked during World War II.

The final series - Topical Files - contain a miscellanea of personal materials, speeches and articles, subject files on his general interest in architectural design. Of interest here in this series are several files relating to Brigham's work with Philip Youtz and his design work on the Youtz Unit House. As mentioned previously, there are also complementary drawings on the Youtz system.

Professor of architectural history at the University of Michigan. Correspondence, topical files, college term papers written by Eaton, papers written by Eaton students (mainly concerning the architecture of Michigan buildings), and photographs; subjects include seventeenth century Dutch architecture, the Chicago school of architecture, and the career of Frank Lloyd Wright. Also included is Eaton's research file on the Palmer-Ryan House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Ann Arbor. The collection contains extensive correspondence with architect William Gray Purcell

The Leonard K. Eaton papers document his career as a professor of architectural history at the University of Michigan and reflect his interest in seventeenth-century Dutch architecture and the Chicago school of architecture. The papers cover the years 1950-1988 and reflect Eaton's activities as architectural historian, student advisor, author, and participant in architectural professional groups.

The Eaton papers have come to the library in three accessions. The first in 1988 came from Mr. Eaton; the second in 1996 consisted of materials that he had donated to the University of Michigan Art and Architecture Library and which they subsequently transferred to the Bentley Library. The third accession contained some topical files and material related to the Palmer House in Ann Arbor. The first accession has been retained in its original order and consists of five series: Correspondence, Topical Files, College Term Papers written by Leonard Eaton, Student Papers written by Eaton Students, and Photographs

The Correspondence series is arranged alphabetically and consists mainly of outgoing letters. Of special interest is the exchange of letters with Lewis Mumford dating from the late 1950s. Topical Files consists of notes and drafts of Eaton's published articles, which have been arranged by title. Also included in this series are articles relating to the landscape architect Jens Jensen as well as notes and published writings from the 2004 accession. College Term Papers written by Eaton series is arranged alphabetically. Mainly undated, these papers reflect Eaton's interest in literature, art and political theory. Student papers written by Eaton students series focuses on Michigan buildings and architecture. The Photographs series includes photographs used in his research on Dutch architecture and a Flint, Michigan, public housing project.

Papers of Washtenaw County, Mich. architectural historian and preservation activist Mary M. Culver. Collection includes records of Washtenaw County, Mich. historic preservation organizations, Culver's research files and presentations, and images of Michigan historic buildings.

Collection reflects Culver's work in the areas of and historic preservation and Michigan architectural history, and divided into two series: Committee Work and Research and Presentations.

Ann Arbor-based artist specializing in images of local businesses and sites. The collection has been arranged in three series. The Artwork series includes drawings of buildings and other projects, publications containing reproductions of his work, and files relating to galleries, exhibits, auctions, and art fairs. The Supplemental Materials series concerns the art organizations and associations of which Kemnitz was a member, correspondence, and files pertaining to other activities, notably the Bird Hills Park controversy. The third series, Southern White Migration to Detroit in the 1930s, consists of research materials and reports resulting from Kemnitz' research as a member of a University of Michigan sociology seminar on metropolitan community organization. A portion includes Elmer Akers' research on the Black Legion.

The papers of Milt Kemnitz have been divided into three series. The first series, ARTWORK, focuses on the artwork itself, and its reproduction and dissemination. This includes the following subseries: Drawings of Buildings, Other Projects, Publications and Galleries, Exhibits, Auctions & Art Fairs. The second series, called SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS, has three subseries, Art Organizations & Associations, Correspondence and Miscellaneous Personal Material. Much of this material concerns his career as an artist but relates less directly to the actual artwork than the material in the first series. The third series, SOUTHERN WHITE MIGRATION TO DETROIT IN THE 1930s, consists of research materials and reports resulting from Kemnitz' research as a member of a University of Michigan sociology seminar on metropolitan community organization.

Noted Michigan-based modern architect and former Professor and later Dean of the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Metcalf's work includes over 150 buildings in Michigan and Ohio. The material in this collection spans the years 1942 to 2017, and includes architectural drawings, presentation boards, client files, photographs and slides, correspondence, newspaper clippings, journals, articles, and teaching material.

The Robert C. Metcalf papers include architectural drawings, presentation boards, presentation books, client files, photographs, slides, and negatives of Metcalf's work on residential, commercial, and community projects. The collection provides comprehensive documentation on virtually all of the projects undertaken by Metcalf. Projects are documented from design to construction and often subsequent additions and renovations. The materials in the collection are organized into three series: Project Files, General Files, and Visual Materials.

The General Files series includes personal material such as an audio interview with Robert Metcalf (2010), a date book (1974), and Metcalf's undergraduate student work from the University of Michigan (1942-1950).

Susan Wineberg is a historian of Ann Arbor, Mich., and historic preservationist. She became involved in historic preservation in 1974 and has served as a commissioner on the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission (1982, 1984-1988) and as a member on its committees since 1977. Wineberg also has authored books and articles on historic buildings in Ann Arbor and been active in other local organizations. The collection includes correspondence, articles, brochures, clippings, printed ephemera and realia, photographs, and subject files relating mostly to Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Michigan historic properties and businesses.

The Susan Wineberg Papers document local efforts to research and protect historic properties in the Ann Arbor area. The collection is a rich source of information for the history of many buildings and areas in Ann Arbor. Wineberg has assembled clippings, stories, records, and photocopies of pictures about local preservation, conflicts over preservation laws, and historic buildings. The collection documents not only Wineberg's involvement in historic preservation, but also the activities of governmental and community organizations that have sought to preserve Ann Arbor's heritage and encourage adoption of their sense of responsible development. Moreover, the records reveal the evolution of historic preservation since the 1970s. They document the debates within the community between those who favor governmental measures that aim to protect the city's historic properties and those who view such protective ordinances and regulations as an intrusion on individual property rights. Additionally, several of the series document the history of Ann Arbor, Detroit, Washtenaw County, and Michigan through collected photocopies, photographs, and assorted ephemera.

The collection is organized into 18 series: Personal Files, Ann Arbor Historic District Commission, Ann Arbor Historic Preservation and Development Materials, Audio Materials, Visual Materials, Research / Reference files, Printed Ephemera and Realia, Printed Ephemera and Realia, 1969-2004, Collected Historical Materials, and Washtenaw County Historical Society. The rest of the collection is arranged into series based on when they were received by the Bentley, and as such there may be some overlap in subject matter.