Max Abramovitz architectural records and papers, 1925-1990

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Series VI: Office Records

The series is arranged into the following subseries: Job Lists, Financial Records, Scrapbooks, Tear Sheet File, Project Documentation, Promotional Materials and Clippings, and Memorabilia.


Subseries 1: Job Lists



Box 09 Folder 4 List in job no. order, N-1 through A-648, [1981]

List of projects by type, 1982 ; List marked : current as of October. File contains 2 copies, one is incomplete.



Box 09 Folder 4 Max Abramovitz, List of Buildings, 1989

List from Victoria Newhouse's book, Wallace K. Harrison, Architect (New York: Rizzoli, c1989), p. 321-324.



Box 09 Folder 5 Abramovitz-Kingsland-Schiff index of originals drawings, project files, and shop drawings, 1992-1995


Subseries 2: Financial Records

This section consists of financial records generated primarily by the firms of Harrison & Abramovitz and Abramovitz - Harris - Kingsland. The records span the years 1948-1987 and cover approximately 240 projects. All the boxes were labeled Accounting Dept. and numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14 (there was no box 4, 6, or 11).

The records have been re-housed in 23 boxes and have been accordingly re-labeled. The box numbers listed under Container are the new numbers assigned after the re-housing and are the same as those in the Financial Records sub-series found in the Project Record series.



Box (Financial Records) 01 Box (Financial Records) 02 Accounting Dept. #1 1962-1975 Labeled: Bottom Drawer - Contract Files: N-338 Krannert/209-Univ. of Illinois Auditorium/491-U.S. Steel-shop rental area/502-U.S. Steel interior air study/362-U.S. Steel misc./479 A.D. Phelps/497-Reading, Conn./445-Daily News additions/413 Daily News phase I & phase II/175-Columbia IC/Max Ascoli pool alteration/American Jewish Historical Society/303-Beth Zion/Misc. records and costs on Krannert, Beth Zion, Univ. of Illinois-dome waterproofing/Brandeis Univ. jobs, Lev Zetlin Associates settlement; Consultant billings voided by mutual agreement.

Accounting Dept. #1 contains seventy-two file folders. Not all files listed on the box label are included in this box. Additionally, over 25 files not listed on the label are in the box.



Box (Financial Records) 03 Box (Financial Records) 04 Accounting Dept. #2, 1958-1979 Labeled: Worksheets & Agreements N-175 - N-546:

Worksheet and agreements for jobs ranging from N175, Columbia University's School of International Affairs to N546, an addition to Brandeis University's Rosensteil Basic Medical Sciences Research Center. Files are arranged numerically by job number. Several personnel and non-project related files are also included. Total number of files is sixty-one.



Box (Financial Records) 05 Box (Financial Records) 06 Accounting Dept. #3, 1948-1981 Labeled: Agreement - Consultant - Job Status N-248 - N-531

Seventy-five file folders arranged in job number order ranging from job N248 for the United Nations to N532, Dayton Power and Light Company.



Box (Financial Records) 07 Box (Financial Records) 08 Accounting Dept. #5, 1967-1985 Labeled: Worksheets N-150 - A-620

Sixty-nine folders of financial records arranged in job number order. The first file, job 150 is for the Lincoln Center garage. The last file contains bills pending payment for job A620, American Electric Power Company.



Box (Financial Records) 09 Box (Financial Records) 10 Accounting Dept. #7, 1980-1987 (bulk 1983-1984) Labeled: Certificates of payment A-620, American Electric Power Company

Thirty-two folders with certificates of payments. Additional files include pending invoices and change orders.



Box (Financial Records) 11 Box (Financial Records) 12 Accounting Dept. #8, 1962-1979 Labeled: Albany Mall N-304

Twenty-five file folders of financial records for job N304.



Box (Financial Records) 13 Box (Financial Records) 14 Box (Financial Records) 15 Accounting Dept. #9, 1962-1980 Labeled: Albany N-304 -- Authorized change orders, Extras - consultants, Receipt books, Stage I #1 through 7, Base contract billings, Payroll cost reports -- Billings N-175-355-338

Contains receipt books for the Albany Mall from Feb. 1967 through Jan. 1980. Additional Albany Mall records include stage I, base contracts, change orders, extras, and payroll cost reports covering the period July 1967 to March 1980. Also included are billings for N175, Columbia University's School of International Affairs; N355, the Exxon building; and N338, the University of Illinois' Krannert Center. Total number of file folders is fourteen. Albany Mall payroll cost reports are in a scrapbook



Box (Financial Records) 16 Accounting Dept. #10, 1960-1981, 1983-1984 , Labeled: Pink Billings:W.K.H. Secretarial, N-362-389-391-401-403-404-407-413-414-420-421-422-423-424-429-432-435 thru 442 thru 451-453-454-455-458-460-461-462-463-465-466-467-468-469-470

One folder is devoted to Wallace Harrison's pink billings for secretarial services for the years 1976-1981. Fifty-one files contain pink billings for the jobs listed above plus job numbers N150, N209, N330, and N430.



Box (Financial Records) 18 Accounting Dept. #12, 1974-1987 Labeled: Pink Billings: N541 thru 544-546-548-549-550-552-553-554-555-556-557-558-559-561-562 thru 571-573 thru 576-578-579-580-582-583-586-587-591-592-593-595-599-602-604-606-608-610-612-613-616-618-620-626-628-633-645-646-647-651-655-656-660-661-663-665-667-668-675, N-520 Time Breakdown, N-530 Final Fee

Contains seventy-two files of pink billings covering the years 1974-1987 for the job numbers listed on the box label. One file from the time period 1974-1975 is for the architect's time breakdown for N520, the Battery Park City project. The last file dates from 1978 and is for the final fee for N530, Nationwide Plaza.



Box (Financial Records) 20 Box (Financial Records) 21 Accounting Dept. #13, 1955, 1958-1986 Labeled: Miscellaneous Worksheets N-150, N-175, N-335, N-389, N-391

Forty-one file folders covering the jobs listed above plus jobs N304, A664, A665, and A667 through A670.



Box (Financial Records) 22 Box (Financial Records) 23 Accounting Dept. #14, 1956-1987 Labeled: Miscellaneous Worksheets N-187-194-362-368-403-404-434-520-531-536-556-558-584-589-590-597-615-626-627-630-633-641-643-645-646-647-651-652-655-656-657-660-661-662-663-664-665-667-668-669-670

Thirty-nine file folders for the jobs listed above, except for jobs A664 through A670 which were not included.


Subseries 3: Scrapbooks

This section contains 8 undated scrapbooks.



Item Scrapbook 01 Major buildings

Documents major buildings of his career: U.N. School, University of Iowa, University of Illinois, Phoenix Mutual Building in Hartford, Philharmonic Hall, Brandeis University, U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh. Includes photos of Harrison and Abramovitz in their office. Photographs, clippings, brochures, and correspondence. 24 pp. In ringbinder.



Item Scrapbook 02 University of Illinois

Documents Abramovitz and his buildings at the University of Illinois, including text and clippings on his honorary degree from Illinois and his commencement speech. Clippings, photographs, text, and brochures. 24 pps. + loose material inside front cover. In ringbinder.



Item Scrapbook 03 Phoenix Mutual and US Steel

Documents Phoenix Mutual and U.S. Steel (including text on building's structure). 20 pp. (many blank). In souvenir album.



Item Scrapbook 04 Miscellaneous projects

Documents miscellaneous projects, including Owens-Illinois, Lincoln Center, Columbia University Law School and Lipchitz's sculpture, Alcoa Building and U.S. Steel Building in Pittsburgh, CIA Building, Langley, Va., University of Illinois, and personal memorabilia. Some materials date from late 1970s. Includes clippings, photographs, tearsheets, correspondence, and realia. 20 pp. In souvenir album.



Item Scrapbook 05 Brandeis University, West Point, and Beth Zion

Documents buildings at Brandeis University, West Point, and Beth Zion in Buffalo. Clippings, correspondence, photographs, and brochures. 20 pp. In souvenir album.



Item Scrapbook 06 Miscellaneous

Documents Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, honorary degree from the University of Pittsburgh, AIA membership, appointment to the Regional Plan Association (with congratulatory drawing by Henry Dreyfus), Battery Park City, U.N. School, Bunker Hill Square, Erieview Plaza, and Alcoa Building. Clippings, photographs, certificates, correspondence, and other items. 42 pp. In ringbinder.



Item Scrapbook 07 Rothschild Bank and Israel trip

Documents Rothschild Bank (Paris) and MA's trip to Israel. Includes personal correspondence and photographs, such as MA with Governor of North Carolina, site inspection of US Air Force Academy in Colorado, and other personal memorabilia. Clippings, correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia. 20 pp. In souvenir album.



Item Scrapbook 08 Correspondence and memorabilia

Letters from Mary (Polly) Ingraham Bunting, Alexander (Sandy) Calder, Robert F. Kennedy, Jacques Lipchitz, Reuben Nakian, Nelson A. Rockefeller, and Samuel I. Rosenman, spanning the years 1958 to 1967. Scrapbook also contains 1939 greeting card from Hugh Ferriss, 1964 caricature of MA by Henry Dreyfuss, 1967 reception invitation from Mayor John V. Lindsay, and clippings. Photographs include the UN design team and Chagall exhibition. 22 pp. In ringbinder.


Subseries 4: Tear Sheet File

139 file folders of reprints and tear sheets covering approximately 90 projects. Folders can also include photographs and correspondence. For additional tear sheets and related materials consult the following section, Office Records: Project Documentation.

Originally received in a filing cabinet, the tear sheets are now housed in six boxes. Arrangement is alphabetical by project name as supplied by the architect. Place names have been added. Other supplied information is indicated by the use of square brackets.



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 1 Alcoa (Davenport, IA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 1 Alcoa (Merwyn, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 2 to 3 Alcoa (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 4 Alcoa, 860 UN Plaza (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 5 Aquarium [New York Aquariuim] (Coney Island, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 6 Avila Hotel (Caracas, Venezuela)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 7 B.P.C. [Battery Park City] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 8 Beth Zion Temple [Temple Beth Zion] (Buffalo, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 9 Brandeis University (Waltham, MA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 10 Brandeis [University] (Waltham, MA). Goldman- Schwartz



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 1 Brandeis [University] (Waltham, MA). Interfaith Center [Three Chapels]



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 11 Brandeis [University] (Waltham, MA). Interfaith Center [Three Chapels]



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 12 Brandeis [University] (Waltham, MA). Rose Art



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 13 Brandeis [University] (Waltham, MA). Spingold



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 14 Bronx Courthouse [Criminal Court/Family Court] (Bronx, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 15 Burden House (Northeast Harbor, ME)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 16 to 17 Carnegie Endow[ment for International Peace] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 18 to 19 Celanese (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 20 to 21 C.I.A. (Langley, VA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 22 CH-13 Renovation [WNET/13] (New York, NY



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 23 Cincinnati C[en]t[e]r (Cincinnati, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 24 C.I.T. (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 25 Columbia [University]. S.I.A. [School of International and Public Affairs] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 26 Columbus Center (Columbus, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 27 Continental Can (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 28 to 29 Corning Gl[ass] 1951 (Corning, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 30 Corning Gl[ass] 1959 (Corning, NY) . Adm. Bldg. Cafe



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 31 Corning Gl[ass] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 32 Corning [Glass]. Sullivan Park (Corning, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 33 Courthouse Square (Dayton, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 34 Daily News ext[ension] News Bldg (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 35 Duke Laboratories (South Norwalk, CT)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 36 to 39 Empire State Plaza (Albany, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 40 Empire State Plaza (Albany, NY). Dedication



Box (Tear Sheet) 01 Folder 41 Equitable Gateway #4 [Gateway 4 Building] (Pittsburgh, PA)



Oversize 3 Folder 42 Erie County [Erie County Savings Bank/Main Place] (Buffalo, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 43 to 44 Erieview Plaza (Cleveland, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 45 to 47 Exxon (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 48 Fountain Square (Cincinnati, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 49 Fremont Bridge (Portland, OR)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 50 to 51 GAN CB-21 (Paris, France)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 52 H[arrison] & A[bramovitz] office photo



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 53 Havana Embassy [United States. Embassy (Cuba)]



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 54 Hillel N[orthwestern Univ[ersity] [Evanston Congregational Hillel] (Evanston, IL)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 55 to 56 Hopkins Center [Dartmouth College] (Hanover, NH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 57 House of Tomorrow



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 58 Princeton [Institute for Advanced Studies] (Princeton, NJ)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 59 to 62 Idlewild [Airport] (Queens, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 63 I.I.E. [Institute of International Education] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 64 Jewish Hist[orical] Soc[iety] (Waltham, MA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 65 La Guardia [Airport] (Queens, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 66 Loeb Student Center [New York University] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 67 Louisville [First National Bank] (Louisville, KY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 68 Learning Research and Development Center]. Univ[ersity] of Pitts[burgh]. (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 69 to 71 McGraw-Hill (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 72 Marine Plaza (Milwaukee, WI)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 73 Marlboro Houses (Brooklyn, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 74 Mellon Bank (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 75 N.A.S. Wash. D.C. [National Academy of Sciences] (Washington, DC)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 76 Nationwide [Plaza] (Columbus, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 77 Newspoint I [New York Daily News](Long Island City, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 78 Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 79 Owens-Illinois (Toledo, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 80 to 81 Phoenix Mutual (Hartford, CT)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 82 [Photographs of various projects]



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 83 Porter Bldg. (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 84 P.S. 34 (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 85 Radcliffe [College]& Hilles Library (Cambridge, MA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 86 Radcliffe [College] (Cambridge, MA). Currier House



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 87 Republic National Bank (Dallas, TX)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 88 to 89 Rockefeller Center (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 90 Rockefeller Center (New York, NY). Models



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 91 Rockefeller Center (New York, NY). Plot plans



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 92 Rockefeller Center (New York, NY). X, Y and Z



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 93 Rockefeller University (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 94 Rothschild Banque (Paris, France)



Box (Tear Sheet) 02 Folder 95 Sloane House (New York, NY)



Oversize 3 Folder 96 Socony Mobil (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 97 Springs Mills (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 98 Stamford Church [First Presbyterian Church] (Stamford, CT)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 99 Time & Life (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 100 Toledo [Fiberglas Tower] (Toledo, OH)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 101 Union Square Bank [at Bunker Hill Square] (Los Angeles, CA)



Oversize 3 Folder 102 Union Square Bank [at Bunker Hill Square] (Los Angeles, CA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 103 to 104 United Nations (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 105 United Nations (New York, NY). Booklets



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 106 United Nations (New York, NY). Publicity Photographs



Box (Tear Sheet) 03 Folder 107 to 108 United Nations (New York, NY). Reports with plans



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 109 United Nations (New York, NY). Revised scheme, engineering & technical studies



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 110 U.N.I.S. [United Nations International School] (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 111 U[nited] N[ations] Subway (New York, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 112 to 113 Univ[ersity] of Ill[inois] (Urbana, IL). Assembly Hall



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 114 Univ[ersity] of Ill[inois] (Urbana, IL). Assembly Hall . Interiors



Oversize 3 Folder 115 to 117 Univ[ersity] of Ill[inois] (Urbana, IL). Krannert



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 118 Univ[ersity] of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 119 Univ[ersity] of Pitts[burgh] (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 04 Folder 120 to 121 U.S. Steel (Pittsburgh, PA)



Oversize 3 Folder 122 to 123 U.S. Steel (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 124 Wachovia Bank (Charlotte, NC)



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 125 Westinghouse Gateway [Center Building no.] 6 (Pittsburgh, PA)



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 126 W.G.Y. [Broadcasting Studio] (Schenectady, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 127 W. K. H[arrison] New Yorker profile



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 128 World's Fair 1939 [New York World's Fair] (Flushing Meadows, NY)



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 129 to 1930 World's Fair 1939 [New York World's Fair] (Flushing Meadows, NY). Bulletins



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 131 to 132 World's Fair 1939 [New York World's Fair] (Flushing Meadows, NY). Con Edison Exhibits



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 133 World's Fair 1939 [New York World's Fair] (Flushing Meadows, NY). Theme Bldg.



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 134 to 136 World's Fair 1939 [New York World's Fair] (Flushing Meadows, NY). Trylon & Perisphere



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 137 to 138 World's Fair 1964-65 [New York World's Fair] (Flushing Meadows, NY). Hall of Science



Box (Tear Sheet) 05 Folder 139 Zeckendorf & X City (New York, NY)


Subseries 5: Project Documentation

Files contain tear sheets, reports, correspondence, photographs and other documents related to individual projects. The 91 files folders in this section are arranged alphabetically by project name. Also consult the section Office Records: Tear Sheet File above.



Box 09 Folder 6 to 22 Projects: Alcoa - Morningside Gardens



Box 10 Folder 1 to 17 Projects: New York Civic Center - Radcliffe



Box 11 Folder 1 to 19 Projects: Riverfront Park - United States Military Academy



Box 12 Folder 1 to 20 Projects: United States Steel - University of Illinois



Box 13 Folder 1 to 6 Projects: University of Iowa - Wachovia Bank



Oversize 1 Folder 3 to 7 Projects: Albany - New York Civic Center



Oversize 2 Folder 1 to 7 Projects: New York Municipal Airport - University of Iowa


Subseries 6: Promotional Materials and Clippings

This section contains printed materials about the firms of Harrison & Abramovitz and Abramovitz-Harris-Kingsland. It also contains clippings, chiefly newspaper articles, about firm members and architectural projects. Files also include personal profiles, photographs, correspondence, brochures and other printed materials. Lecture typescripts and notes have been removed and placed in Professional Papers: Lectures.



Box 13 Folder 7 Bibliography, 1955 Aug. 16

Listing of articles about H&A buildings



Box 13 Folder 8 Office buildings, undated

Abramovitz-Harris-Kingsland promotional booklet



Box 13 Folder 9 Plazas, undated

Abramovitz-Harris-Kingsland promotional booklet



Oversize 2 Folder 8 Contemporary theatre architecture; an illustrated survey. A checklist of publications 1946-1964, by Ned A. Bowman. New York, New York Public Library, [1965]

Book includes sections on H& A theatrical projects: University of Illinois Assembly Hall, Spingold Theatre, Lincoln Center, Hopkins Center, and Krannert.



Box 13 Folder 10 Clippings, 1932, 1937, 1942, 1946-1949, 1952, undated



Box 13 Folder 11 to 12 Clippings, 1954

Includes three-partNew Yorker profile of Wallace Harrison.



Box 13 Folder 13 Clippings, 1957

Sketchbook labeled "Assembly, Illinois" has been removed and is listed under:Personal Papers: Sketchbooks.



Box 13 Folder 14 Clippings, 1958



Box 13 Folder 15 Clippings, 1959



Box 13 Folder 16 Clippings, 1960



Box 13 Folder 17 Clippings, 1961



Box 13 Folder 18 to 19 Clippings, 1962

Includes New York Timesprofile of MA.



Box 14 Folder 1 to 2 Clippings, 1963



Box 14 Folder 3 Clippings, miscellaneous



Oversize 2 Folder 9 to 10 Clippings, miscellaneous


Subseries 7: Memorabilia

Memorabilia from Abramovitz-Kingsland-Schiff office Christmas parties.



Oversize 1 Folder 8 AKS Christmas banner, undated



Drawer 393 Christmas party photos, 1987-1988



Drawer 393 Christmas party photos, 1989-1991



Drawer 393 Christmas party photos, 1995-1996