Avery Drawings & Archives Collections
 

Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers, 1913-1986, bulk 1930-1980

Summary Information

Abstract

The Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers consists of architectural drawings, photographs, correspondence, notes, speeches, manuscripts, press releases, clippings, memoranda, printed material, job lists, curriculam vitae, contracts, articles, and other material related to Harrison's architectural projects. The collection also contains a significant amount of material regarding Harrison's position as director of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, director of planning of the United Nations Headquarters and biographical material. Approximately a third of the collection is made up of photographs. Photographers include Wendy Barrows, Shirley Burden, George Cserna, Y[uzo] Nagata, and Ezra Stoller, among many others. There is also a collection of 148 art books that belonged to Harrison referred to as his "doodle books." A list of these books with brief descriptions of where Harrison drew in them is contained in the finding aid. Projects documented include Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House, Rockefeller Center, Albany Mall (Empire State Plaza), United Nations, X City, ALCOA building, Corning Glass building, First Presbyterian Church, La Guardia Airport, Socony-Mobil building, Battery Park City, Radio City Music Hall, New York World's Fair (1939 and 1964), Institute for Advanced Study, National Academy of Science, Pahlavi National Library Competition, Oberlin College's Hall Auditorium, Pershing Memorial, Rockefeller University, Hopkins Center, The Anchorage, Avila Hotel, and numerous other buildings and residences.

At a Glance

Bib ID 3460617 View CLIO record
Creator(s) Harrison, Wallace K (Wallace Kirkman), 1895-1981
Title Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers, 1913-1986, bulk 1930-1980
Physical Description 22 manuscript boxes; 2 print boxes; 2,031 architectural drawings;
Language(s) English .
Access

This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.

Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is made up of three series. The first series, Collection I, consists of material donated in 1981 to Avery Library by Harrison's widow Ellen Harrison. The second series, Collection II, consists of materials donated in 1989 from Ellen Harrison via Victoria Newhouse, who had borrowed the materials for her book titled Wallace K. Harrison, Architect. The final series, Series III consists of the architectural drawings donated in both 1981 and 1989.

Description

Scope and Contents

Harrison's architectural drawings and papers are divided into two parts: Collection I (accession number 1981.001) and Collection II (accession number 1989.002). Both parts of the collection have their own finding aid but are bound together in a single volume. The drawings for both parts of the Harrison collection have been cataloged separately in RLIN VIM. Collection I contains 2,050 drawings and Collection II contains 365 drawings. The first part of Harrison's papers (1981.001) consists of material that was given to Avery Library by Mrs. Harrison in 1981. The second part of his papers (1989.002) consists of material that was borrowed by Victoria Newhouse for her book titled Wallace K. Harrison, Architect. This borrowed material was removed from Harrison's papers before they were given to Avery Library. In 1989, when Newhouse's book was published, the material was given to Avery Library to be rejoined with the material from which it was removed. The material borrowed by Newhouse has not been interfiled with the first part of the collection because of the numerous printed references already made to the collection

The Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers were transferred to Avery Drawings & Archives in two accessions: Accession 1981.001 (now known as Collection I) and accession 1989.002 (now Collection II). The first part of Harrison's papers, Series I: Collection I (1981.001), consists of material given to Avery Library by Ellen Harrison (WKH's wife) in 1981. The second part of his papers, Series II: Collection II (1989.002), consists of materials borrowed by Victoria Newhouse for her book titled Wallace K. Harrison, Architect. This borrowed material was removed from Harrison's papers before they were given to Avery Library. In 1989, when Newhouse's book was published, the material was given to Avery Library to be rejoined with the material from which it was removed. The material borrowed by Newhouse has not been interfiled with the first part of the collection because of the numerous printed references already made to the collection. While both parts of the collection were described as separate collections, much of the material overlaps and it is therefore important for the researcher to view Collection I and Collection II as parallel to each other.

Collection I is arranged by format of material and thereunder by project or subject. Folder titles have been transferred from the original file folder label given by WKH. A folder title in square brackets indicates it has been supplied by the cataloger and not from WKH's original file. While Collection I is not organized into series, there was a corresponding subject index created to faciliate access. This subject index is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet located at the beginning of the container list for Collection I.

Collection II is arranged as follows—Subseries 1: Professional papers (arranged alphabetically by subject title), Subseries 2: Project Files (arranged alphabetically by project title), and Subseries 3: Photographs (arranged with larger projects listed first, followed by smaller projects, then photographs of people, with oversized photographs of people or projects, and various project slides listed at the end.)

The drawings for both parts of the Harrison collection have been cataloged separately in the online catalog. Series III: Architectural Drawings provides a link to each project's associated record. Sheet level description can be found in these project-level records. Each sheet is individually accessioned and indicates which acquisition it originates from. 2,050 drawings arrived in the first accession (and are catalogued under the call number NYDA.1981.001) and 365 drawings arrived in the second accession (catalogued as NYDA.1989.002).

General Note

For additional holdings on the firm of Harrison & Abramovitz, consult collections for the individual partners

Using the Collection

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

Access Restrictions

This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.

Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.

Preferred Citation

Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers, Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

Related Material

Max Abramovitz architectural records and papers, 1925-1990 Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

Hugh Ferriss architectural drawings and papers, circa 1906-1980 (bulk circa 1918-1960) Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

Custodial History

Gift of Mrs. Wallace K. Harrison, 1981.001 and 1989.002.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Gift of Mrs. Wallace K. Harrison. Accession number--1981.001 and 1989.002.

Publications About Described Materials

Publications: Newhouse, Victoria. Wallace K. Harrison, Architect. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1989.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

Processing Information

The finding aid description was produced by Mary L. Ferranti as part of the "Early Modern Masters Project," funded by an HEA Title II-C grant in 1994-1995. Shelley Hayreh, Avery Archivist, edited and published the finding aid for the collection in 2014.

Revision Description

2009-07-07 File created.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

2020-07-07 Links added to digitized content. kws

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Agreements Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architect-consultant contracts Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architectural drawings -- American Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Audiotapes Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Awards Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Clippings (Information Artifacts) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Correspondence Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Job lists Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Manuscripts (documents) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Memorandums Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Notes (documents) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Pamphlets Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Patents Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Periodicals Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Photographs Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Postcards Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Press releases Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Reports Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Résumés (personnel records) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Slides (photographs) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Speeches (documents) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Video recordings (physical artifacts) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

Subject

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Aalto, Alvar, 1898-1976 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Abramovitz, Max, 1908-2004 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Albert Milton residence (Washington, Conn.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Aluminaire house (Huntington, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Aluminum Company of America building (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
American Battle Monuments Commission Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Anchorage (Seal Harbor, Me.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architectural photography Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architecture -- New York (State) -- Albany Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architecture -- New York (State) -- New York Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architecture -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 20th century Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architecture -- United States -- History -- 20th century Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Architecture -- Washington (D.C.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Astoria Houses (Astoria, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Avila Hotel (Caracas, Venezuela) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Barrows, Wendy Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Battery Park City (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Buildings -- New York (State) -- New York Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Burden, Shirley Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Clinton Hill Apartments (Brooklyn, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Consolidated Edison Company of New York, inc. Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Corbett, Harvey Wiley, 1873-1954 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Corning Glass building (Corning, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Corning Glass building (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Cserna, George Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Damora, Robert M Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
David Milton residence (Bermuda) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Duryea, Drix Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Empire State Plaza (Albany, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Fassbender, Adolf, 1884-1980 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Ferriss, Hugh, 1889-1962 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
First Presbyterian Church (Stamford, Conn.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Fort Greene Houses (Brooklyn, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Fouilhoux, Jacques André, 1879-1945 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Harrison and Abramovitz Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Harrison residence (Hungtington, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Harrison, Ellen Ruth Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Hawes Guest House (Pocantico, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Hopkins Center Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
IBM World Trade Corporation (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
International Basic Economy Corporation Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
International Committee of Architects Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Johnson (J. Seward) residence (Princeton, N.J.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Julian Street, Jr. residence (Scarborough, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Kilham, Walter Harrington, 1904- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Kitábkhánahí Pahlaví Library Competition Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Koehler, George E. Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
La Guardia Airport Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Metropolitan Opera House Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lodge (Pocantico, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Master Apartments building (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Memorials -- Washington (D.C.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Monuments -- Washington (D.C.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Morningside Gardens (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Moses, Robert, 1888-1981 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). Proposed North Plaza of Rockefeller Center Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Nagata, Yūzō, 1941- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
New York Aquarium Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
New York World's Fair. Consolidated Edison. Electric Utilities Exhibit. Electrified Farm (Location of meeting: New York, N.Y.). Date of meeting or treaty signing: (1939-1940 :.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
New York World's Fair. Hall of Science (Location of meeting: New York, N.Y.). Date of meeting or treaty signing: (1964-1965 :.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Oberlin College. Hall Auditorium Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Oppenheimer, Robert, 1942- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Pardee residence (Bermuda Islands) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. (Allentown, Pa.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Pershing Memorial (Washington, D.C.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Radio City Music Hall (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Republic National Bank (Dallas, Tex.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller Apartments (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller Center Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller Institute Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller University Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller University. Caspary Auditorium Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller, John D., III (John Davison), 1906-1978 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Sert, José María, 1874-1945 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Socony-Mobil Building (New York, N.Y.). entrance Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Stoller, Ezra Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Theaters -- New York (State) -- New York Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
United Nations Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
United States. Central Intelligence Agency Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Washington Square (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
William A.M. Burden residence (Florida) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
William A.M. Burden residence (Northeast Harbor, Me.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
X City (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Wallace K. Harrison (1895-1981), was an American modernist architect. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, where as a teenager he worked for the contractor O.W. Norcross and the architectural firm Frost & Chamberlain. Beginning in 1916, the architectural firms for which Harrison worked were McKim, Mead & White; Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson; Frank J. Helmle & Harvey Wiley Corbett; Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; Harrison & Fouilhoux; Harrison, Fouilhoux & Abramovitz; and others. He also did free-lance work for Raymond Hood. Harrison served in World War I as a Navy ensign aboard a subchaser. After the war, Harrison attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he spent a year in the atelier of Gustave Umbdenstock. He was also a winner of a Rotch Travelling Scholarship in 1922. Harrison had a long-standing personal and professional relationship with Nelson A. Rockefeller which began while he was workig on Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller established the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, where Harrison served as assistant coordinator in 1941 and director in 1945. Harrison won numerous awards, including the New York Architectural League's Gold Medal in 1936 and the American Institute of Architect's Gold Medal in 1967.