Saarinen-Swanson Reunion Records
Collection Scope
The collection consists of a variety of formats, including printed materials, audiotapes and videotapes, computer disks and photographic materials.
SERIES I: Correspondence (1995-2001) contains correspondence with individuals who were invited to the reunion, who were connected to those invitees, or who were involved in the planning of the reunion. Along with correspondence, the files may include résumés, edited transcripts of remarks made during the reunion and returned to Cranbrook as requested, and original or photocopied articles or other publications. Of particular note is the file (1:20) containing personal correspondence of Eero Saarinen.
SERIES II: Reunion (1995-1996) includes materials that directly relate to the planning, execution, and funding for the reunion event itself. Fundraising and planning correspondence; meeting agendas and notes; registration forms; attendees lists; financial records; publicity materials; and post-reunion notes and publications are included in this series.
SERIES III: Proceedings (1995-2001) consists of items concerned with the publication of the Saarinen Swanson Reunion Proceedings. Grant information, applications and related correspondence; transcripts of audio commentary from the reunion; biographies of reunion speakers; financial records; page mockups and proofs; and copies of the book are included.
Dates
- 1995 - 2001
Creator
- Coir, Mark (Person)
Access
Access to the collection is unrestricted.
Use
Permission to use collection materials must be requested in writing.
History
Eliel Saarinen, along with his wife Loja, son Eero, daughter Pipsan, and son-in-law J. Robert F. Swanson, founded a creative tradition at Cranbrook that endures to this day. The Saarinens' fame and design philosophies attracted many of the brightest talents in the architectural, design, and planning fields to study at Cranbrook or to work for their businesses --- known variously as Saarinen and Swanson; Saarinen and Saarinen; Saarinen, Swanson, and Saarinen; Swanson Associates; and Eero Saarinen & Associates, depending upon the shifting union of the principals.
Recognizing that these associates possessed a wealth of information about the architectural practices of Eliel and Eero Saarinen and the Swansons, the Cranbrook Archives, under the direction of Mark Coir, organized a reunion of more than fifty architects, model makers, draftsmen, and other members of the Saarinen circle at Cranbrook. The reunion, held over the weekend of August 11-13, 1995, was the first concerted attempt to capture recollections in a unified way, and it produced more than eight hours of recorded reminiscences. Edited versions of these memories, along with profiles of the attendees and archival photographs, are included in the reunion proceedings.
Extent
1.3 Linear Feet (3 MS)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Eliel Saarinen, along with his wife Loja, son Eero, daughter Pipsan, and son-in-law J. Robert F. Swanson, founded a creative tradition at Cranbrook that endures to this day. The Saarinens' fame and design philosophies attracted many of the brightest talents in the architectural, design, and planning fields to study at Cranbrook or to work for their businesses --- known variously as Saarinen and Swanson; Saarinen and Saarinen; Saarinen, Swanson, and Saarinen; Swanson Associates; and Eero Saarinen & Associates, depending upon the shifting union of the principals. Recognizing that these associates possessed a wealth of information about the architectural practices of Eliel and Eero Saarinen and the Swansons, the Cranbrook Archives, under the direction of Mark Coir, organized a reunion of more than fifty architects, model makers, draftsmen, and other members of the Saarinen circle at Cranbrook. The reunion, held over the weekend of August 11-13, 1995, was the first concerted attempt to capture recollections in a unified way, and it produced more than eight hours of recorded reminiscences. Edited versions of these memories, along with profiles of the attendees and archival photographs, are included in the reunion proceedings. The collection consists of a variety of formats, including printed materials, audiotapes and videotapes, computer disks and photographic materials.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series: SERIES I: Correspondence (boxes 1-2); SERIES II: Reunion (box 2); and SERIES III: Proceedings (boxes 2-3).
Acquisition
Records were generated by Cranbrook Archives.
Transfers
Photographs were removed to Photograph Special File.
Negatives removed to CEC Negatives.
Audiotapes removed to Audio Cassette Tape Collection (1990-09).
Fourteen U-Matic videotapes were removed to Videotape Collection (1990-35). There is also one VHS tape containing a post-reunion production featuring archival photos, videotaped remarks by attendees, and footage of Cranbrook.
A CDROM contains electronic copies of some reunion correspondence, fundraising, and the various edited drafts of the transcriptions. Also of note on the CD is a file of the list of attendees with their dates of employment and a list of major projects they worked on.
Processing History
Processed by Isabel S. Hansen, April 2004.
- Aalto, Alvar, 1898-1976
- Allen, Maurice B.
- Architecture
- Architecture, Domestic
- Bauder, Lillian
- Bertoia, Harry
- Booth, George G. (George Gough), 1864-1949
- Concordia Senior College (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
- Eero Saarinen & Associates
- Embassy buildings
- Girard, Alexander
- Goldman, Jack M.
- Hammarstrom, Olav
- Knodel, Gerhardt
- Knoll, Florence, 1917-2019
- Korab, Balthazar
- Lawrence Technological University
- Minoru Yamasaki and Associates
- Nowicki, M. S.
- Oral history
- Paulsen, S. Glen (Serenus Glen)
- Photographs
- Rapson, Ralph, 1914-2008
- Roche, Kevin, 1922-2019
- Saarinen Swanson, Pipsan
- Saarinen, Eero, 1910-1961
- Saarinen, Eliel, 1873-1950
- Swanson, Jons Robert Ferdinand
- Swanson, Robert Saarinen
- Torre, Susana
- University of Michigan
- Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
- de Forest, Claude
Creator
- Coir, Mark (Person)
- Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. Cranbrook Archives (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Saarinen-Swanson Reunion Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid written by Isabel S. Hansen.
- Date
- April 2004
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- Resource record created by Laura MacNewman.
Repository Details
Part of the Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Repository