R>Bulk Dates: (bulk 1960-1980)
ID No.: MSS81474
Creator: Gruen, Victor, 1903-
Extent: 30,450 items; 88 containers plus 83 oversize; 123.6 linear feet; 1 microfilm reel
Language: Collection material in English, German, French, and Dutch
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Designer, architect, and urban planner. Personal and business correspondence, project files, speeches, writings,
biographical material, and scrapbooks documenting Gruen's career in architectural design, city planning, and environmental
counseling, with special emphasis on architectural and land use projects undertaken from 1960 to 1980 by his firms, Gruen
Associates, headquartered in New York, New York, and Los Angeles, California, and Victor Gruen International, centered in
Vienna, Austria.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped
by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
Names:
Gruen, Victor, 1903-
Baumfeld, Rudolf L., d. 1988
Belle, John
Berg, Betty--Correspondence
Beyer, Jack
Branigan, Daniel
Brisker, Sydney H., 1914-
Contini, Edgardo
Gooch, Mel, 1923-
Gruen, Margaret, 1944- --Correspondence
Gruen, Michael Stephen, 1941- --Correspondence
Guttman, Herman, 1918-
Harle, Abbott, 1923-
Hotchkiss, Frank E.
Jarka, Horst--Correspondence
Kafka, Judith--Correspondence
Kafka, Richard--Correspondence
Lawrence, Rita--Correspondence
Lindtberg, Leopold--Correspondence
Lindtberg, Valeska--Correspondence
Lowry, Harry, d. 1974 --Correspondence
Michaelis, Helen--Correspondence
Park, Ki Suh, 1932-
Pelli, Cesar
Press, Sylvia
Rubenstein, Allen
Salzer, Felix--Correspondence
Salzer, Hedi--Correspondence
Sklarek, Rolf.
Southland, Ben, 1917-
Steiner, Valerie--Correspondence
Steiner, Willy J.--Correspondence
Papers of Victor Gruen
2 Travers, David.
Udall, Stewart L.--Correspondence
Van Leuven, Karl, 1914-
Wheaton, Marge
Zwicker, Beda
Gruen Associates
Universit� catholique de Louvain (1970- )--Buildings
Victor Gruen Foundation for Environmental Planning
Victor Gruen International (Firm)
Zentrum f�r Umweltplanung (Vienna, Austria)
Subjects:
Architectural design
Architectural firms--Austria--Vienna
Architectural firms--California--Los Angeles
Architectural firms--New York (State)--New York
Architecture
Central business districts
Cities and towns
City planning--Austria--Vienna
City planning--California--Fresno
City planning--Illinois--Urbana
City planning--Massachusetts--Boston
City planning--Michigan--Kalamazoo
City planning--New York (State)--Rochester
City planning--Texas--Fort Worth
College buildings--Belgium
Environmental engineering
Land use
Public housing
Real estate development
Occupations:
Architects
City planners
Administrative Information
Provenance:
The papers of Victor Gruen, designer, architect, and urban planner, were donated to the Library of Congress by his widow,
Kemija Salihefendic-Abazz Gruen, in 1980, 1983, and 1992.
Transfers:
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Two Asian scrolls have
been transferred to the Asian Division. A dictation belt has been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded
Sound Division. A map and atlas have been transferred to the Geography and Map Division. Numerous photographs and
architectural drawings have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. All transfers are identified in these
divisions as part of the Victor Gruen Papers.
Copyright Status:
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Victor Gruen in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library
of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Papers of Victor Gruen
3 Microfilm:
A microfilm edition of playbills in Container 71is available on one reel. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division
concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.
Preferred Citation:
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Victor Gruen
Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1903, July 18
Born Victor David Gr�nbaum, Vienna, Austria
1918-1925
Attended Vienna Technical Institute and Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
1923-1932
Designer with Melcher & Steiner, Architects, Vienna, Austria
1930
Married Alice Kardos (divorced 1941)
1932-1938
Independent designer, Vienna, Austria
1938
Emigrated to United States
Changed name to Victor Gruen
1938-1948
Independent designer, New York, N.Y.
1939
Founded Gruen & Krummeck Partnership, New York, N.Y.
Designed Lederer de Paris department store, New York, N.Y.
1939-1940
Produced two Broadway shows with Refugee Artists Group, New York, N.Y.
1941
Moved main office to Los Angeles, Calif.
Married Elsie Krummeck (divorced 1951)
1943
Became a citizen of the United States
Rudi Baumfeld joined Gruen & Krummeck Partnership, Los Angeles, Calif.
1944
Karl Van Leuven joined Gruen & Krummeck Partnership, Los Angeles, Calif.
1948
Received first license to practice architecture
Desinged Milliron's department store, Westchester, Calif.
1949
Published How to Live with Your Architect (New York, N.Y.: Store Modernization Institute. 32 pp.)
1950
Founded Victor Gruen Associates (later Gruen Associates), Los Angeles, Calif.
Edgardo Contini joined Gruen Associates as partner
1951
Married Lazette E. McCormick Van Houten (died in 1962)
Papers of Victor Gruen
4 1954
Designed Northland Center, Detroit, Mich.
Received American Institute of Architects National Award of Merit (Northland Center, Detroit,
Mich.)
1956
Ben Southland joined Gruen Associates as partner
Designed Southdale Center, Minneapolis, Minn.
Received Progressive Architecture Design Award for Urban Redevelopment (Detroit, Mich.)
1957
Herman Guttman joined Gruen Associates as partner
Received Progressive Architecture Design Award for Planning (Fort Worth, Tex.)
1958
Designed 1964 world's fair proposal, Washington, D.C.
Designed downtown plan, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Received Progressive Architecture Design Award for Residential Design (Wilshire Terrace, Los
Angeles, Calif.)
1959
Received Progressive Architecture Design Award for Urban Design (Boston, Mass.)
1960
Designed Midtown Plaza, Rochester, N.Y.
Published Shopping Towns USA, The Planning of Shopping Centers, with Larry Smith (New York,
N.Y.: Reinhold Publishing. 288 pp.)
1961
Designed Welfare Island development plan, East Island, N.Y.
Elected fellow, American Institute of Architects
1962
Elected fellow, International Institute of Arts and Letters
1963
Married Kemija Theresa Salihefendiz-Abazz
Beda Zwicker joined Gruen Associates as partner
Received Progressive Architecture Citation for Urban Design (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Published Stadsfornyelse i Forenta Staterna (Stockholm, Sweden: Bonniers. 14 pp.)
1964
Published The Heart of Our Cities, The Urban Crisis: Diagnosis and Cure (New York, N.Y.: Simon
& Schuster. 368 pp.)
1965
Received American Institute of Architects Citations for Excellence in Community Architecture
(Fresno, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., and Urbana, Ill.)
1966
Received Who's Who in America Significant Contribution to Society Award
Published New Cities U.S.A. (Washington, D.C.: Housing and Urban Development Department. 42
pp.)
1967
Designed city center plan, Valencia, Calif.
Founded Victor Gruen International, Vienna, Austria
1968
Retired from Gruen Associates
Founded Victor Gruen Foundation for Environmental Planning, Los Angeles, Calif.
1970
Designed Universit� Catholique de Louvain, Louvain, Belgium
1971
Designed city plan, Vienna, Austria
Papers of Victor Gruen
5 1972
Designed Glatt shopping center, Z�rich, Switzerland
Received Preise der Stadt Wien
Published Downfall and Rebirth of City Cores on Both Sides of the Atlantic (Los Angeles, Calif.:
Victor Gruen Foundation for Environmental Planning. 42 pp.)
1973
Founded Zentrum f�r Umweltplanung, Vienna, Austria
Published Centers for the Urban Environment, Survival of the Cities (New York, N.Y.: Van Nostrand
Reinhold Co. 266 pp.)
Published Meine Alte Schuhschachtel, Schriften aus den zwanziger Jahren (Vienna, Austria: Europa
Verlags-AG. 125 pp.)
Published Das �berleben der St�dte, Wege aus der Umweltkrise: Zentren als urbane Brennpunkte
(Munich, Germany: Verlag Fritz Molden. 352 pp.)
1975
Published Ist Fortschritt ein Verbrechen? Umweltplanung Statt Weltuntergang (Vienna, Austria:
Europa Verlags-AG. 278 pp.)
Published Die Lebenswerte Stadt, Visionen eines Umweltplaners (Munich, Germany: Paul List
Verlag KG. 183 pp.)
1978
Received Gross Goldene Ehrenzeichen f�r Verdienste um die Republik �sterreich
1979
Received Goldenen Ehrenzeichens f�r Verdienste um das Land Wien
1980, Feb. 14
Died, Vienna, Austria
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Victor Gruen (1903-1980) span the years 1886-1991, with the bulk of the materials produced during the period
1960-1980. The collection consists of personal and business
correspondence
,
project files
,
speeches
,
scrapbooks
, and
writings
that document Gruen's professional career in architectural design, urban planning, and environmental counseling.
The papers touch on every phase of Gruen's career and include much information on his personal life as well. Although the
formation and dissolution of his business operations are well documented, most of the collection focuses on several of the
architectur