Collections : [Avery Drawings & Archives]

The papers in this collection were gathered by architectural historian Jane C. Loeffler to be used in an unrealized biography on Frederick Gutheim. The bulk of the papers were given to Loeffler by Gutheim. The structure of the files is Loeffler's, except for the first four files in the collection ("Editorial and Publishing Files") which were removed from a file box maintained directly by Gutheim. The bulk of the collection documents Gutheim's professional activities and research. Included are materials on the Pennsylvania Avenue renewal project, Montgomery County preservation efforts, Frederick Law Olmsted Sesquicentennial activities, and research on Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto. Additionally, the collection includes unpublished drafts of Gutheim's memoirs.

This collection contains architectural records, student work, correspondence and professional writings related to the academic and architectural practice of Walter Sobotka. The largest portion of the collection, Series 1, relates to his architectural practice and contains drawings, files, and a scrapbook of photographs and articles pertaining to his work in Europe and America. The majority of his projects consisted of residential buildings and interiors in Austria along with furniture designs. However, there is also a selection of theater interiors that Sobotka designed for RKO across the United States. Series 2 contains a limited selection of Sobotka's lectures and writings, as well as correspondence. This series also contains material relating to two of his unpublished writings, The Prefabricated House and Principles of Design, including copies of the manuscripts, correspondence with publishers, and research materials. A bound version of Principles of Design is catalogued separately and contains an appendix in which Sobotka translated into English excerpts of his correspondence with the Viennese architect Josef Frank. Series 3 contains some artwork and student drawings, as well as a few personal letters.