Research materials concerning Louis Singleton Curtiss
Overview
These research materials regarding Kansas City architect Louis Singleton Curtiss (1865-1924) are those of Curtiss biographer Fred T. Comee. Included is Comee's published article regarding Curtiss, as well as his correspondence, notes, clippings, and photographs which address Curtiss's career.
Dates
- Creation: 1957 - 1990
Creator
- Comee, Fred T. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Louis Curtiss
Louis Curtiss was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, on July 1, 1865, the son of Frances Elvira and Don Carlos Curtiss. He studied architecture at the University of Toronto and in Paris. In the late 1800s, Curtiss moved to Kansas City, where he became a partner of Frederick C. Gunn to form the firm of Gunn & Curtiss. Over the next ten years, Curtiss produced progressive designs for many buildings, including Kansas City's Baltimore Hotel, Willis Wood Theater, Boley Clothing Store, his own office and studio, and the Bernard Corrigan house, as well as the Missouri State Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and Fred Harvey Houses in Kansas and other states. Curtiss died in 1924 and is buried in Kansas City's Mount Washington Cemetery.
Extent
.75 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
This collection is that of Louis Singleton Curtiss biographer Fred T. Comee. It contains offprints of Comee's article, "Louis Curtiss of Kansas City" published in (Progressive Architecture), August 1963, and Comee's files of correspondence, clippings, notes, architectural drawings, and photographs from his research regarding Louis Curtiss. The correspondence dates chiefly from 1962 to 1975--the bulk of it dated 1963. It includes Comee's correspondence with Curtiss biographer Wilda Sandy and with Curtiss's niece Irene Shorey. Also included are photocopied blueprints for Kansas City's Dean Brothers Realty Company building and photocopies of nominations of two Curtiss-designed buildings (The Boley Building and Curtiss's studio building) for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Collection arrangement is largely chronological. Photographs and photographic negatives are at RH MS-P 856.
Physical Location
RH MS 856
Physical Location
RH MS-P 856
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, Fred Comee, 1992
Subject
- Curtiss, Louis Singleton, 1865-1924 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to Research materials concerning Louis Singleton Curtiss
- Subtitle
- Research materials concerning Louis Singleton Curtiss
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by mh, 2007; revised by, cl 2010; Finding aid encoded by mh, 2007
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in <language encodinganalog="language">English.</language>
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/7372013690
- Preferred citation
-
Comee, Fred T, Research materials concerning Louis Singleton Curtiss, Kansas Collection, RH MS 856, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository