Crombie Taylor Papers, (1914-1999)

Charles Crombie Taylor was born in Oakmont, PA, on February 13, 1914, one of three children of John Lloyd Taylor and Florence Crombie Taylor. Taylor received his B.S. in Architecture from Penn State University in 1936 and his MFA from Princeton University in 1938. From 1938 to 1941 he was an instructor in the Architecture Department of the Georgia Institute of Technology, after which he returned to Pittsburgh to obtain his license to practice architecture.

In November of 1941, Taylor was hired by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy as Assistant Director of the Institute of Design in Chicago. After the merger of the Institute of Design with the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1951, Taylor served as the Institute's Director, guiding it through a tumultuous period of growth, until his resignation in 1955. While at IIT, Taylor won several competitions and began to design private residences in Chicago and the surrounding area. Significant projects from this period include the Dustin, Wenninger, Goldberg, Kearns and Tagge residences and the Hull House Uptown Center in Chicago. Taylor's architectural style followed Bauhaus ideals, using modest materials, clean lines, and integration with the environment.

In 1954, Taylor--who was an authority on Louis Sullivan's interiors--was asked by Roosevelt University to restore the Banquet Hall of the Auditorium Building, which had been repainted in 1910 and abandoned since 1944. Taylor undertook the formidable challenge of restoration, finishing the Banquet Hall, Ladies' Parlor and remainder of the building by 1967. Taylor's exemplary restoration of the Auditorium Building captured the public's interest and helped spur the burgeoning historical preservation movement.

In addition to supervising the Auditorium restoration process, Taylor also designed several traveling exhibitions, including "Louis Sullivan, Midwest Masterpieces", "The Rise of the Skyscraper", "The Crystal Palace" and "Systems of Stencil Ornament by Louis Sullivan". Taylor was interested in multi-media methods of teaching and transmitting information via his "mediated multiple image slide and film sequences", which he used extensively in his academic career and in his exhibitions and presentations.

In 1962, he returned to academia and became Associate Dean of the School of Architecture and Fine Arts at the University of Southern California (USC), attaining full professorship in 1972. While at USC, he remodeled the curriculum and established a Masters program in architecture, urban design and building science. He also introduced a Doctoral program in architecture through the new Building Institute under the direction of Konrad Wachsmann. He was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1975.

After retirement, Taylor continued his work on restoration projects, including Sullivan's Van Allen Building in Clinton, IA, and a 17th century farmstead, Maiden Bridge, in Yorkshire, England. He died on May 24, 1999, in Santa Barbara, CA.

This collection includes project papers, professional papers, plans, drawings, stencil designs, correspondence, photographs and negatives documenting the work of American architect Charles Crombie Taylor. Taylor's diverse career is documented through papers including but not limited to academic, restoration, residential and commercial architectural commissions. Taylor's interest and involvement in restoration and historic preservation is documented through various projects including Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Building, Garrick (Schiller) Theater and Van Allen Building, among others.

SERIES I: PROJECT PAPERS. Organized into two subseries: 1. Sullivan, Louis, Projects, filed alphabetically by project name (included in this series are Crombie Taylor's stencils recovered from Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Building and Garrick Theater); 2. Taylor, Crombie, Projects, filed alphabetically by project name.

SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS. Organized into three subseries: 1. Sullivan, Louis, Projects, filed alphabetically by project name; 2. Taylor, Crombie, Projects, filed alphabetically by project name; 3. Taylor, Crombie, Other (Competitions, Design Projects, Exhibitions and Presentations and Miscellaneous).

SERIES III: TAYLOR, CROMBIE, PROFESSIONAL PAPERS. Organized into five subseries: 1. Academic Career (includes Institute of Design/Illinois Institute of Technology and University of Southern California); 2. Correspondence, filed alphabetically by correspondent name; 3. Exhibitions and Presentations, filed alphabetically by exhibition title; 4. Honors and Awards, filed chronologically; 5. Research and Miscellaneous, filed alphabetically by subject.

SERIES IV: TAYLOR, CROMBIE, PERSONAL PAPERS.

SERIES V: NEGATIVES. This series is restricted from patron use. Please consult the Archivist for further information. Organized into four subseries: 1. Sullivan, Louis, Projects, filed alphabetically by project name; 2. Taylor, Crombie, Projects, filed alphabetically by project name; 3. Taylor, Crombie, Other (Competitions; Exhibitions and Presentations); 4. Miscellaneous.

• Names
  • Taylor, Crombie, 1914-1999.
  • Adler and Sullivan.
  • Adler, Dankmar, 1844-1900.
  • Sullivan, Louis H., 1856-1924.
• Subject
  • Architecture--Illinois--Chicago--History--19th century.
  • Architecture--Illinois--Chicago--History--20th century.
  • Architecture--Conservation and restoration--Illinois--Chicago.

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A model of an Auditorium Building column capital donated by Crombie Taylor is in the permanent collection of the Department of Architecture.

A model of an Auditorium Building column capital donated by Crombie Taylor is in the permanent collection of the Department of Architecture.

Portions of this collection are restricted; wherever possible, surrogate copies are provided for patron use, as noted in the series listings. The remainder of collection may be accessed by users in the Reading Room of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries at The Art Institute of Chicago. Collections maintained on-site are available for patron use without prior arrangement or appointment. Collections maintained in off-site storage will be retrieved with advance notification; please consult the Archivist for the current retrieval schedule. For further information, consult https://www.artic.edu/archival-collections/contact-usage-and-faq.

The Art Institute of Chicago is providing access to the materials in the Archives’ 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 the Art Institute is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Art Institute of Chicago Archives. In addition to permission from the Art Institute, permission of the copyright owner (if not the Art Institute) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distribution, 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. The Art Institute makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.

The Crombie Taylor Papers, Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.

The Crombie Taylor Papers were the gift of Hope Taylor, Victoria Taylor, Beth Taylor Fergon and John Taylor in 2010.

This collection was processed by Kim Krueger and Ryerson and Burnham Archives staff in July 2013. The finding aid was written by Kim Krueger.