PACE Associates (1946-1968) Records, 1924-2009

Charles "Skip" Booher Genther was born on May 27, 1907 in Savannah, Missouri. Genther attended the University of Wyoming, where he studied mechanical engineering, but left before completing his degree. He transferred to the University of Oklahoma in 1933, the same year he married his wife, Shirley. Genther completed his B.S. in architectural engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1939. He did graduate work at the Armour Institute of Technology (later known as the Illinois Institute of Technology) from 1939 to 1940 and from 1942 to 1943 with the assistance of an American Institute of Architects Edward Langley Scholarship, but never completed his degree.

While he was at IIT, Genther studied under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with whom he became friends, and Ludwig Hilberseimer. Due to financial difficulties, Genther left IIT between 1940 and 1942 in order to work for the Federal Housing Association, Associated Architects (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), and Parr & Anderhold (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma). In 1942 Genther returned to Chicago, where he worked for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill from 1942 to 1944 and for Holabird and Root in 1945. He earned his architectural license in 1946. That year, Genther founded PACE Associates with several colleagues, most of whom were from Holabird and Root. Genther was the firm's chief architect, and, in addition to Genther, the original partners were Wilbur H. Binford, William Cobb, and John F. Kausal. The firm's office was located in the Monadnock building at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois.

PACE Associates was noteworthy for its Mies van der Rohe-influenced designs, its large-scale projects, and the emphasis it placed on the role of the engineer in design. PACE, which stood for planners, architects, and consulting engineers, first worked on projects which were collaborations with Mies van der Rohe. Significant buildings to come out of this ten year long period of collaboration include the Promontory Apartments, Algonquin Apartments, 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive Apartments, and buildings on the IIT campus, all of which are located in Chicago, Illinois. PACE Associates worked on a wide variety of other large-scale projects, accepting commissions for town planning projects; medical, industrial, and residential buildings; and transportation and infrastructure projects. One of their most significant projects was the highway system the firm designed for the Illinois State Toll Highway Commission. The firm won third prize in a competition on the "Redevelopment of the Central Area of Chicago," and aspects of their ideas were incorporated into Chicago's 1957 zoning ordinance. They also contributed to Chicago's project to construct underground pedestrian walkways connecting the major buildings of the subway system in the Loop.

The firm grew rapidly to include ten partners by 1948 and two hundred aides by 1952, making it one of the largest firms of its kind in Chicago. The six partners added to the original four were Bernard William Culver, Lloyd V. Eipper, Knight D. Farwell, Morris Hertel, Robert Johnson, and Walter T. Stopa. The firm was dissolved in 1968.

Genther began teaching in the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Architecture in 1966. He was also active in professional organizations, serving on the board of directors of the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (CCAIA) from 1966 to 1968, the board of directors of the Chicago Architectural Assistance Center, and various committees for CCAIA and AIA. He was elected as a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1967 and received an American Institute of Architects Service Award from the Illinois Council in recognition for his teaching. Genther continued working as a professor at UIC until he retired in 1981. He died on March 9, 1987.

The collection consists primarily of the records of PACE Associates (1946-1968), which include project files, some architectural drawings, and business records. The project files include correspondence, printed material, agreements, notes, reports, and other materials pertaining to the firm's projects. The collection also includes photographs and a few negatives related to PACE Associates' projects. The business records include correspondence, reports, and other materials documenting the firm's administration, partnerships and joint ventures, promotional activities, finances, and legal matters. The collection also includes the professional, academic, and personal papers of Charles Genther. The professional papers document his professional history, professional activities, and research. The professional activities files include correspondence, meeting minutes, printed material, and other materials and primarily document Genther's service for the American Institute of Architects. The research files are organized by subject and contain miscellaneous materials pertaining to that subject. The academic papers primarily document Genther's work as a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Architecture and include course development materials, assignments, and student papers, projects, and theses.

SERIES I: PACE RECORDS. Arranged into the following subseries: Projects and Business Records.

SERIES II: GENTHER'S PROFESSIONAL PAPERS. Arranged into the following subseries: Professional History, Professional Activities, and Research Files.

SERIES III: GENTHER'S ACADEMIC PAPERS. Arranged into the following subseries: Illinois Institute of Technology and University of Illinois at Chicago.

SERIES IV: GENTHER'S PERSONAL PAPERS. Arranged into the following files: Correspondence and related materials, income tax returns, University of Illinois at Chicago class reunion, and miscellaneous papers.

SERIES V: PHOTOGRAPHS. Arranged into the following subseries: Projects and Miscellaneous.

SERIES VI: NEGATIVES. Arranged into the following files: Promontory Apartments and Wolf Point Tower.

• Names
  • Genther, Charles B., 1907-1987.
  • Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 1886-1969.
  • PACE Associates.
• SubjectArchitectural firms--Illinois--Chicago.

(A)

AIA

BOX.FF

c.

CCAIA

Flatf.

IIT

n.d.

OP

REST

UIC

Chicago Architects Oral History Collection.

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PACE Associates (1946-1968) Records (1924-2009), Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.

The majority of this collection was donated by Shirley B. Genther and Gene Genther on March 22, 2004. Additional materials were donated by William McNeal, Jr., in April 2013.

This collection was processed by Valerie Higgins in April and May 2011 and updated by Nathaniel Parks in February 2014.