Urban Planning Conferences collection
Scope and Contents
The collection (1943) of the Urban Planning Conferences consists of the mimeographed proceedings, newspaper clippings, May to November, 1943, announcements of the printed report from the Johns Hopkins Press, a program outlining the agenda, and invitations from Mrs. John Work Garrett.
It is likely the mimeographed report of the Urban Planning Conferences is a copy of the material submitted for the published volume. Michael Rosenauer, Chairman of the Conferences, was responsible for the Introduction to the report. The Introduction in the published volume varies somewhat from that in the mimeographed report. Otherwise, the material is the same.
Some issues discussed at the conferences were particular to the city of Baltimore: modern row houses, a projected harbor bridge, a proposed Franklin Street express highway. The Sun, The Evening Sun, and The News American reported on the discussions and the participants at Evergreen House, May 22 to November 7, 1943. Editorials and a cartoon by Richard Q. Yardley are included with the newspaper clippings. William A. M. Burden, aviation assistant to the Secretary of Commerce, made a startling prediction at the October session when he predicted that 500,000 planes would be flying the American skyways by 1950. The New York Times printed this report, October 10, 1943.
The Johns Hopkins Press printed the published proceedings in 1944. Twenty-five announcements of publication are included in the collection. Announcements and invitations to the Urban Planning Conferences were sent from Evergreen House by Mrs. John Work Garrett. Original announcements, invitations, and a program describing the agenda form the last part of the collection.
Dates
- Creation: 1943 - 1944
Creator
- Urban Planning Conferences (Organization)
Use Restrictions
Access to this collection is unrestricted.
Permission to publish material from this collection must be requested in writing from the Manuscripts Librarian, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 21218.
Administrative History
The Urban Planning Conferences were instituted May 22, 1943 under the auspices of The Johns Hopkins University. The symposium was held at Evergreen House, the residence of Mrs. John Work Garrett, in Baltimore, Maryland.
The purpose of the conferences was to bring together architects, builders, civic leaders, and government officials to prepare for functional city-planning in the post-war years. Issues specific to metropolitan Baltimore were considered, but those too could be integrated into major, planning objectives for contemporary urban centers. Conference members included Chauncy Harris, Professor of Geography, University of Chicago; Waldron Faulkner, President, Washington, D.C. Chapter American Institute of Architects; V.O. Key, Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University; Glenn L. Martin, President, Glenn L. Martin Co.; Abel Wolman, Professor, Sanitary Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University. Major issues addressed were transportation, healthy living conditions, air traffic, and housing. Michael Rosenauer, Fellow, Royal Institute of British Architects and a consulting architect to the Federal Housing Projects, served as the director. Isaiah Bowman, President of The Johns Hopkins University, was honorary chairman and Mrs. John Work Garrett was chairman.
An innovative approach was taken for the organization of the symposium. Six weekend sessions were scheduled between May and November, 1943. The specific dates were May 22, 23, June 5, 6, 19, 20, July 10, 11, October 9, 10, and November 6, 7. Persons from the local public were invited for the presentation of papers on Saturday evenings. On Sunday, twenty to thirty specially invited guests along with the speakers of the previous evening, discussed long-range planning for metropolitan areas. The conferences were not designed to formulate a unanimous viewpoint, but to offer a forum for varied opinions. The concept of urban planning was particularly resourceful at the time, since attention was centered on production of armaments and the progress of war.
The symposium was covered extensively by newspapers in Baltimore: The Sun, The Evening Sun, and The News American. The New York Times reported on the conference, October 10, 1943. When the symposium was completed in November, 1943, Michael Rosenauer compiled the discussions into a report published by the Johns Hopkins Press. President Bowman planned to make the report available to municipal planning organizations and other interested groups and individuals. The report was published by the Johns Hopkins Press in 1944.
Two copies of the published report are part of the collections of The Johns Hopkins University:
Urban Planning Conferences, Johns Hopkins University, 1943.
Report of the Urban Planning Conferences. Baltimore:
The Johns Hopkins Press, 1944.
NA9010 .U72 1943
JS93 .U65 1943
Extent
0.76 Cubic Feet (2 letter size document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
The collection was transferred from the John Work Garrett Library, November 1, 1989.
The collection was formerly cataloged as Ms 230, Special Collections.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was part of the papers of Alice Garrett, the owner of Evergreen House, Baltimore, MD.
General Physical Description note
30 items
Subject
- Wolman, Abel, 1892-1989 (Person)
- Garrett, Alice Warder, 1877-1952 (Person)
- Bowman, Isaiah, 1878-1950 (Person)
- Faulkner, Waldron (Person)
- Harris, Chauncy D. (Chauncy Dennison), 1914-2003 (Person)
- Key, V. O. (Valdimer Orlando), 1908-1963 (Person)
- Martin, Glenn L. (Person)
- Rosenauer, Michael, 1884-1971 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Urban Planning Conferences Collection 1943Ms. 230
- Author
- Joan Grattan
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the John Work Garrett Library (Evergreen Museum and Library) Repository