THE JOHN W. GEIGER COLLECTION
FOR THE STUDY OF
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE
Architectural Records
Series 1: John W. Geiger
60 Years of Living Architecture
exhibition pavilion
Los Angeles, California (1954)
Frank Lloyd Wright, architect
John W. Geiger, construction supervision
Documentation consists of original and reproduced drawings for the exhibition pavilion, correspondence, manuscript, photographs, and publications. Following the close of the exhibition in New York on December 13, 1953, the contents were shipped to Los Angeles, California, for installation at a temporary pavilion to be built at Hollyhock House, which had been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1920s. John Geiger emerged as the person responsible for the shipment of the exhibition materials and construction of the temporary gallery space.
See also: Exhibition Pavilion [New York City, New York] (1954); and "Commentaries in Memoriam," Episode 2: My Last Summer at the Fellowship and the Los Angeles 60 Years of Living Architecture.
DRAWINGS
Working Drawings
There are two groups of drawings for the temporary gallery structure that was attached to Hollyhock House. The first consists of original drawings of various dimensions executed by John Geiger, and the second is a set of blueline reproductions printed on sheets of uniform sizes. Sheets with the same number in each set can be checked for separate corrections or annotations.
Original Drawings
Sheet 2A: Floor Plan ([1954])
Pencil, ink, and colored pencil on vellum paper. Scale: 1/8" : 1'. Dimensions: 44" x 13-1/2".
Sheet 3A: Plan, Elevation, and Section ([1954])
Pencil and colored pencil on vellum paper. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 55" x 36".
Sheet 4A: Sections ([1954])
Pencil and colored pencil on tracing paper. Scale: 3/4" : 1' . Dimensions: 47" x 36".
Sheet 5A: Section and Reflected Ceiling Plan (5/3/1954)
Pencil and colored pencil on vellum paper. Scale: 3/4" : 1' . Dimensions: 43-3/4" x 36".
Sheet 6: Footing Details ([1954])
Pencil, ink, and colored pencil on tracing paper. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 55" x 36".
Sheet 7: Roof Framing Plan ([1954])
Pencil, ink, and colored pencil on vellum paper. Scale: 1/8" : 1'. Dimensions: 55" x 36".
Sheet 8: Section ([1954])
Pencil and colored pencil on vellum paper. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 36" x 22-3/4".
Sheet 9: Reception Desk ([1954])
Pencil and colored pencil on vellum paper. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 36" x 23".
Reproduction Drawings
Sheet 3A: Plan, Elevation, and Section ([1954])
Blueline. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 57" x 36".
Sheet 4A : Sections ([1954])
Blueline. Scale: 3/4" : 1' . Dimensions: 57" x 36".
Sheet 5A: Section and Reflected Ceiling Plan (5/3/1954)
Blueline. Scale: 3/4" : 1' . Dimensions: 57" x 36".
Sheet 6: Footing Details ([1954])
Blueline. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 57" x 36".
Sheet 7: Roof Framing Plan ([1954])
Blueline. Scale: 1/8" : 1'. Dimensions: 57" x 36".
Sheet 8: Section ([1954])
Blueline. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 41-1/2" x 28-1/2".
Sheet 9: Reception Desk ([1954])
Blueline. Scale: 3/4" : 1'. Dimensions: 41-1/2" x 28-1/2".
PROJECT FILE
Folder: Correspondence (1953-1954)
Letters, telegrams, notes, and notes concerning packing, transport, and display elements of the installation when moved from New York to Los Angeles. Correspondents include John Geiger and Eugene Masselink, with references to John deKoven Hill and Frank Lloyd Wright. [Box 2]
Folder: Archival Correspondence (1997)
Letters to/from the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives concerning order for prints of drawings and photography by Pedro Guerrero. [Box 2]
Manuscripts
Folder: "Usonian Geometry in New York" by John Geiger
Various drafts of an analysis of the geometry of the Exhibition Pavilion.
Folder: Exhibition Pavilion and Gallery Images
Print and digital photographs, including six images by George James. All of these can be seen as illustrations in the "Commentaries in Memoriam," Episode 2: My Last Summer at the Fellowship and the Los Angeles 60 Years of Living Architecture Pavilion" essay by John Geiger.
Publications
Folder: Exhibition Catalog (May, 1954)
A 40 page catalog featuring a narrative text and architectural photographs of Wright buildings was published by the Municipal Art Patrons and Municipal Art Commission of the City of Los Angeles to accompany the exhibition. The body of the publication reproduced the content of the earlier Guggenheim catalog using illustrations of Hollyhock House for the cover, with the substitution of one page and an inserted acknowledgements to donors at the end. [Box 2]
Catalog: "Frank Lloyd Wright: 60 Jahre Lebendige Arkitectur"
Publication produced in German to accompany the international traveling exhibition. [Box 37]
Folder: Miscellaneous
Newspaper clipping, with photograph showing Frank Lloyd Wright, Anne Baxter, and John J. Pike; Article, "Art Center Being Built in Barnsdall Park Given to City," Los Angeles Times (5/6/1954). [Box 2]