Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
John M. Jackson
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1988.091
Title
C. David Loeks Papers 1947-1997
Quantity
7.7 Cubic Feet, 15 boxes; 1 oversize folder
Creator
Loeks, C. David (Conrad David), 1923-2006
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
Papers of city planner C. David Loeks (1923-2006), St. Paul city planning director; Twin Cities Metropolitan Planning Commission
executive director; Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress chief executive officer; Hudson Basin Project executive director; and
Virginia Tech professor of urban and regional planning, consisting largely of reports and background materials generated by
Loeks' work on various planning projects.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University
Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization
form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition
form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with
forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
C. David Loeks Papers, Ms1988-091, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1988 and 2005.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the C. David Loeks Papers commenced in October 2021 and was completed in December
2021. Partial processing of a portion of the collection had been completed prior to 2002.
Landscape architect and urban planner Conrad David Loeks, son of John W. and Jeannette Boerma Loeks, was born in Grand Rapids,
Michigan on April 7, 1923. On September 1, 1943, Loeks married Julie Anne Kruse (1923-2008) in Nueces, Texas; the couple had
two children. Following service in the United States Navy Reserve, Loeks obtained a B. S. in landscape architecture at Michigan
State University (1948) and an master's degree in city and regional planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1950).
Loeks served as city planning director for St. Paul, Minnesota from 1950 until 1958, when he became director of the Twin Cities
(St. Paul/Minneapolis) Metropolitan Planning Commission. In 1966, Loeks was named chief executive officer of Mid-Hudson Pattern
for Progress (Poughkeepsie, New York), a non-profit regional planning and research corporation. He continued to serve in this
position until 1980 and from 1973 to 1976 also served as executive director of the Hudson Basin Project. Loeks completed his
career at Virginia Tech, serving as a professor and chairman of the graduate program in urban and regional plannning from
1980 to 1988. He also maintained memberships in several organiztions in urban planning, most notably in the American Institute
of Planners, in which he served as secretary-treasurer, 1960 to 1962; vice-president, 1962 to 1964; and president, 1964-1966.
David Loeks died on January 18, 2006, and was buried in Big Prairie-Everett Cemetery, Big Prairie, Michigan.
This collection contains the papers of C. David Loeks, a city planner who served as St. Paul city planning director (1952-1957),
Twin Cities Metropolitan Planning Commission executive director (1957-1966), Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress chief executive
officer (1966-1980), and Virginia Tech professor of urban and regional planning (1980-1988). The collection consists largely
of working papers, reports and publications generated by the various planning agencies in which Loeks served but also contains
studies and drawings completed by Loeks for college coursework, texts and background materials from Loeks' speeches, and materials
from a few of the courses taught by Loeks at Virginia Tech.
Series I, Personal Papers, 1948-1994. This series contains papers not directly related to Loeks' service with various planning
agencies or at Virginia Tech. Included are biographical sketches and curricula vitae, as well as a small selection of personal
correspondence, personal papers, and photographs. The collection also includes papers and drawings completed by Loeks for
his academic coursework and two copies of the Speing 1948 issue of Horizons , containing Loeks' entry in the Landscape Exchange competition. Also contained in the series are papers relating to Loeks'
membership in the American Institute of Planners, including speeches by Loeks and notes and slides from a 1965 AIP tour of
Russia. Arranged by material type, then chronologically.
Series II, St. Paul City Planning Board, 1952-1957. This small series contains working papers and formal reports generated
during Loeks' time on the board, as well as related news articles and photographic slides. Arranged by material type, then
chronologically.
Series III, Twin Cities Metropolitan Planning Commission, 1958-1986. Loeks' service on the Twin Cities MPC is documented here
through correspondence, working papers, and published reports. Also included in the series are reports and slides from a 1960
world tour, as well as smaller tours of Puerto Rico (1960) and South Africa and South America (1962), all taken by Loeks for
the Twin Cities MPC through grants from the Ford Foundation. Arranged by material type, then chronologically.
Series IV, Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress, 1958-2000. This series consists largely of planning studies and reports generated
by Pattern for Progress but also contains texts from Loeks' speeches and papers, as well as background materials. Arranged
by material type, then chronologically.
Series V, Hudson Basin Project, 1973-1976. This series contains working papers and formal reports generated by the project,
a three-year study of the environmental issues facing the New York metropolitan area and the Hudson River watershed. Arranged
by material type, then chronologically.
Series VI, Virginia Tech, 1980-1997. The papers in this series document a few courses taught by Loeks, with course notes and
background material. The series also contains texts of presentations given outside the classroom. Also included is a small
file of material relating to Loeks' consultations on municipal planning in Blacksburg, Virginia and Staunton, Virginia.
The following items were removed from the collection to be cataloged for the rare book collection:
Proceedings of the First International Electric Vehicle Symposium (New York: Electric Vehicle Council, 1969).
Summary Proceedings: Conference on Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems Involving Government, Industry, and University ([Blacksburg,
VA: Center for Transportation Research, 1990]).