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
Julia Viets, Student Assistant and Kira A. Dietz, Archivist
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.2007.028
Title
Leonard J. Currie Papers, 1920-2001
Quantity
10 Cubic Feet, 14 boxes; 30 oversize folders--processed materials ONLY
Creator
Currie, Leonard J. (Leonard James), 1913-1996
Language
The materials in this collection are predominantly written in English and Spanish. However, some papers also contain German,
Russian, and French.
Abstract
Please note: this collection is currently being processed. Portions of the collection which are fully processed are listed in this finding
aid. This includes photographs and negatives, flat files and oversize drawings from personal and professional projects, and
a few artifacts. As more materials are processed, additional series and subseries will be published. Other portions of the
collection may be available for research--contact Special Collections (specref@vt.edu) for more information.
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
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
Leonard J. Currie Papers, Ms2007-028, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Currie received a Bachelor of Architecture from University of Minnesota in 1936, married Virginia M. Herz in 1937, and earned
a Masters degree from Harvard in 1938, then served an two-year apprenticeship with Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius at their
firm. After that he worked on many projects in Latin America, taught at Harvard, and headed the architecture departments of
Virginia Tech and University of Illinois at Chicago. He practiced architecture privately in firms from the 1970s to the 1990s,
and became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1993. The 1961 house he designed for his family in Blacksburg,
Virginia, commonly called the "Pagoda House," won awards from the AIA and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Currie Papers include sets of blueprints and drawings for about 25 architectural projects and papers relating to his teaching.
There are also files and reports on his work in Latin America, both on historic sites and improving housing for the poor.
Unprocessed.
Please note: Photographs are arranged as their own series, since many rolls of film contain both personal and professional/project
related photographs and negatives. Within the series, photographs are arranged in travel/international work, US buildings/projects,
and personal subseries. See the series note below on Series I: Photographs and Negatives for more on their arrangement.
Europe/USSR trip, including England, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the USSR,
September 1958
Mexico
box-folder 1 folder: 4, 1-5a c.1940s
box-folder 11 folder: 7 1952
box-folder 2 folder: 21 October 1978
Netherlands (Amsterdam)
box-folder 7 folder: 5 1993
Nicaragua
box-folder 1 folder: 5 1941
box-folder 11 folder: 9 box-folder 1 folder: 6 to 1-7
Managua,
1942
box-folder 1 folder: 15
Managua,
September 1951
box-folder 11 folder: 7 1952
box-folder 2 folder: 19 box-folder 11 folder: 9
Managua,
December 1975
box-folder 9 folder: 27 Undated
Panama/Panama Canal
box-folder 1 folder: 12 August 1951
box-folder 2 folder: 2
Canal,
January 1952
Paraguay
box-folder 11 folder: 2 1953
Peru
box-folder 11 folder: 2, 11-7 1952-1953
box-folder 11 folder: 8 box-folder 2 folder: 20
Machu Piccu (charter signing),
1977
box-folder 9 folder: 9, 9-30 Undated
Slovakia
box-folder 6 folder: 7
Bratislava,
1992
box-folder 7 folder: 14
Switzerland,
box-folder 8 folder: 11 1995
Uruguay
box-folder 11 folder: 2 1953
U.S. Travel
box-folder 8 folder: 18
California,
undated
box-folder 8 folder: 18a
Colorado (?)
box-folder 4 folder: 1
Cruise,
1988
box-folder 10 folder: 5
East (incl. Charlottesville, VA),
c.1942-1945?
box-folder 4 folder: 2, 5-1
Florida (Miami, Viscaya?, etc.),
1988-1990
box-folder 5 folder: 1
Georgia (Savannah),
1990
Illinois (Chicago)
box-folder 2 folder: 17a
Conferral of doctorate to Walter Gropius,
1968
box-folder 3 folder: 1
Exteriors and aerial views
1979
box-folder 7 folder: 10
University of Illinois,
1993
box-folder 4 folder: 29 to 4-30 1990
box-folder 9 folder: 22 Undated
box-folder 9 folder: 22
Indiana (Notre Dame)
Kentucky
box-folder 7 folder: 10
University of Kentucky,
1993
Massachusetts
box-folder 6 folder: 10
Gropius House in Lincoln,
1992
box-folder 11 folder: 12
Boston/Harvard Yard,
1953
box-folder 3 folder: 37 box-folder 9 folder: 22
Minnesota (mostly St. Paul),
1988, undated
box-folder 6 folder: 10
New Hampshire (Dartmouth College),
1992
box-folder 2 folder: 11
New York
March 1961
box-folder 9 folder: 26a
Boat trip from New York City,
undated
box-folder 9 folder: 26
Buildings (New York City)
box-folder 2 folder: 11
Guggenheim Museum (New York City),
1961
box-folder 10 folder: 3
Ithaca
box-folder 9 folder: 28
North Carolina (Grandfather Mountain Scottish Games)
box-folder 2 folder: 12
Pennsylvania (Kahn Medical Research Tower, Philadelphia)
May 1961
box-folder 8 folder: 3 box-folder 6 folder: 10
Vermont (Strafford; Maryann Harman studio/site),
1992
box-folder 7 folder: 9, 7-16
Washington (Seattle, Puget Sound) [1993 photos were incorrectly identified, they should be with 1994 material],
1994
box-folder 10 folder: 8
Washington, DC
box-folder 10 folder: 5
West/Southwest (incl. Santa Fe, NM; El Paso, TX; Calder, ID?),
c. 1942-1945?
box-folder 10 folder: 10
West Virginia (Bramwell)
box-folder 1 folder: 4a
Yellowstone National Park/Teton National Park,
c.1940s?
box-folder 1 folder: 4b
USA--Architecture and objects,
c.1940s?
Venezuela
box-folder 11 folder: 2 1953
Subseries B: Building and Project Photographs,
Residential (mostly Southwest Virginia),
Scope and Content
When known, site locations are provided. A majority of the residences are from the Blacksburg/Southwest Virginia area, since
this is where Currie was based from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Projects known to be located in other states are listed
by state in subseries below.
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