Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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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.

Biographical Note

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.

Scope and Content

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.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series:

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.

Separated Material

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]).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• City planning
• Faculty and staff
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Urban Affairs and Planning Program

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the C. David Loeks Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).