Special Collections

Milton S. Eisenhower Librarry

The Johns Hopkins University

3400 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21218

410-516-8348

Urban Planning Conferences

Collection (1943-1944)

Gar 23

Size:          3 document boxes                                  

Processed:     November 1989 

               September 1997

By:            Joan Grattan             

Provenance:    The papers are part of the manuscript collections

               of   the John Work Garrett Library, Evergreen.

Access:        Access to the collection is unrestricted.

Permission:    Permission to publish material from this

               collection must be requested in writing

               from the Manuscripts Librarian

               at the address above.

Citation:      Urban Planning Conferences Collection Ms. Gar 23

               Special Collections

               Milton S. Eisenhower Library

               The Johns Hopkins University

                    Urban Planning Conferences

                      Collection (1943-1944)

                              Gar 23

Provenance

The collection was part of the papers of Mrs. John Work Garrett,

the owner of Evergreen House. The collection forms one of the

Garrett manuscript collections of the John Work Garrett Library

at Evergreen.   The collection was formerly processed as Ms. 230.

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

(Alice 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.  Johns Hopkins President, Isaiah 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

Scope and Content Note

The collection (1943) of the Urban Planning Conferences consists

of the mimeographed proceedings, newspaper clippings,

correspondence, invitations from Mrs. John Work Garrett, agendas,

and announcements of the printed report from the Johns Hopkins

Press..

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.

The conferences were scheduled at a unique point in time and

appear to have been of interest to the Baltimore community. 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.  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. 

 
                          Container List

                              Gar 23

Box 1         

     Printed copy:   Report of the Urban Planning Conferences

Under the Auspices of The Johns Hopkins University.  Evergreen

House. 1943

     Notes, June 5-6.  Summary of addresses, round table

discussions.  1943

     Notes, Summaries.  June 19-20, 1943.

     Notes, Summaries.  July 10-11, 1943.

     Notes, Summaries.  October 9, 1943.

     Rosenauer, Michael

     Report.  Publication of Committee, 19444.

     Publication of Conference Papers.

     Publication announcements from JHU Press.

     Bibliograph, Publications.

Box 2

     Conference Members.      Spring and Fall 1943

     Programs, Invitations

     Programs, Announcements, Invitation with response card.

     Invitation Lists.  Spring 1943    

     Invitation Lists.  Baltimore invitation list.

     Clippings, 1943.

     Clippings, 1943.

     Clippings, May 23-Nov.7, 1943.

     House Guests.  Spring 1943

     House Guests.  Fall 1943

Box 3

     Alice Garrett correspondence, 1941-1945.

     Mrs. John Work (Alice) correspondence, 1942-1944.

     Urban Planning Conferences correspondence

     Correspondence - General, Spring 1943.

     Correspondence - Appreciation, Thank you.  Spring 1943

     Correspondence - Appreciation, Thank you.  Fall 1943