naa008 Donald R. Torbert collection Archives Staff University of Minnesota Libraries undated
University of Minnesota Libraries Minneapolis, MN 55455
EAD encoding by Karen Spilman, April 2005 English Torbert, Donald R. Donald R. Torbert collection 1836-1960 University of Minnesota Libraries. Northwest Architectural Archives, Manuscripts Division [naa] 640 items Collection consists of photographs of residences, commercial buildings, churches, bridges, hotels, government structures, and other buildings gathered by Donald Torbert. N 8 English Mezzanine; AV Room Administrative Information Restrictions on Access

Available for use in the Manuscripts Division reading room. Advance notice is requested.

 Restrictions on Use

There are no restrictions on the use of materials in this collection. Copies can be requested if the condition of the originals warrants it.

Preferred Citation

Donald R. Torbert collection (N 8), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.

 Acquisition

The collection was donated to the Northwest Architectural Archives by Donald Torbert on March 28, 1974.

Biographical Note

Donald Torbert was born in Ohio in 1910. After receiving his education at Ohio State University, he obtained a teaching position there as an instructor of art. In 1936, Torbert entered the University of Minnesota, where he received his Ph.D. and subsequently joined the faculty to teach art history until his retirement in 1978. He served as a member of the Committee on the Urban Environment in Minneapolis (1968-1978), the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission (1972-1978) and the Minnesota State Review Board for the National Register of Historic Places (1970-1978). Torbert authored A Century of Art and Architecture, A Century of Minnesota Architecture (1958) and Significant Architecture in the History of Minneapolis (1969). He died in Santa Barbara, CA, on August 24, 1985.

 Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of photographs of residences, commercial buildings, churches, bridges, hotels, government structures, and other buildings gathered by Torbert in compiling his doctoral dissertation, Minneapolis Architecture and Architects 1848-1908 (University of Minnesota, 1951). Also present are photographs of 19th century street scenes in Minneapolis and St. Paul and in a number of other Minnesota towns and cities.

Among the buildings documented are the Henry Sibley house, Mendota (ca. 1835); the St. Paul Union Depot (ca. 1880); Territorial and State Capitols (1851, 1896); Fort Snelling (1857-1896); Union Station, Minneapolis (n.d.); St. James Hotel, Red Wing (1873); and the State Prison, Stillwater (n.d.).

 Additional Finding Aid

An unpublished finding aid with detailed contents is available in the Manuscripts Division.

 Related Material

A Century of Minnesota Architecture photographs (N 1)

 Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Torbert, Donald R. -- Archives Architecture -- Minnesota -- Photographs