Available for use in the Manuscripts Division reading room. Advance notice is requested.
There are no restrictions on the use of materials in this collection. Copies can be requested if the condition of the originals warrants it.
James Speckman papers (N 107), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
The collection was donated to the Northwest Architectural Archives by Charles Liddy on August 31, 1984.
The collection is organized alphabetically by commission name.
James H. Speckman was born on January 5, 1918 in Dresden, North Dakota. He moved to St. Paul with his mother and a brother in 1922 and was educated in city schools. He received a degree in design and engineering from the University of Minnesota Extension Division in 1945 while working as a window designer for Donaldson's Golden Rule department store (St. Paul, MN) and as an architectural delineator for Norman Johnson. In 1945, Speckman became a full-time architect, designing homes for developer K.L. Bordner and in 1946 he set up his own practice in St. Paul, specializing in residences and small commercial buildings. He entered partnership with Robert W. Johnson, a structural engineer, in 1956, and the firm was incorporated in 1961 as Associated Architects and Engineers, Inc., the name under which it continues to operate. In 1968, Johnson left the firm and Speckman remained in practice until 1983 when he retired and sold his interest in the company to Charles D. Liddy, Jr. and Grant A. Peterson. Speckman has stayed active as a consultant in development of residential and commercial buildings in St. Paul for several years.
The collection consists of original pencil drawings on paper consisting of plans, elevations and perspectives for residential or small industrial/commercial structures, mostly from the 1950s and early 1960s. The work presents excellent documentation of middle class housing styles prominent during this time period.
An unpublished finding aid with detailed contents is available in the Manuscripts Division.
Frank Horner papers (N 106)
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.