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.
Val Michelson papers (N 143), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
The collection was donated to the Northwest Architectural Archives by Val Michelson on October 31, 1990.
The collection is organized alphabetically by commission name.
Val Michelson was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on March 22, 1916. He studied architecture at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Leningrad from 1935 to 1941. He was an engineer in the Soviet army from 1941 until captured by the Germans in 1942. Because of his training and knowledge of the German language, he was put to work as an interpreter and in construction, planning sewage systems and converting buildings to use as field hospitals and other facilities. After the war, Michelson worked in a displaced persons camp where he met his wife, Helgi. From 1946 to 1948, he attended the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe, Germany, and helped set up temporary schools where refugees could continue their education until permanent ones were reopened.
The Michelsons immigrated to the United States in 1949, settling near Ithaca, NY. For a time, Michelson worked as a waiter during the day and in an architectural firm in the evening. He attended Columbia University in 1951-1952, earning an MS in architecture. From 1951 to 1953, he practiced in the office of Percival Goodman in New York City as a designer and job captain, collaborating on the design of the Temple of Aaron, St. Paul, MN. From 1953 to 1960, Michelson was affiliated with Marcel Breuer of New York. He came to Collegeville, Minnesota to be designer, project supervisor, and resident architect on Breuer's St. John's Abbey Church project. Upon its completion in 1961, he moved to St. Paul and formed a partnership with Edward Hanson. From 1963 until his retirement in 1990, he maintained his own firm, Val Michelson & Associates. He also taught classes in the University of Minnesota's School of Architecture from 1963 until his retirement in 1985.
The collection contains drawings, bluelines, and details of thirteen buildings, including St. John's Abbey Church (1957-1961) and Prep School(1954-1967); St. Paul Priory (1962-1969); Stewart Hall, St. Cloud State University (1976); the Newman Center, University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh(1966-1967); First National Bank (Dennison, IA, 1975); St. Theresa Home (New Hope, MN, 1966-1967); Women's Community Housing (St. Paul, n.d.); Itasca Community College (1986-1989); and five private dwellings.
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.
The following section contains a detailed list of the materials in the collection.
St. Paul, MN
blueline, mylar
Michelson and Associates
555 Park St.
Denison, IA
pencil on paper, blueline, mylar, black line, sepia
Michelson and Associates
Expansion of College Facilities-- Phase One
Grand Rapids, MN
mylar, bluelines,
Sandberg-Michelson Team
Phase Two
Grand Rapids, MN
mylar, bluelines, pencil on paper, photocopies
Sandberg-Michelson Team
blueline
Michelson and Associates
St. Paul, MN
pencil on paper, blueline, ink on paper,
Michelson and Associates
486 Ottis Ave
Oshkosh, WI
pencil on paper, sepia, blueline, sepia
Michelson and Associates
Columbia Heights, MN
blueline
Michelson and Associates
39th and Stinson Blvd., Commission number 7401
Ridgefield, CT
pencil on paper
Michelson and Associates
Community Center
St. Paul, MN
blueline
Michelson and Associates
Glenco, MN
mylar, blueline, pencil on paper, tracing paper
Michelson and Associates
Collegeville, MN
pencil on paper, bluelines, blueprint,
Val Michelson and Marcel Breur
Collegeville, MN
blueprint, blueline, pencil on paper, ink on paper, sepia, blackline, tracing paper
Val Michelson and Marcel Breur
Elementary School and Church
Edina, MN
blueprints
Val Michelson, associate
Valley View Road
School Addition
Edina, MN
blueline
Michelson and Associates
Commission number 6308
Maplewood, MN; Ramsey County
pencil on paper, blueline, tracing paper, blueprint, ink on paper
Edward Hanson and Val Michelson
also addition from Frank Horners papers
New Hope, MN
pencil on paper, sepia, tracing paper, mylar
Michelson and Associates
also addition from Frank Horners papers
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, MN
pencil on paper, blueline, mylar, sepia
Michelson and Associates
North and South Addition
St. Paul, MN
blueline
Val Michelson and Percival Goodman
616 S. Mississippi River Blvd., commission number 6601
St. Paul, MN
blueline, pencil on paper, sepia, ink on paper, tracing paper
Michelson and Associates
2250 Luther Place
St. Paul, MN
mylar, blueline
Michelson and Associates
584 and 588 Grand Ave.