naa146 Mildred Grunau papers Archives staff University of Minnesota Libraries 1995
University of Minnesota Libraries Minneapolis, MN 55455
EAD encoding by Leslie Czechowski December 2004 English Grunau, Mildred Mildred Grunau papers circa 1940-196? University of Minnesota Libraries. Northwest Architectural Archives, Manuscripts Division [naa] 9 cubic feet The collection includes more than 170 designs, including elevations and plans with some sketches, chiefly for residential structures in Minnesota. Also included are photographs of projects, and personal photographs and papers, among them, papers relating to Beta Sigma Pi, the University of Minnesota and Macalester College, and the Minnesota League of Fencing. N 146 English Mezzanine; High Bay 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

Mildred Grunau papers (N 146), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.

 Acquisition

Donated to the Archives by Lawrence Russell in 1995.

 Arrangement

The materials are arranged in four series:

Working Drawings Specifications Photographs Correspondence & Miscellaneous Biographical Sketch for Mildred Grunau (1909-1992)

"Millie" Grunau, as she was best known, was born in South St. Paul, Minnesota in 1909. She was educated at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, where she finished two years of architectural training in 1932. With jobs scarce in the Depression, Grunau taught high school mathematics for a time before her employment with a contracting firm as a draftsman. In about 1937, the Federal Housing Administration requested use of her house plans as models to spur the building of affordable housing across the country. She worked for many years with Brown-Blodgett, a St. Paul firm that produced stock house plans for sale to builders and individuals. Grunau produced literally hundreds of plans and it was estimated that, by 1961, some 3,000 residences had been built in 50 states from her plans. She died in Miami, Florida in 1992.

 Scope and Content Note

The collection includes more than 170 designs, including elevations and plans with some sketches, chiefly for residential structures in Minnesota. Also included are photographs of projects, and personal photographs and papers, among them, papers relating to Beta Sigma Pi, the University of Minnesota and Macalester College, and the Minnesota League of Fencing.

Related Material

See also stock plan books (N 101) of Brown-Blodgett in the Northwest Architectural Archives.

 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.

Grunau, Mildred Brown-Blodgett Company (Saint Paul, Minn.) Architecture, domestic -- Minnesota -- Designs and plans Detailed Contents of Collection Working Drawings

The following section contains a detailed list of materials in the collection. After the commission name may be listed five pieces of information: type of structure (or proposed structure), street address, architect(s), location of structure, and medium of drawing.

 2182 (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blackline

Anderson , A. O. (no date)

Residence

Garage addn

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber, contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Anderson , Claude C. (01) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

blueprint

Anderson , Claude C. (02) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Auth , G. F. 1942

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Durand, WI

pencil on paper

B. F. 3 (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Birkholz , J. C. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brandt , G. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brown - Blodgett (01) (no date)

Akron

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (02) (no date)

Alvaro

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (03) (no date)

Arona

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (04) (no date)

Bainbridge

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brown - Blodgett (05) (no date)

Belton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink on sepia

Brown - Blodgett (05a) (no date)

Belton Reverse

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (06) (no date)

Boynton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (06a) (no date)

Cement Block Boynton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink on sepia

Brown - Blodgett (07) (no date)

Bradbury

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brown - Blodgett (08) (no date)

Bryant

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (09) (no date)

Butter

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (10) (no date)

Cambria or Canton

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (11) (no date)

Canton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (12) (no date)

Claremont

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (13) (no date)

Clarissa

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (14) (no date)

Como

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (15) (no date)

Dewey

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink on linen , sepia

Brown - Blodgett (16) (no date)

Elmo

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink on linen

Brown - Blodgett (17) (no date)

Fenton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (18) (no date)

Fernwood

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (19) (no date)

Hillcrest

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (20) (no date)

Holton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (21) (no date)

Hyde

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (22) (no date)

Inwood

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (23) (no date)

Linden

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brown - Blodgett (24) (no date)

Lowry

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (25) (no date)

Lyndale

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (26) (no date)

Marmon

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (27) (no date)

Mendota

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper , sepia

Brown - Blodgett (28) (no date)

Muncie

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia , pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (29) (no date)

Murdock

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brown - Blodgett (30) (no date)

Nicollet

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (31) (no date)

Nokomis

3 apartments

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (32) (no date)

Nyack

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (33) (no date)

Orchard

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink on sepia print

Brown - Blodgett (34) (no date)

Osceola

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (35) (no date)

Pelham

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (36) (no date)

Placid

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (37) (no date)

Rockville

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (38) (no date)

Roxbury

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (39) (no date)

Thorpe (Reverse)

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink and pencil on sepia

Brown - Blodgett (40) (no date)

Tipton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Brown - Blodgett (41) (no date)

Travis

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (42) (no date)

Tuxedo

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (43) (no date)

Upton

[ boxed ]

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (44) (no date)

Vermillion

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Brown - Blodgett (45) (no date)

Vista

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper , ink on sepia

Brown - Blodgett (46) (no date)

Waconia

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil and ink on paper

Brown - Blodgett (47) (no date)

Wentworth

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Cabin Court and Trailer Camp (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Casey , W. J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; G. Skildum , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Chadwick , C. G. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Church of the Nazarene (no date)

Mildred Grunau

Olevia , MN

pencil on paper

Church of the Nazarene , South Robert (no date)

Parsonage

Mildred Grunau

St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Clark , G. E. M. (no date)

Lake Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Concord Beverage (no date)

Mildred Grunau

South St. Paul ?

pencil on paper

Cook , Mary Edith and Henry M. Kaiser (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; G. Skildum , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Dablow , F. J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Dablow , Frank (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Dayhuff , Don (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Dietrich , Ed. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Golden Valley , MN

pencil on paper

Donahue , J. M. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Dragich , Nick (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

South St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Dragich , Nick Jr. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

So. St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Eichelberg , K. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Elms , J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Exe , F.L. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Farmers Supply (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Art Fink , contr.

South St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

First Church of the Nazarene (01) (no date)

Apartment House

Mildred Grunau?

Payne Ave. & Sherwood Ave. St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper , blueprint

First Church of the Nazarene (02) (no date)

Apartment House

[ alternate plans? ]

Mildred Grunau ?

Payne Avenue and Sherwood Ave. , St. Paul ?

pencil on paper

Fox , Morris (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Summit Ave. St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Fritcher , Al. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

401 E. Sidney St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Fuller , Louie (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Gallagher , Claude (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Gorman , William F. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Grabowski , Frank (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Grossman , Kurt (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Grunan , H. A. (01) (no date)

Residence

George Ries

location unknown

blueprint

Grunan , H. A. (02) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

linen

Hanley , J. F. (01) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Hanley , J. F. (02) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; G. Skildum , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Heinze , Tom (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Henderson , Sid (01) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Henderson , Sid (02) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Hildebrand Lifetime Homes (01) (no date)

Plan #4517

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint

Hildebrand Lifetime Homes (02) (no date)

Plan #4521

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint

Kaplan , George 1950

Den ; breakfront

Mildred Grunau ; J. H. Peckmann , designer

location unknown

blackline

Kauffelt , J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Kelly , F. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Kelly , N. E. O. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

659 Conway , So. St. Paul

pencil on paper

Klepper , J. W. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Kohlhoff , T. W. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Litchfield , MN

pencil on paper

Krinsky , S. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Lametti , G. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

So. St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Lang , R. G. (no date)

Lake Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Large Residence (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink and water color on paper

Lavin , Herman (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Leitzen , L. W. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Lindbeck , R. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Mack , P. 1947

Residence

Mildred Grunau

W. 51st St. & Beard Ave. , Mpls.

pencil on paper

Manthey , H. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Mauseleum for Miller (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

water color and air brush on paper

McArthur , A. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

McDougal , W. J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint , pencil on paper

Miscellaneous Sketches (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

water color and ink

Mitchell , Roy (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Morgan , Rev. A. (01) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Morgan , Rev. A. (02) (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Lexington and Minnehaha , St. Paul

pencil on paper

Morgan , Rev. A. C. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

National Lumber Co. Service Dept. (01) (no date)

Residence

Plan #26-E

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint

National Lumber Co. Service Dept. (02) (no date)

Residence

Plan #27-A

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint

National Lumber Co. Service Dept. (03) (no date)

Residence

Plan #25-G

Mildred Grunau

Clifton Dale addition , Lots 11 & 12 , blck 6

blueprint

National Plan Service inc. (01) 1950

Calendar

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

National Plan Service inc. (02) 1942

Calendar

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

National Plan Service inc. (03) 1948

Calendar

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

Nelson , A. F. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; G. Skildum , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Norbeck , H. W. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Mpls , MN

pencil on paper

Ogorek , Felix (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Parker , William (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Pearson , Walter (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; G. Skildum , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Pedersen , G. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Priebe , G. J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Pritzker , Leo (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

Deer Lake

pencil on paper

Rabuse , George (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Rauchwarter , Robert (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (01) (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint

Residence (02) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; A. J. Bergee , contr.

17th Ave. N. , South St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Residence (03) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Erling Bolstad , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (04) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Erling Bolstad , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (05) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; J. Elms , contr.

location unknown

blueprint

Residence (06) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Art Fink , bldr.

location unknown

pencil on sepia

Residence (07) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on sepia

Residence (08) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (09) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

So. St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Residence (11) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (12) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; G. Skildum , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (13) (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (15) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

7th corner so.?

pencil on paper

Residence (16) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; J. Elms , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (17) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; J. Elms , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (18) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; E. Bolstad , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residence (19) (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Residences (10) (no date)

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

7th Ave. S. & Richmond St. , So. St. Paul

pencil on paper

Risdall , E. C. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Rosas , L. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Roth , G. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Ryan , Elmer (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Sandberg , N. H. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

sepia

Schiefelbein , Gus. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

School (?) Projects (01) (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

ink and gouache on paper

School (?) Projects (02) (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

colored pencil , ink and gouache on paper

School Exercises (01) (no date)

sketches

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

colored pencil on paper

School Exercises (02) (no date)

sketch

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

colored pencil on paper

Schuster (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

St. Paul , no. side of Ohio off Annapolis

pencil on paper

Simes , I. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Smestad , J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Smith , C. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

Richfield , MN

pencil on paper

Sorenson , R. C. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

St. Sava Rectory (no date)

Mildred Grunau

South St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Sta-vis Oil Co. (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Stelmach , Walter A. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Ed. Gerber , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Store Front (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

blueprint

Swenson , D. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; E. Bolstad , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Thompson , J. J. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Todd , Mr. and Mrs. Barton (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

So. St. Paul

pencil on paper

Trepanier , Mr. and Mrs. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Unnamed Memorial Tower (no date)

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

water color and air brush on paper

Varing , Bud (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Varing , H. C. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

So. St. Paul

pencil on paper

Vujovich , D. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

Werger , R. H. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau

location unknown

pencil on paper

White , Wm. (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; Geo. Choban , contr.

location unknown

pencil on paper

Yount , Robert (no date)

Residence

Mildred Grunau ; C. Funck , contr.

19th & Wentworth , So. St. Paul , MN

pencil on paper

Specifications 1 Specifications 1 Ledger, 1940-1945 Photographs 2 Unidentifiable--grouped

four folders

 2 Identified photographs 3 Unidentifiable--ungrouped

four folders

 4 Photos of Mildred and personal effects 4 Millie & Company 4 Residences 4 Unidentifiable--grouped Correspondence & Miscellaneous 5 Rent report 5 Bank statements 5 Lawsuit against NSP 5 Working drawing of 24x30 plans 5 Working drawings of 3 bedrooms 5 Correspondence with Sowega Realty Co., Albany, GA 5 Medical story 5 Lawsuits and evictions 5 Luisa Priddy 5 Michael Walters (deeds, bills from sanitorium) 5 Contracts, deeds 5 Correspondence

two folders

 5 Diary of H.A. Grunau 5 Brown-Blodgett correspondence 6 Investments, dividends 6 Episodes with the Housing Authority of St. Paul 6 Taxes 6 Helenou & Theresa Guthunz 6 Cresentia Grunau (taxes) 6 Funeral proceeding for Herman Grunau and Cresentia Grunau 6 Garlinghouse plan books--calendar 6 Skil [a how-to magazine] 6 Plans--Hollywood Homes, Hollywood, FL 6 Miscellaneous 6 Beta Sigma Pi 6 St. Paul Dispatch--Pioneer Press Cooking School 6 Minnesota League of Fencing Clubs 6 Souvenir for plays 6 University of Minnesota 6 Macalester College