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.
Gargoyle Club Records, N 225, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
The materials were acquired as a gift, through Ellerbe Becket Inc, of architect Donald Denzer.
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Barbara Bezat, July, 2005.
The collection is organized into the following series:
The Gargoyle Club was officially incorporated in St. Paul, MN in 1913 by a group of architects and draftsmen who looked for a setting in which to meet to further the social and cultural aspects of their professions. There was not, at the time, a local chapter of the professional society, the American Institute of Architects. Over the years the membership of the club has waxed and waned, with two world wars and an economic depression cutting into the ability of the members to sustain activities, but the organization has recovered and is still in existence in 2005.
During the early years the Gargoyle Club provided classes, presentations and ateliers in which the younger members had opportunities to learn about art and culture relating to the architectural profession. The members also participated in many civic events such as the St. Paul Winter Carnival, dances and other festivities.
In 1929 the Club first began discussion of offering a prize, to be known as the Gargoyle Club Prize, awarded to a student in the architecture course at the University of Minnesota. The Club stipulated that the prize money was to be used to "provide something of permanent value as a remembrance of the honor accorded", with the requests that the funds be used ot purchase architectural books that would form the foundation of a professional architectural library for the honoree.
Officers and members of this club have included such prominent local architects as Clarence H. Johnston, Edwin H. Lundie, Beaver Wade Day, Thomas G. Holyoke, Leon Arnal, Magnus Jemne and others.
Minutes, annual reports, correspondence, financial material, publicity and other organizational records of a club for architects and draftsmen based in St. Paul, MN, founded in 1913.
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.
The correspondence files may contain letters, annual reports, meeting announcements, membership rosters and financial information, including receipts, invoices and banking information. When an annual report is present, it is filed in the folder for the year in which the report was presented to the membership, not the year it covers, e.g. the report for the year 1949 will appear in the 1950 correspondence folder, as the reports were generally presented to the membership at the January or February meetings.
The financial files contain the ledgers and banking information that cover multiple years; also see the "Correspondence" files for additional financial data.
The legal files contain documents pertaining to the incorporation of the organization, including articles of incorporation and bylaws, along with material relating to real estate owned by the Club.
Additional copies of these appear in the Correspondence files; duplicates were not checked.
The photograph file contains a very few color prints and negatives,and represent only a few years of the club's activities. The only labelled photos are those from 1989 to 1993.
The miscellaneous files contain materials that are, for the most part, undated including clippings relating to various club or member activities. As well, there are a series of meeting minutes that were housed in a ledger and contain original signatures of many of the early architects.
In addition to this there is a folder labelled "Personal reports." These reports are surveys completed by the members and contain a great deal of information about their professional activities. They are valuable for their biographical data.
These may duplicate minutes found in the Correspondence section. They were removed from a ledger and contain signatures from some of the early architectural practitioners in St. Paul, including C. H. Johnston, H. A. Sullwold, A. Gauger, Frank Abrahamson, Edwin Lundie, F. Slifer, Emanuel Masqueray, Roy Childs Jones, Magnus Jemne and Thomas Holyoke. Duplicate meeting minutes were not checked.