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Finding Aid for the Irving John Gill papers, 1870-1936
0000105
0000105
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Table of contents
Title: Irving John Gill papers
Identifier/Call Number: 0000105
Contributing Institution:
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
21.0 Linear feet
(3 boxes and 6 flat file drawers)
Date (inclusive): 1870-1936
creator:
Gill, Irving, 1870-1936 -- Archives
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Gift of Louis J. Gill, 1968. Additional material gifted from Mr. Joseph Musil, 1979 and Laureen Bricke, 1999.
Irving John Gill papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Born near Syracuse, New York, Irving Gill (1870-1936) was descended from Quakers and grew up in a family with ties to the
building trades. Gill never attended architecture school but apprenticed with the architect Ellis K. Hall in Syracuse and,
based on Hall’s recommendation, moved to Chicago in 1890 to work for Joseph L. Silsbee. By 1891, Gill was working in the office
of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, at the same time as Frank Lloyd Wright. Gill may have worked on Sullivan’s Transportation
Building for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. This early modern design was one of the few buildings not in the classical
style for which the fair became known. The “Chicago School” and Louis Sullivan in particular had a lasting effect on Gill’s
architectural thinking. Because of ill health, Gill moved to San Diego in 1893. There he developed partnerships with Joseph
Falkenham, then with William Sterling Hebbard, before establishing his own office. By 1907, simple, stripped-down modern forms
and surfaces defined his design vocabulary. He published several essays during his lifetime, in which he argued for a simple
and authentic architecture, famously writing, “[a]ny deviation from simplicity results in a loss of dignity.” Many of his
projects show his social concerns, including his houses for working men and single women, and his designs for the Rancho Barona
Indian reservation.
The Irving J. Gill papers comprise 21 linear feet and date from 1870 to 1936. The collection contains correspondence, daily
diaries, photographs, clippings and printed ephemera regarding several of his San Diego projects.
Related Archival Materials note
David Gebhard papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa
Barbara.
Louis J. Gill papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa
Barbara.
Historic American Building Survey records, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University
of California, Santa Barbara.
The Irving John Gill Project Index provides a list of the design projects that can be found in the Irving Gill papers. The
Project Index notes the existence of drawings and presentation boards and should be used in conjuntion with the finding aid.
Click the following link to view:
http://adc.museum.ucsb.edu/Project_Index/105_GillIrving_ProjectIndex.xlsx
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gill, Louis J., 1885-1969
Architects -- California
Architectural drawings
Architectural photographs
Architecture -- California
Architecture -- California -- 20th century
Architecture -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th Century
Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- California
Blueprints
Irving John Gill Collection
Negatives
Photographic prints
Sketches
University of California, Santa Barbara -- Buildings -- Pictorial works