Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Polivka, Jaroslav Joseph, 1886-1960 and University Archives
- Abstract:
- Papers of J.J. Polivka, internationally renowned Czechoslovakian structural engineer. Collection documents his collaboration with Frank Lloyd Wright on many of Wright's later projects including the Guggenheim Museum, and the proposed Butterfly Bridge. Collection consists of correspondence, clippings, drawings, publications, photographs and photograph negatives.
- Extent:
- 6.26 Linear Feet and 11 manuscript boxes, 2 half manuscript boxes, and 3 negative storage boxes
- Language:
- Collection material in English.
- Preferred citation:
[Description and dates], Box/Folder number, MS 48, J.J. Polivka papers, 1918-1983, University Archives, The State University of New York at Buffalo.
See the Archives' preferred citations instructions for additional information.
Background
- Scope and Content:
The bulk of the collection spans the years 1939-1959 and contains correspondence, notes, drawings, clippings, and publications—many of which document the collaboration of J.J. Polivka and Frank Lloyd Wright. Notable projects documented are the San Francisco Butterfly Bridge, the Johnson Research Tower, the Guggenheim Museum, the Morris House, the Rogers Lacy Hotel and the Belmont Pavilion. Correspondence between Polivka and Wright primarily concern financial and travel arrangements. There is also a considerable amount of research material, which consists of correspondence between Polivka and other professionals of the time. Additionally, the collection includes drafts of letters and articles by Polivka including "What's It Like to Work with Wright," "The Aesthetics of Bridges," and "Are Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesins Educational Institutions." Photograph subjects within Series IV include Polivka, Wright, family, friends, and students at Taliesin West, as well as project planning.
- Biographical / Historical:
- Architects + Engineers = Structures
In 1946 Wright (1867-1959) wrote an article in Architectural Forum about the difficulties he had with the steel company engineers who condemned his Fallingwater house (1934-1937) structural design. Wright wrote to Edgar Kaufmann, his client, saying: 'I should like this Box [with this letter] put under the corner stone of your house when the cornerstone is laid. I want this done so that when the house is torn down, 2,000 years from now, people will learn what complete damn fools these engineers are!' Prague-born structural engineer Jaroslav Josef Polivka (1886-1960) responded to the article by sending Wright an enthusiastic letter: 'I am admiring you as an engineer, although, according to a quotation in the last Forum issue, these engineers are complete damn fools. You may be right since the engineers in their structural conceptions are very seldom guided by eternal laws of the Nature ... The average engineer knows only beams, girders, columns and any deviation from his every day tools is considered as unusual, crazy, or dangerous.' The letter brought in return Wright's invitation to Taliesin and opened a professional relationship that lasted until Wright's death. (41)*
*Margolius, Ivan. <em>Architects + Engineers = Structures.</em> Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Academy, 2002.
Date Event 1886 Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia1909 Pursues Undergraduate Studies in engineering at the College of Technology, Prague, Czechoslovakia1911 Pursues Graduate Studies in engineering at the Federal Polytechnic Institute, Zurich, Switzerland1909-1911 Supervises construction of the Ohre Arch River Bridge, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia1911-1916 Serves as Chief Engineer for the Societa Italiana Cemento Armato in Florence, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland1917 Earns Doctorate of Technology of Science Degree from the Prague Institute of Technology1917-1918 Serves in WWI as a conscript in the Austro-Hungarian Army1919 Returns to Prague to open an office of architecture and engineering. Works for the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Public Works1927-1928 Designs Chicago and Habich Buildings in Prague1937 Designs and builds the Czechoslovakian Pavilion, in collaboration with Czech functionalistic architect, JaromĂr Krejcar, for the Paris Exposition of 19371938 Designs the Rotterdam Corn Exchange, Holland1939 Designs and builds the Czechoslovakian Pavilion, in collaboration with Kamil Roscot, for the New York World's FairImmigrates to America, avoiding World War II, and becomes a Research Associate and Lecturer at University of California, Berkeley. Founds a photo-elastic lab where he continues his work on stress analysis1941 Collaborates with Victor Di Suvero on an invention of structural technique, applies for and receives a patent for improvements in structures1945 Leaves University of California, Berkeley to continue independent design and research1946 Writes a letter to Frank Lloyd Wright in response to an Architectural Forum interview, which begins a business partnership that lasts until Wright's death in 19591946-1959 Collaborates with Wright on Modern Gallery (Guggenheim Museum), New York, New York1946-1951 Collaborates with Wright on Johnson Wax Tower, Racine, WisconsinInvestigates engineering of "tap-root" foundation1946 Collaborates with Wright on Rogers Lacy Hotel, Dallas, TexasInvestigates Thermolux Glass for hotel exterior1949 Collaborates with Wright on V.C. Morris House (Seacliff), San Francisco, California1949-1952 Collaborates with Wright on Butterfly Bridge, San Francisco, California1950 Takes a part-times position as Research Associate and Lecturer at Stanford University1956 Collaborates with Wright on Belmont Racetrack Pavilion, Long Island, New YorkCollaborates with Wright on the Illinois (a mile-high skyscraper), Chicago, Illinois1960 Dies at age 74 in Berkeley, California - Acquisition information:
Donated by Elizabeth Houdek, Jan Polivka and Milos Polivka, children of Jaroslav J. Polivka, on November 7, 1982, through the good offices of Katka Houdek Hammond, of Buffalo, New York. Additional materials were donated by Katka Houdek Hammond, October 9, 1997.
Additional materials were donated by Ronald M. Polivka, grandson of Jaroslav J. Polivka, January, 2022. Materials were received by mail in the University Archives, January 14, 2022.
- Processing information:
Collection processed by Archives staff, circa 1984, 1997. Additional description added and finding aid revised by Grace Timper, February 2018. Additional description added and finding aid revised by Jessica Hollister, March 2022.
- Arrangement:
Collection is arranged by format into seven series: I. Correspondence, II. Books, III. Notes, IV. Drawings, V. Clippings, VI. Photographs. and VII. Research materials. Series VII. is further arranged into two sub-series, A and B.
- Accruals:
No further accruals are expected to this collection.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed Terms
- Subjects:
- Architectural criticism
Architectural design -- United States -- 20th century
Architectural drawing -- United States -- 20th century
Architectural photography -- United States
Architectural practice -- United States
Architecture, Modern -- 20th century
Architecture -- Composition, proportion, etc.
Architecture -- Mathematics
Architecture -- Philosophy
Architecture -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Decoration and ornament, Architectural -- United States
Group work in architecture -- United States
San Francisco Butterfly Bridge
Structural analysis (Engineering)
Structural design
Architectural drawings (visual works)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Negatives (photographic)
Photographs - Names:
- University Archives
Buffalo and Western New York Architecture Collection (State University of New York at Buffalo)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
State University of New York at Buffalo. Archival resources
Taliesin West (Scottsdale, AR)
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
The J.J. Polivka papers, 1918-1983 are open for research.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Description and dates], Box/Folder number, MS 48, J.J. Polivka papers, 1918-1983, University Archives, The State University of New York at Buffalo.
See the Archives' preferred citations instructions for additional information.
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
- CONTACT:
-
716-645-2916lib-archives@buffalo.edu