Collection ID: 6636038
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Horch, Louis L, Corbett, Harvey Wiley, 1873-1954, and Roerich, Nicholas, 1874-1947
Abstract:
This collection includes office papers and reference papers related to the professional and civic activities of Louis L. and Nettie S. Horch, the Master Institute of United Arts, the Master Apartments, and the Bloomingdale Neighborhood Conservation Association.
Extent:
3 document boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Louis L. and Nettie S. Horch papers. Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection includes office papers and reference papers related to the professional and civic activities of Louis L. and Nettie S. Horch, the Master Institute of United Arts, the Master Apartments, and the Bloomingdale Neighborhood Conservation Association. Additionally, the collection includes documentation regarding the Master Building, which housed the Master Institute of United Art, the Master Apartment Hotel, and the Riverside Museum (formerly known as the Roerich Museum), as well as many of the Horchs' Harlem redevelopment projects. Seeing as Louis and Nettie Horch were instrumental in many redevelopment and conservation projects in Harlem, their papers shed light on the Morningside Heights of the 1950s and 1960s.

Series I: Master Institute of United Art documents the institution founded by Nicholas Roerich, and run by Louis and Nettie Horch. Includes charters, correspondence, financial documents, deeds, permits, and the lease.

Series II: Master Apartment Hotel documents the apartments and hotel located in the Master Building, including correspondence, floor plans, financial documents, inventories, and rent rolls.

Series III: Master Building is made up of documentation regarding the building, including mortgages, deeds, blueprints, and appraisals. Also includes legal documentation from The Master Operating Corp.

Series IV: Bloomingdale Neighborhood Conservation Association is made up of records regarding a cooperative partnership between residents of Morningside Heights and the City of New York. Includes, but is not limited to: correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, newsletters, flyers, and publicity materials.

Series V: Riverside Museum also formerly known as the Roerich Museum, this series contains documentation of the museum located in the Master Building, including catalogs, information regarding the Roerich Museum Apartments, Certificate of name change, deeds, and the litigation that allowed the Horchs to take over the building.

Series VI: Adele Levy Memorial Park consists of documentation regarding a failed effort to open a playground in Riverside Park. Includes committee meetings, correspondence, and publications.

Series VII: Westside Urban Renewal Area includes correspondence, meeting minutes, and publicity materials.

Series VIII: Other Projects contains documentation regarding other Harlem redevelopment projects the Horchs were not instrumental in.

Series IX: Personal Papers includes receipts and bills, correspondence, including letters from Mayor Robert F. Wagner and the Riverside Democrats.

Series X: Newspaper Clippings contains numerous articles relating to Harlem neighborhoods and buildings.

Biographical / Historical:

Mr. and Mrs. Horch financed and directed the Master Institute of United Arts, a New York City-based insitution that taught the fine and dramatic arts that was founded by Nicholas Roerich in 1921. For much of its existence, the Master Institute was housed in the Master Apartments, designed by Harvery Wiley Corbett in 1929 for Roerich and built on the site of the former Horch mansion at 310 Riverside Dr. in New York City. After ligitgation in 1938, the Horches took ownership of the building. They were also closely associated with the Bloomingdale Neighborhood Conservation Association, an cooperative partnership between the City of New York and private citizens to improve the housing and social conditions of residents of the Bloomingdale neighborhood in New York City.

Acquisition information:
Source of acquisition--Gift of Oriole Feshback. Accession number--1986.005.
Processing information:

Drawings Processed Zoe Milgram (Archives Intern) 03/2011.

Arrangement:

This collection contains ten series: Series I: Master Institute of United Art; Series II: Master Apartment Hotel; Series III: Master Building; Series IV: Bloomingdale Neighborhood Conservation Association; Series V: Riverside Museum; Series VI: Adele Levy Memorial Park; Series VII: Westside Urban Renewal Area; Series VIII: Other Projects; Series IX: Personal Papers; Series X: Newspaper Clippings

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For additional guidance, see Columbia University Libraries' publication policy.

In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.

PREFERRED CITATION:

Louis L. and Nettie S. Horch papers. Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
300 Avery Hall
1172 Amsterdam Avenue M.C. 0301
New York, NY 10027, United States
Link to repository site
CONTACT:
212) 854-6199
avery@library.columbia.edu