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Finding Aid for the Rudolf Wolf papers, circa 1926-circa 1989 0000212
0000212  
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Collection Details
 
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  • Access
  • Custodial History note
  • Preferred Citation note
  • Biographical/Historical note
  • Scope and Content note

  • Title: Rudolf Wolf papers
    Identifier/Call Number: 0000212
    Contributing Institution: Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 9.0 Linear feet (5 record storage boxes, 1 bagged drawing, and 1 flat file drawer)
    Date (inclusive): circa 1926-circa 1989
    creator: Wolf, Rudy, 1909-2005

    Access

    Partially processed collection, open for use by qualified researchers.

    Custodial History note

    Gift of Wolf Trust, 2008. Additional materials gifted by Wolf's daughter Katherine Page, 1991.

    Preferred Citation note

    Rudolf Wolf papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.

    Biographical/Historical note

    Rudolf (Rudy) Wolf was born in Germany in 1909. He immigrated to the United States and secured employment as a draftsman for the Murphy Door Bed Co. in New York, before going to work for General Panel Corporation. At General Panel Corporation, Wolf was the lead draftsman and subsequently its Director of Quality Control in the 1940s. General Panel Corporation developed and produced the only complete prefabricated building system, which was designed by Wachsmann and Walter Gropius. In 1952, however, General Panel Corporation had entered bankruptcy and was liquidated. At this time, only about 200 modular homes had been built in southern California, despite the fact that tens of thousands of General Panel homes had been planned. After General Panel Corporation’s liquidation, Wolf designed houses and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, including several large projects for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the late 1960s as well as other medical buildings in the 1980s. Rudolf Wolf died in 2005.

    Scope and Content note

    The Rudolf Wolf papers spans 9 linear feet and dates from circa 1935 to circa 1990. The collection contains architectural drawings and reprographic copies of primarily residential designs in the southern Californian area including floor plans and presentation drawings of prefabricated housing produced by General Panel Corporation. The collection is also composed of Wolf’s student work in the form of class notes, drawings, and research notes concerning building techniques, math, and science. Other materials include, photographs of family; construction shots of the prefabricated General Panel Corporation Homes, and the General Panel staff; invoices regarding construction purchases for various projects; Wolf’s work identification badges for General Panel; his passports as well as his citizenship and immigration documents; resume; address book; and reference files composed of newspapers and magazine clippings and lectures on subjects such as gardening, flowers, and plants.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Wolf, Rudy, 1909-2005
    Architectural drawings
    Photographic prints
    Reprographic copies