Collection Guide
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Mogensen, Mogens collection
2022.08
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Table of contents
Description
The Mogensen Collection is organized in four series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, and Project Records.
The Personal Papers are comprised of biographical material and correspondence. Professional Papers include Awards and licenses,
and his involvement with the San Mateo Historical Sites Committee. The Office Records document administrative operations,
public relations, and correspondence. Also included are clippings from newspapers and tear sheets from magazines in which
Mogensen's projects were featured.
Background
Mogen Mogensen (1920-1997) Was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He graduated in 1942 in Architecture from the Technical School
of Copenhagen. Between 1942 and 1946 he worked in architectural offices in Denmark and Sweden. For a two-year period during
World War II, he was employed as a designer for DANSK TEGNEFILM animated movies. Mogensen had early success, winning awards
for designs for a school in Malmo, Sweden in 1945, and a City Hall in Ulricehamn, Sweden a year later.
He arrived in the U.S. in 1946 with the help of a great uncle and aunt who ran a dairy near San Luis Obispo. He quickly found
a job with Wurster, Bernardi, Emmons in San Francisco, leaving them in 1947 for a two-year position as a designer with the
David D. Bohannon Organization in San Mateo. During this time, he became a licensed architect in California.
From 1950 to 1952 he worked in several architectural offices in San Francisco and on the peninsula. In 1952 he returned as
chief architect for David Bohannon. He opened his own office in 1956. His Bay Area practice consisted primarily of apartment
buildings and condominiums although he also built private homes. Mogensen was also involved in master planning, office buildings,
and commercial projects.
Mogensen and his wife, Cecilia married in Denmark. A former model, Cecilia was a landscape architect trained in Denmark and
licensed in California. She ran her own practice and worked on projects with her husband. Following their divorce in 1972,
she returned to using her maiden name Margaret Winther. An early proponent of cultivating native plants, her projects included
landscape planning for the cities of San Carlos, Vacaville and King City. She also worked as a site planner and landscape
architect for developers Dick Finnegan & Associates.
Extent
7 Linear Feet:
2 document boxes, 1 small drawer, 2 flat file drawers
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Availability
Collection is open for research