The Caspar Johann Ehmcke papers span 29 linear feet and date from circa 1945 to 1995. The collection is comprised of architectural drawings and reprographic copies organized by project, black-and-white photographs of residences designed by Ehmcke, bound specification reports, handwritten notes organized by project, and presentation boards. The majority of architectural drawings and reprographic copies, present in the collection, are of residences in West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills.

Caspar Johann Ehmcke was born in 1908 in Munich, Germany. At age 19, Ehmcke left Munich for Stuttgart, where he began architecture school. In 1933, he graduated from the Stuttgart Technical University and returned to Munich to practice architecture. Ehmcke immigrated in 1937 to Los Angeles where he specialized in store planning and design for Bullocks, Eastern-Colombia, and Magnin department stores, among others. Between 1941 and 1945 Ehmcke worked on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Housing Projects, and with structural engineers for the building of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Navy Test Facility. During this period Ehmcke also worked on an earthquake proof hi-rise for Sears Roebuck. In 1945, Ehmcke started his own practice which focused primarily on commercial and residential buildings, including: the Decca recording studio, the John Engstead Photo Studio, and residences in West Los Angeles. Caspar Johann Ehmcke died at the age of 87 on September 22, 1995.

28.0 Linear feet (23 record storage boxes and 1 flat file drawer)

Partially processed collection, open for use by qualified researchers.