Maynard Lyndon papers, 1913-1998

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Summary

Creators:
Lyndon and Smith, Project Architects Associated, Gould, N.O., Lyndon, Joyce Earley, Lyndon, Donlyn, Smith, Eberle, Lyndon, Maynard, and United States. Department of the Interior. National Park Service.
Extent:
70 Linear Feet (36 half record storage boxes, 7 oversize flat boxes, 10 flat file drawers, 1 model)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

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

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents both the personal life and the architectural career of Maynard Lyndon. Organized into five series: Personal papers, Travel, Architectural career – overview, Architectural projects, and Contemporary Backgrounds retrospective exhibit; this collection spans 70 linear feet and dates from 1913 through 1998. The Maynard Lyndon papers is comprised of personal papers which take the form of cards, letters, photographs, negatives, and ephemera; materials that document the travels of Lyndon and his family which include: photographs negatives, slides, postcards, and sketches primarily of Europe. Materials present in the collection also serve to document Lyndon's career as a whole in the form of portfolios, comprehensive job lists, and official firm documents such as employee manuals and administrative procedures. The Architectural projects series documents over 153 projects Lyndon had a hand in over his architectural career and into his retirement, working with and for the Department of the Interior, N. O. Gould, Eberle Smith, independently at his own practice, and with Project Architects. The collection also contains materials that document the retrospective exhibit on Lyndon career which opened in 1993 at UC Berkeley.

Biographical / historical:

Maynard Lyndon was born in Detroit Michigan on September 6, 1907. In 1928, he graduated from the University of Michigan, with his Bachelor's degree in Architecture. Right out of school, Lyndon got a job working as a draftsman for Albert Kahn in Detroit. Two years later Lyndon left Kahn's firm and begun to work for N. O. Gould as a designer, a job he held until 1933. From 1933-1935, Maynard Lyndon worked as a designing architect and site planner for the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. During this time, Lyndon designed museums and administration units at national parks and historic parks. In 1935, Lyndon went into practice with the engineer Eberle Smith. The firm of Lyndon & Smith, is credited with designing the first modern school in the United States, in Northville, Michigan in 1936. During seven years of practice, Lyndon & Smith completed thirty schools and two public housing projects. In 1942, when Smith and Lyndon's firm dissolved, Lyndon started an independent practice in Los Angeles. His projects consisted primarily of educational buildings, hospitals, and churches. In 1973, both Lyndon and his wife Joyce Earley Lyndon moved to Kusseberg, Germany. Over the course of his career however, his more notable projects include: the Twenty-Eighth Church of Christ, Scientist in Los Angeles, Bunche Hall (also known as the Social Sciences building) at the University of California, Los Angeles, Northville Elementary School, and Vista Elementary School. Two of Lyndon's sons followed in his footsteps, Donlyn Lyndon became an architect and Maynard Hale Lyndon a designer. Maynard Lyndon died at the age of 92 on November 15, 1999.

Custodial history:

Gift of Donlyn and Maynard Hale Lyndon, 2000.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Preferred citation:

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

Location of this collection:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-7130, US
Contact:
(805) 893-2724
adc@museum.ucsb.edu
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