Olwell (Robert F.) papers, 1917-2016, bulk 1952-1984

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Summary

Title:
Robert F. Olwell papers
Dates:
1917-2016, bulk 1952-1984
Creators:
Olwell, Robert F. (Architect)
Abstract:
The Robert Frederick Olwell Collection is comprised of personal and professional papers documenting his life and work as an architect. The personal papers consist of photographs, files related to his education, and military service, and his personal art work. The professional papers contain manuscript material, drawings, prints, and photographs of design work done during his employment with the San Francisco architecture firm of Reid and Tarics. Also included are materials created or collected by his niece for a book about him that she had intended to write. These files contain correspondence and interviews with friends and coworkers
Extent:
5 linear feet (1 carton, 3 tubes, 1 flat box, 41 oversize folders)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Robert F. Olwell Papers, BANC MSS 2017/157c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

The Robert Frederick Olwell Papers primarily is comprised of personal and professional papers documenting his life and work as an architect. The personal papers consist of an early photograph album of his childhood years in Everett Washington and later photographs with his wife Maisie (Margarte Lillian Scholle] (1917-2009); files related to his education, military experience in the Navy, and personal art work such as sketches, watercolors, and etchings. The professional papers contain manuscript material, drawings, prints, and photographs of design work done during his employment with the San Francisco architecture firm of Reid & Tarics. Although a few residential designs are included the work is primarily for schools and religious institutions. Major projects included the chapel for the Robert Louis Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, Oakland’s Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in San Francisco, and Greenwich CT High School. Also included are materials created or collected by his niece for a biography of Robert F. Olwell that she had intended to write. These files contain correspondence and interviews with friends and coworkers.

Biographical / historical:

Robert Frederick Olwell was born in 1917 in Everett, Washington to William W. Olwell a business manager at Weyerhauser Timber Co. and Helen Margaret Olwell. As a boy he played the organ for silent movies. He graduated from Everett High School with the desire to be a theater set designer, and attended the University of Washington (1935-1937) and upon the receipt of a scholarship, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1937-1940). Sadly for financial reasons, he was forced to leave school one class short. He loved small aircraft volunteering for the navy hoping to serve as a pilot, and served as a Lieutenant Commander on aircraft carriers in the Pacific during WWII.

Following the war, Olwell began his professional career in the Los Angeles architecture office of Harwell Hamilton Harris. Following five years of service as Lieutenant Commander for the U.S. Navy, he continued his career in the office of architect Joseph Esherick. He joined the firm of Reid & Tarics Associates in 1952. While an Associate with Reid & Tarics, he designed numerous schools and religious buildings as well as master planning, and the tunnels, portals, and systems for the Highway in Oahu HI. Olwell saw architecture as “an envelope for living, and felt that it should never dominate the scene or shout out its presence.” During this time he also designed residences for private clients. He served as a guest professor at the Bengal Engineering College, Howrah, West Bengal, India (1956-1957) and lectured part time at UC Berkeley (1957-1960). His design for the Robert Lewis Stevenson Chapel at Pebble Beach, CA won a National AIA First Honor Award in 1965. It was in this chapel in 1966 that he married Margaret (Maisie) Lilian Forell (1917-2009).

A resident of Sausalito, California, he passed away in 1988 and is buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery.

Sources: Renaissance of Religious Art and Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1946-1968, Two volumes. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley. 1985.

Acquisition information:
Carol Olwell donated the papers of her uncle Robert F. Olwell and material she had collected for a possible book on his life and work to The Bancroft Library in 2016.
Processing information:

Processed by Waverly Lowell, 2017.

Arrangement:

Arranged to the folder level.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Waverly Lowell
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2017-09-22 13:19:27 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Robert F. Olwell Papers, BANC MSS 2017/157c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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