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

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.

5 linear feet (1 carton, 3 tubes, 1 flat box, 41 oversize folders)

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 .

Collection is open for research.