Description
This collection contains the professional papers of architect Martin Eli Weil (1940-2009), relating to Weil's work as a restoration
architect and consultant in Los Angeles and Southern California. The materials date from 1964 until 2009, the year of Weil's
death, with the bulk of the material relating to 428 projects on which Weil worked as a restoration architect and consultant
from the time he arrived in Southern California in 1979 until 2008. Files document 428 individual projects, including Frank
Lloyd Wright structures such as Barnsdall Park and Hollyhock House; the restoration of the El Capitan Theater; and jobs undertaken
as a consultant for the cities of San Gabriel, La Verne, Porterville, and Monrovia, California. The collection also includes
papers reflecting Weil's service as Restoration Services Director for the Restoration Services Division of the Department
of Indian and Northern Affairs in Canada from 1971-1978; his work as an instructor in historic preservation at the University
of Southern California from 1981-2009; his writing, chiefly as an architecture columnist for the
Larchmont Chronicle; his involvement with the Harvard Heights community in Los Angeles, where he lived; and his Master's thesis project.
Background
Restoration architect Martin Eli Weil (1940-2009) was born July 2, 1940 in Glasgow, Montana, to Esther and Herbert Weil, a
civil engineer, and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. Weil earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Iowa
in 1962 and two Master's degrees, one in Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 1965; and one in Early American
Culture and the Decorative Arts in 1967, as a Fellow in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University
of Delaware.
Extent
137 boxes and 6 oversize folders (134 linear feet)
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for
identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Availability
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.