The Anshen & Allen Collection spans the years 1917-2007 (bulk 1940-1994) and includes projects files documenting the first 50 years of the firm’s history and the activities of the two founding architects. The Collection is organized into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, and Project Records. Well-documented projects include the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ (1956), the Dinosaur National Monument Visitor Center (1956), the Ernest Moore House in Carmel, CA (1956), the International Building in San Francisco (1961), and the University of California, Santa Cruz Natural Sciences Master Plan (1964).

Robert (Bob) Anshen was born January 4, 1910 in Revere, Massachusetts and worked on Wall Street for several years before deciding to pursue architecture. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he met Steve Allen, born July 15, 1912 in Neptune Township, New Jersey. Both received a Bachelor of Architecture in 1935 and Master of Architecture in 1936, and upon graduating received traveling fellowships allowing them to take a global tour, including Germany, Japan, and Italy. Their travels eventually came to an end when they reached San Francisco in 1937. Both began working as chief designers, Anshen for Clarence Tantau and Allen for Masten & Hurd. It was then they began to learn about and appreciate the characteristics of west coast design while dreaming of the day they could open their own office.

38.5 Cubic Feet: 6 cartons, 2 document boxes, 1 flat box, 10 flat file drawers, and 1 tube

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the Curator.

Collection is open for research.