Robert A. Kennard (1920-1995) was an African American architect in Los Angeles. He designed over 40 residences and later focused on public works, including Carson City Hall and Community Center and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Headquarters. The collection contains administrative records about his firm, Kennard Design Group (KDG); site plans, planning reports, and studies; photographs, negatives, and slides of completed projects; and documentation about Kennard's work in the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and mentorship to architects of color.

Robert A. Kennard was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1920. He served as a lieutenant in the Army in World War II and the Korean War, attended Pasadena City College, and earned an architectural degree at USC. In 1957 he established his own firm, later known as Kennard Design Group, the oldest African American architecture firm in Los Angeles. The firm designed more than 700 projects in Southern California, beginning with over 40 residences completed through the early 1960s. One of his first homes, the Zeiger Residence in Laurel Canyon has been designated as a City of Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument. In the mid-1960s he shifted his practice to public work. Notable projects include the City of Carson City Hall and Community Center, designed with architects Robert Alexander and Frank Sata, Van Nuys State Office Building with architect Harold Williams, and Parking Structures 1, 3 and 4 at the Los Angeles International Airport. Two of his last projects completed in the mid-1990s were the City of Los Angeles 77th Street Police Headquarters in which the community room is named in his honor, and a new entrance to the Hollywood Bowl.

25.2 linear feet (58 boxes, 1 half box, 5 shoeboxes, and 2 flat boxes)

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