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Kennard (Robert A.) papers
LSC.2351
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Robert A. Kennard papers
source:
Kennard, Gail
Creator:
Kennard, Robert A.
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2351
Physical Description:
25.2 linear feet
(58 boxes, 1 half box, 5 shoeboxes, and 2 flat boxes)
Physical Description:
250 linear feet
(125 unprocessed architectural rolls)
Physical Description:
51.3 linear feet
(90 unprocessed rolls, 7 unprocessed oversize boxes, 2 unprocessed flat boxes, 1 unprocessed folder)
Date (inclusive): 1953-2015
Abstract: 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.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research with the exception of the Architectural Plans series. All requests to access special collections materials
must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS UNPROCESSED AUDIO MATERIALS: Audio materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing
and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9992418293606533
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Gail Kennard, 2017.
[Identification of item], Robert A. Kennard papers (Collection 2351). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processed by Amy Zhou, Allison Yang, and Eric Olsen in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), under the supervision
of Courtney Dean, 2019-2021.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
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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.
Kennard Design Group garnered awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and California Preservation Foundation
for its work as associate architect in the redesign and expansion of Los Angeles' Central Library. Kennard encouraged other
minority and women architects to enter the profession, and he was active in the both the Los Angeles and California chapters
of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and in numerous community organizations including the Inner City Cultural Center
where he served as president of the board with the late actor, Gregory Peck. He was recognized as a fellow of the AIA, a Distinguished
Alumnus of the USC School of Architecture, and he received the Whitney M. Young Jr. Citation from the AIA in 1991 for his
contributions to the profession. He died in Los Angeles, CA, in March 1995.
Source: Myrna Oliver, "R. A. Kennard; Prominent Black Architect,"
Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1995, http://articles.latimes.com/1995-03-29/news/mn-48295_1_los-angeles.
The collection contains administrative records about Robert Kennard's architecture firm, Kennard Design Group (KDG); site
plans, planning reports, and studies; and documentation about Kennard's work in the National Organization of Minority Architects
(NOMA) and mentorship to architects of color. The bulk of the material consists of photographs and negatives of KDG architectural
projects, in addition to color slides and microfilm of drawings. Also contained within the collection are 125 rolled architectural
drawings for KDG projects and 7 boxes of plans for Kennard's personal residence. The collection also contains a student portfolio
of Kennard's.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
- Series 1: Kennard Design Group administrative records, 1953-2000s
- Subseries 1.1: General administrative records, 1953-2000s
- Subseries 1.2: Awards, 1974-2000
- Subseries 1.3: Press and marketing, 1980-1999
- Subseries 1.4: Correspondence, 1954-1995
- Series 2: Kennard Design Group projects, 1957-2015
- Subseries 2.1: Los Angeles County, 1957-2003
- Subseries 2.2: Non-Los Angeles County Southern California, 1970-1988
- Subseries 2.3: Northern California, 1968-2015
- Subseries 2.4: Other US locations, 1970s-1980s
- Subseries 2.5: International, 1970s-1983
- Subseries 2.6: Color slides, microfilm, and negatives, 1960s-1995
- Series 3: Architectural plans and drawings, 1959-1995
- Series 4: Increasing diversity in architecture, 1976-1994
Interview of Robert Kennard [oral history transcript] / Wesley H. Henderson, interviewer. UCLA Library Special Collections,
Center for Oral History Research interview, 1990-1991.
Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company records (Collection 1434). Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
A digital copy of the project inventory is available via this link:
Link to KDG project inventory
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African American architects -- California -- Los Angeles
Kennard, Gail
Kennard, Robert A. -- Archives
Kennard Design Group (KDG Architecture and Planning)
- Collection Overview
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Collection Details
- Conditions Governing Access
- Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
- UCLA Catalog Record ID
- Immediate Source of Acquisition
- Preferred Citation
- Processing Information
- Biography/History
- Scope and Content
- Arrangement
- Related Materials
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