Burns (Fritz) Papers, CSLA-4, 1899-circa 1980, bulk 1920-1959

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Summary

Title:
Fritz Burns papers
Dates:
1899-circa 1980, bulk 1920-1959
Creators:
Burns, Fritz B. (1899-1979)
Abstract:
The Fritz Burns Papers contain materials related to the life and career of this major developer of real estate in the Los Angeles area in the 1920s, and then in the late 1930s through the 1970s. The holdings consist of business records, correspondence, memoranda, scrapbooks, sales literature, and photographs.
Extent:
13.25 linear ft
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Fritz Burns Papers, CSLA-4, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.

Background

Scope and content:

The Fritz Burns Papers (CSLA-4) especially cover Burns's early career and his involvement in the development of Palisades Del Rey (now part of Marina del Rey). There are also substantial holdings on his partnership with F. W. Marlow, which devleoped parts of West Los Angeles. Thus, the collection provides excellent resources for the study of the development of real estate and communities in Los Angeles.

Materials in the collection include business correspondence and records, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs, which are especially rich in documenting development in Los Angeles from the 1920s through the 1950s. Of interest are the notes for talks that Fritz Burns and his partner F. W. Marlow gave at morning sales meetings (1941-1942); newspaper clippings about public housing, and photographs of Burns and others and some of his projects.

Biographical / historical:

Fritz Bernard Burns (1899-1979), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a powerful real estate developer in Southern California. As vice-president of Dickenson & Gillepsie real estate firm in Los Angeles in the 1920s, he oversaw the development of Palisades Del Rey (now Play Del Rey). With partner F. W. Marlow, he was involved in the development of Westchester, Windsor Hills, Panorama City, parts of North Hollywood and other areas in Los Angeles. Such projects made him a prominent developer in Los Angeles and a leader in the development of mass-produced housing, resulting in community development and the notion of middle class ownership of homes as a way of life. He was, consequently, a leading civic figure in the city. Burns was also a major philanthropic benefactor to Roman Catholic institutions, including Loyola Marymount University and Aquinas College. Burns was President of the Home Builders Association of Los Angeles in 1942 and of the National Association of Home Builders in 1945.

Date Event
1899 Born Fritz Bernard Burns, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1916-1932 Salesman, sales manager, and executive vice president, Dickinson & Gillespie Corporation. Responsible for the development of Palisades del Rey, a beachfront area of Los Angeles County.
1924 Marries Lucille Robinson, whom he divorced in 1927. The couple has one son, Fritz Patrick Burns (1925-1980).
1937-1944 General partner with F. W. Marlow in Marlow-Burns Development Company, which develops Windsor Hills, Toluca Wood, Westchester, and parts of West Los Angeles.
1940 Marries Gladys Carson Scheller (1897-1985).
1945 With Henry J. Kaiser forms Kaiser Community Homes. Best known development is Panorama City. Also the two partners develop properties in Hawaii.
1955 Burns receives "Man of Achievement" award from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
1960-1979 CEO, Fritz B. Burns and Associates. Partner in development of hotels and shopping centers in the Los Angeles area.
1979 Death of Fritz B. Burns.
Acquisition information:
Perhaps originally donated to Loyola Marymount University by the Fritz Burns Foundation, circa 1990. In 1990, Father Robert Trame, then University Archivist at LMU, transferred the papers to the Urban Archives at California State University, Northridge. They were then returned to Loyola Marymount University in 1996.
Arrangement:

The Fritz Burns Papers are divided into five series, some with subseries:

  • Series One: Chronological Files, 1918-1980
  • Series Two: Legal and Financial Records, 1927-1936
  • Series Three: Photographs--Subseries A: Prints, Subseries B: Negatives, Subseries C: Albums
  • Series Four: Newspaper Clippings
  • Series Five: Scrapbooks

Descriptions of each series are found in the series' box and folder lists described in this guide to the collection.

Physical location:
Collection stored offsite. Research use requires both an advance notice of intent to use the collection and an appointment. To schedule an appointment, please contact the Department of Archives and Special Collection, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University: 310-338-2780, 310-338-5357.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Bibliography:
Keane, James Thomas. Fritz B. Burns and the Development of Los Angeles. Los Angeles, 2001

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Janet Evander
Date Prepared:
© 2009
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid created by Clay Stalls. Date of source: March 10, 2009.

Access and use

Restrictions:

The Fritz Burns Papers are part of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles Research Collection, a program of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University. The Research Collection is administered by the Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University. Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University.

Terms of access:

Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Fritz Burns Papers, CSLA-4, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.

Location of this collection:
1 LMU Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659, US
Contact:
(310) 338-5710
Special.Collections@lmu.edu
Website