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Finding Aid for the Lutah Maria Riggs papers, 1882-1984
0000169
0000169
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Title: Lutah Maria Riggs papers
Identifier/Call Number: 0000169
Contributing Institution:
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
253.0 Linear feet
(126 record storage boxes, 39 flat file drawers, 1 oversize drawing, 3 tubes, and 2 models)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1911-1982
Date (inclusive): 1882-1984
Location note: Box 1-25A/ ADC - regular Box 25B-29/ADC - regular Box 26-27/ADC - oversize** Box 30/ADC - oversize* Box 31-33/ADC - regular
Box 34/ADC - oversize* Box 35-50/ADC - regular Box 51-52/ADC - oversize* Box 53-70/ADC - regular Box 71-72/ADC - oversize*
Box 73-105/ADC - regular Box 106-110/ADC - oversize* Box 111-115/ADC - regular Box 116/ADC - oversize* Box 117-122/ADC - regular
Box 123-124/ADC - oversize* add # 1/ADC - regular add #2/ADC - regular 7 tubes/ADC - oversize*** 39 Flat File Drawers/ADC
- flat files 1 stainglass drawings/ADC - oversize***(behind last movable ff range) [Frame 1] 2 models/Mosher - models (unidentified)
1 model sold to home owner (deaccessioned)
creator:
Marx, Roberto Burle, 1909-1994
creator:
Niemeyer, Oscar, 1907-2012
creator:
Riggs, Lutah Maria, 1896-1984 -- Archives
creator:
Shaw, Arvin, III, 1916-1973
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Gift of Lutah Maria Riggs, 1979.
Lutah Maria Riggs papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Lutah Maria Riggs was born on October 31, 1896 in Toledo, Ohio. She came to Santa Barbara in 1914 and attended Santa Barbara
City Junior College until 1917 when she went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated from Berkeley
in 1919 with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. Just out of school, Riggs found employment as a draftswomen and designer
for Ralph D. Taylor in Susanville.
One year later in 1921, Riggs began to work for architect George Washington Smith. She remained in his office until his unexpected
death in 1930. Before his death, Smith apparently treated Riggs as a surrogate daughter, taking her on architectural study
trips to Mexico and Europe. Riggs became an important member of the office--her renderings can be found in almost every project
file. She contributed significantly to the Lobero Theatre, El Paso historical complex, and Casa del Herrero, among other projects.
After Smith’s death Riggs established a short-lived partnership with William Horning. Horning and Riggs and dissolved in 1931.
In 1931 Riggs became the principal of her own firm. In 1946 she formed a partnership with Arvin Shaw (who had worked for the
New York firm, Harrison & Abramovitz), which lasted until 1950. Riggs continued her practice until 1981, when she closed her
office due to declining health.
The numerous residential and public buildings designed by Riggs include houses for Wright Luddington, Alice Erving, and for
E. Palmer Black; the Vedanta Temple and the library and herbarium of the botanical Garden in Santa Barbara. While most of
her work was in the Santa Barbara area, she received several commissions in Los Angeles and in smaller cities south of Los
Angeles. In 1966 she was named women of year by the
Los Angeles Times; she served on the state Board of Architectural Examiners and the Santa Barbara city and county Landmarks Advisory Committees.
She was a charter member of the Montecito Foundation for the History Committee and active in the preservation of Santa Barbara’s
historic architecture. Lutah Maria Riggs died in 1984 in Montecito, California at the age of 87.
The Lutah Maria Riggs papers span 253 linear feet and date from circa 1920 to circa 1984. The collection is composed of letters,
diaries, student work and research, clippings, scrapbooks, ephemera, photographs, sketches, and architectural drawings.
George Washington Smith papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California,
Santa Barbara.
David Gebhard papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa
Barbara.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Riggs, Lutah Maria, 1896-1984
Riggs, Lutah Maria, 1896-1984
Smith, George Washington, 1876-1930, American Architect
Architects -- California
Architectural drawings
Architecture -- California -- 20th century
Architecture -- California -- Santa Barbara -- 20th century
Architecture -- United States -- 20th century -- Sources
Correspondence
Diaries
Landscape architecture drawings
Negatives
Photographic prints
Presentation drawings (proposals)
Reprographic copies
Sketches
Women architects