ORAL HISTORY of GERTRUDE KERBIS Interviewed by Betty J
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ORAL HISTORY OF GERTRUDE KERBIS Interviewed by Betty J. Blum Compiled under the auspices of the Chicago Architects Oral History Project The Ernest R. Graham Study Center for Architectural Drawings Department of Architecture The Art Institute of Chicago Copyright © 1997 The Art Institute of Chicago This manuscript is hereby made available for research purposes only. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publication, are reserved to the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries of The Art Institute of Chicago. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of The Art Institute of Chicago. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface iv Outline of Topics vi Oral History 1 Selected References 174 Appendix: Curriculum Vitae 176 Index of Names and Buildings 178 iii PREFACE "It's been hard being a woman in this [male dominated] field…but I won't give up, I can't." These are Gertrude Kerbis's words describing the situation she felt she was up against and her spunky determination to persevere when she came of age as an architect in the turbulent and rapidly changing postwar decades. Gertrude found her voice in the 1960s and was outspoken not only on her own behalf but also for all women in the field for whom she became the standard bearer. Her career bears wit-ness to the notion that it is possible to be successful as an independent architect and as a woman with a family. Gertrude Kerbis earned her academic credentials at the University of Illinois, the Harvard Graduate School of Design under Gropius, and the Illinois Institute of Technology under Mies van der Rohe. After working for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and C.F. Murphy Associates, where she designed several award-winning buildings, she struck out on her own, often acting as developer for her own projects. Kerbis's career includes twenty-six years of teaching and much civic and professionally related service. She was the tenth woman in the history of the American Institute of Architects to be awarded the honor of fellow. I met with Gertrude Kerbis in her studio in Chicago where we recorded her memories on 21, 22, 23, 30, 31 May and 4, 5 June 1996. Our sessions were tape-recorded on eight ninety-minute cassettes, the transcripts of which have been reviewed by both Gertrude and me. Corrections have been made to help clarify and amplify thoughts and ideas, and minimally edited to maintain the flow, tone, and spirit of Kerbis's story. Kerbis took care to recount her recollections with attention to detail and unabashed candor. I thank Gertrude for her openness in sharing her memories as will all those scholars who may read this document in the future. This narrative documents the struggle of a woman, no doubt typical of many in those years, to achieve independence and stature in architecture while at the same time deftly juggling her career and family. iv For her conscientious care and good judgement in transcribing and shaping this oral history document I thank Annemarie van Roessel. Betty J. Blum August 1996 v OUTLINE OF TOPICS Family Background and Early Years 1 A Decisive Moment: A Visit to Taliesin 7 Studying Architecture 11 Working for Carl Koch 18 At the Harvard Graduate School of Design 24 Working for Bertrand Goldberg 34 Working for Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett 38 At the Illinois Institute of Technology with Mies 41-47, 49-52 Marriage to Peterhans 48-49 Working for the Chicago Park District and PACE Associates 52 Skidmore, Owings & Merrill: U.S. Air Force Academy 56 Other Projects 86 Working for Naess & Murphy: O'Hare International Airport 96 Boston City Hall Design Competition 105 Kerbis Tennis Court Project 107 Reflections about SOM and Naess & Murphy 117 On Her Own 120 “Chicago Women in Architecture” Group and Women's Issues 123 Rehabbing the Kerbis Office Building 131 "Chicago Women In Architecture" Symposium 136 Is There A Woman's Architecture? 137 Priorities 138 The American Institute of Architecture 141 Acting as Developer and Architect 147 Awards and Critics 152 Teaching 156 Giving Service to the Profession 165 Reflections 172 vi Gertrude Lempp Kerbis Blum: Today is May 21, 1996 and I'm with Gertrude Kerbis at her home and studio in Chicago. Gertrude was born in Chicago in 1926 and educated at the University of Illinois, at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She holds a B.S. in Architectural Engineering, and an M.A. in Architecture. Gertrude, when you worked for the largest architectural firm in Chicago, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, was it your first job? Kerbis: No, actually when I was finished with my first degree I worked. When I finished my master's degree at the Illinois Institute of Technology and had my license, then I was employed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Blum: When you were employed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, it was the largest and most desirable firm to work for at that time in Chicago. Then you followed that by working for the second largest firm, C.F. Murphy and Associates, before you opened your own office in 1967. At that time you were the only woman-owned and -operated architectural office in the city. You had not only been a practicing architect, but an educator, and a very involved participant in related organizations. You have been a spokesperson for women of your generation in the field of architecture. In 1970, you were elected fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Kerbis: I was the tenth woman to be elected fellow in the country. It was an important event. Blum: Colleagues have characterized your dedicated fight for equality for women in architecture as "having drive and determination that was steel-like." Others have described you as "one zingy lady." You have said yourself, "I'm not 1 going to give up. I can't. Maybe if I stick in there, some young woman, someday, will think of herself as an architect, and become one." Kerbis: And there have been. Blum: I'm sure that's true. Can we go back, as far as you can remember, to when you were that young woman, and trace your steps, to learn how you became an architect? Being a woman of the same generation as you, I wonder why you chose architecture and not teaching or nursing, typical feminine choices. Why architecture? Was your father connected to the building trades or architecture in any way? Kerbis: No, but he had the spirit, I think, in some of the ways. I'm sure he inspired me in terms of having the spirit to do something and to stick with it. I think that was his inspiration. I think that is one of the things that motivated me. It's very funny, my father did take me to the Century of Progress Exposition in 1933. I remember a seer was trying to get business—they would tell your fortune—and so she said, "Oh, that little girl over there, come here and I will tell your fortune." And she told me that I would be a nurse. So there you are. Blum: Well, that seems typical for the time. Kerbis: But I do remember something about my father. He was a laborer. However, he bought some land in Chicago on Central Avenue, and after it was proven to him that he could not resell it at much of a profit, he decided that he would build a little building on it. And so he hired an architect. I don't remember the architect or going to the office. I do remember that as my father was building the building and hiring the workmen, we would go there every week and I would climb around on the building and, as a kid, find little things to do on the site, getting in trouble, probably. We would not be allowed to do that these days unless we had a hard hat. When I look back on that, it is probably something in my past that would have motivated me and 2 made me feel comfortable on construction sites. I do feel that part of that was undoubtedly due to this experience as a little kid. Blum: How old do you think you were? Kerbis: I think about six, or even five or seven–somewhere very young. Blum: And that stuck in your mind? Kerbis: Yes, I remember all the various parts of the building. It was not a defining moment, but it was a part of my evolution in the direction of this business. Blum: Do you remember as a child wanting to play with Tinker Toys, or blocks, or crayons, or to draw things? Or were you strictly in the doll corner all the time? Kerbis: I don't remember dolls very much. I do remember trying to create spaces of all kinds–having a little place under the porch that was my domain. I would fantasize. Or under the dining room table, I remember, we had these carved pedestals and legs that became beds and tables for us. All these little memories are probably the same in every child but they transform in different ways. It is interesting, in developing, how a kid becomes motivated to focus on their work. Blum: Did you like to draw? Kerbis: I could always draw. But I don't remember it the way other people would go into periods of drawing throughout their young life. I can remember different successes in terms of drawings and art, but it's not the kind of thing I was that happy with.