INTERVIEW WITH MILTON M. SCHWARTZ Interviewed by Harvey M. Choldin Compiled under the auspices of the Chicago Architects Oral History Project The Ernest R. Graham Study Center for Architectural Drawings Department of Architecture and Design The Art Institute of Chicago Copyright © 2007 The Art Institute of Chicago This manuscript is hereby made available to the public 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 this manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of The Art Institute of Chicago. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface iv Outline of Topics vi Oral History 1 Addendum 103 Selected References 104 Curriculum Vitæ 105 Index of Names and Buildings 106 iii PREFACE This oral history was conducted in four sessions in October 2005, in the dining room of architect Milton M. Schwartz. It is a room full of sunshine with views of Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park, and downtown Chicago. It is part of a penthouse apartment atop a building Milton built as a young man, where he and his wife, Audrey, lived for five decades and raised a family. When I would arrive at his front door, Milton, a tall man, who was then eighty years old, would greet me with a smile and offer a cup of coffee. We would sit down and start the recorder and he would tell stories of his life and his career. Altogether our conversations took seven hours. There was something original about him: Milton’s architectural career doesn't fit a conventional story line. He was the son of immigrants from Rumania. He was educated at a state university. He did his year of architectural apprenticeship and passed his examinations and received his license, but he pursued his career in a multifaceted and unorthodox manner. These stories are spelled out in the oral history itself. With one big exception, Milton's practice was in and around Chicago. He built in the Loop (the Executive House hotel), at Midway Airport (the Chicago Airways Hotel), around the perimeter of Lincoln Park (four apartment buildings), and in smaller cities in the Midwest (Timber Cove Apartments in Decatur, Illinois and Timber Lane Apartments in Indianapolis, Indiana). The big exception was the ten years when he was the chief architect for the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas during the 1960s, a time when the hotel was continually expanding and Milton was shuttling back and forth between the two cities, an exciting period in his life. As an architect, Milton was always looking for ways to do things better—ways to improve design, increase efficiency, and lessen construction expenses. Each project presented its challenges and even fifty years later he delighted in telling how he solved them with innovations. A new way of digging caissons, a new coating, a new window system, a new cooling system—his solutions often defied the conventional wisdom. That quest for new solutions is one of the characteristics that make architects special. iv Milton Schwartz died in January 2007, before the final version of this project was printed and bound; its purpose, then as now, is to capture and preserve what he said. It was a privilege and a pleasure for me to be able to sit and talk with him and to listen to his stories and to try to capture them accurately. The project was spearheaded in 2005 by Martha Thorne, who was then Acting Department Head of the Department of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago. She had been working with Mr. Schwartz on a gift of drawings and other works from his office, and asked him if he would contribute an oral history—and he agreed. Architectural historian Robert Bruegmann, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, knew Mr. Schwartz and had a serious interest in his work. She assigned the oral history to Bob Bruegmann and he, being aware of my interest in architecture of the 1950s, "sub-contracted" it to me. Bob and I conducted the first interview together and I did the subsequent ones alone. After the interviews were completed, the burden of this project fell upon Carissa Kowalski Dougherty, who brought it to completion. She did an enormous amount of meticulous work to transform to the original raw transcripts into a finished, useable scholarly product. Corrections have been made to help clarify and amplify thoughts and ideas, and the transcripts were minimally edited to maintain the flow, tone, and spirit of Milton’s story. Our unit in the Art Institute of Chicago has since become the Department of Architecture and Design. Carissa and I would like to thank Lori Boyer, Exhibitions and Collections Manager, and Joseph Rosa, John H. Bryan Curatorial Chair of Architecture and Design, for their support. Harvey M. Choldin May 2007 v OUTLINE OF TOPICS Childhood, High School, and Early Inspirations 1 His Father, Abraham Schwartz 5 Architectural Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 7 Apprenticeship and Early Jobs 12 Working as a General Contractor 14 Architectural Licensing Examination 18 320 Oakdale Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 19 Chicago Airways Hotel, Chicago, Illinois 33 Constellation Apartments, Chicago, Illinois 40 Executive House, Chicago, Illinois 45 Dunes Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada 57 Apartment Buildings in Evanston and Waukegan, Illinois 79 Architectural Styles and the Architectural Profession 88, 96 Milton Schwartz and Associates Firm Organization 91 Participation in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 94 vi Milton Schwartz Choldin: Okay, Milton, before we start let me give you my understanding of what this project is about. I assume that Martha Thorne [former Associate Curator of Architecture] explained it to you herself, but let me give you my understanding of it as a newcomer. In the Department of Architecture at the Art Institute, you’ll see a wall that has over eighty books on it—beautiful, bound books—and each one of them has the story of an architect in it. I think they’re mostly men, although I know there are a couple of women in there… Each one is what they call an oral history. And so, each one starts with a conversation like this at a tape recorder with interviewers like Bob [Bruegmann] and me and an architect telling the story of his career in architecture, from the time he was a boy to when he got into architecture: his education, his early projects, how he got his license, what his first projects were about, the high points in his career, what his experiences were—and in his own words. In other words, the museum has a collection of the drawings and the photographs [of the architect’s buildings] but the oral history is a way of capturing the life of the architect in words so that people who are interested in architecture can come in contact with the architect himself. What we’re hoping to do today and in a couple of sessions after today is just to talk with you and to let you tell your story. So, let me say that we are here on October 3, 2005. It’s a beautiful sunny morning. We are in the penthouse of 320 Oakdale in Chicago, a building that Milton Schwartz designed—in what year? Schwartz: Approximately 1952. Choldin: You and your family lived here ever since then? Schwartz: Correct. Choldin: Milton is here at the table in the dining room. Robert Bruegmann, professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is also here at the table. I am Harvey 1 Choldin, a retired professor of sociology at the University of Illinois in Urbana and volunteer at the Department of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago. We are going to talk this morning about the beginnings of your career. So, let’s begin at the beginning. Tell us about your family and about where you were as a boy. Schwartz: Well, as a child I was raised at a home at 5032 North Central Park Avenue, right alongside the Chicago River. I went to Volta Grammar School there in that area. Choldin: You were born in what year? Schwartz: I was born in 1925, but I guess I’m skipping ahead a little bit because I can’t remember that far back. Choldin: Oh, that’s okay. Schwartz: I guess I’m skipping to grammar school days—that’s about the best I can do for you. As I said, I went to Volta Grammar School while living on Central Park Avenue and ultimately I went to Von Steuben High School while living in that area. I used to attempt to build a boat every year in the basement of our home and float it on the Chicago River. My aim was to float it down to Von Steuben High School, where I ultimately went to school… And the boat would sink every year. One year, I finally made a boat that floated down and I tied the boat to a tree, went to classes, and when I came back the boat had continued to float down the river and disappeared. I never saw it again. From there I moved to a home with my folks, which is just across the street from this building at 2930 Commonwealth Avenue. Choldin: Did you have brothers or sisters? 2 Schwartz: Yes, I have one sister. Her name is Phyllis Frankel. She’s formerly a professor at Lake Forest College and presently is retired and running her own private practice. She’s a psychologist. Choldin: She didn’t build boats with you? Schwartz: No, she didn’t build boats with me.