Guide to the Franklin Toker Papers, 1964-2017, UA.90.F108

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Franklin Toker Papers
Creator
Toker, Franklin
Collection Number
UA.90.F108
Extent
76.25 Linear Feet (61 boxes)
Date
1964-2017
Abstract
Franklin Toker is an architectural historian, professor, and author best known for his work on Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, Pittsburgh architecture, and the Duomo in Florence, Italy. This collection includes materials pertaining to Toker's research, publications, and teaching and professional activities.
Language
English .
Author
Cassidee Knott.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Scope and Content Notes

The Franklin Toker Papers span the entire career of the architect, author, and professor. Much of the collection consists of research and drafts of several of his publications, including The Church of Notre-Dame in Montreal, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, Fallingwater Rising, and his multi-volume Florence Duomo Project. Also included are research files on the Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Hall of Architecture, general research files, course materials, and professional correspondence.

Biography

Franklin Toker was born in 1944 in Montreal, Canada. He studied Fine Arts at McGill University, completing his undergraduate studies in 1964. He next attended Oberlin College, receiving a Master's degree in History of Art in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Harvard University in 1973. After earning his doctorate, Toker taught at several schools, including Boston School of Architecture, Dartmouth College in Florence, and Carnegie Mellon University, before ultimately arriving at the University of Pittsburgh as a professor of History of Art and Architecture in 1987. He also lectured abroad in countries like Italy, Canada, India, and Japan.

Toker has written eleven books, most notably his volumes on the Florence Duomo Project, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, Fallingwater Rising, and The Church of Notre-Dame in Montreal. His work on the Florence Duomo Project is made up of 4 books: On Holy Ground: Liturgy, Architecture, and Urbanism in the Cathedral and the Streets of Medieval Florence; Archaeological Campaigns below the Florence Duomo and Baptistry; Reconstructing the Cathedral and Baptistry of Florence in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; and When Stones Speak: The Florence Duomo Excavations in the Light of History. In the process of writing these books, Toker participated in two archaeological digs in Florence, one of them being at the famous Cathedral of Saint Maria del Fiore. Toker also took an interest in architecture local to him in Pittsburgh. He completed extensive research on Pittsburgh neighborhoods, buildings, and industries, which contributed to several of his books.

Over the course of his career, Toker received many awards and accolades. Toker was the president of the Society of Architectural Historians in 1992. He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, as well as a Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellow. For his writing, Toker received the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award of the Society of Architectural Historians in 1970, and the Porter Prize of the College Art Association in 1978. In November 2017, Toker was named a Distinguished Professor of the University of Pittsburgh.

Related Material

Israel Heritage Room Committee Collection, 1929-2013, UA.40.13, University Archives, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Cassidee Knott in February 2019.

Preferred Citation

Franklin Toker Papers, 1964-2017, UA.90.F108, University Archives, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Acquisition Information

Gift of Franklin Toker in May 2018.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Notre-Dame de Montreal (Church)
    • Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral : Florence, Italy) -- History
    • Fallingwater (Pa.)

    Personal Names

    • Toker, Franklin

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.

    Genres

    • Faculty papers

    Other Subjects

    • Historic buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Architecture -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • University of Pittsburgh

Container List