Dahlen K. Ritchey (1910-2002) Collection
Biography/History
Dahlen K. Ritchey was one of the dominant architectural figures in the Pittsburgh area. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon and Harvard universities, Ritchey was a partner in the firms of Mitchell & Ritchey (1938-1957), D.K. Ritchey Associates (1957-1959), Deeter & Ritchey (1959-1965), and Deeter Ritchey Sippel Associates (1965-1979). The firm continues as DRS Architects. The Ritchey firms were often associated with the noted architectural landscaping firm of Simonds and Simonds on major public and institutional projects.
Mitchell & Ritchey established itself as the principle advocate for modern architecture in Pittsburgh during the 1940s and 1950s. A number of projects for Edgar Kaufmann included the 1947 "Pittsburgh in Progress" study, a fascinating Modernist document that provides an extraordinary vision of a reconceived and redeveloped Pittsburgh.
The Ritchey firms ultimately designed a number of large-scale redevelopment projects during the so-called Pittsburgh Renaissance including Mellon Square (1955), The Civic Auditorium [Civic Arena] (1962), Allegheny Center, and a bit later, the Pittsburgh Stadium [Three Rivers Stadium] (1971). Their work included schools, housing projects, corporate office buildings, health care facilities, and numerous buildings for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University (i.e. Donner Hall, Wean Hall and the University Computing Center -- now Cyert Hall).
Scope and Content
The Ritchey Collection includes drawings, renderings, microforms, photographs, slides, films, brochures, reports, clippings and other printed materials representing approximately 100 projects. Many project drawings were discarded by the firm in favor of microfilm prior to the establishment of this collection, so the variety of documentation represented here is particularly significant.
Select Bibliography
Remington, Fred. "Architect of the Renaissance." Pittsburgh (October 1978): 38-41, 80-81.
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Return to Collections Information
January 2002 -- http://www.library.cmu.edu/Research/ArchArch/ritchey.html
Martin Aurand, Architecture Librarian and Archivist, ma1f@andrew.cmu.edu
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