The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Ferdinand Kramer Papers 1886-2002
© 2010 University of Chicago Library
Title: | Kramer, Ferdinand. Papers |
---|---|
Dates: | 1886-2002 |
Size: | 17 linear feet (32 boxes) |
Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
Abstract: | Ferdinand Kramer (1901-2002), real estate developer, devoted much of his life to projects for urban renewal and housing integration on Chicago's South Side. The papers include correspondence and speeches on issues of urban development, as well as materials relating to his work as a member of Urban American Inc., and as a developer for the Dearborn Park development in Chicago's South Loop. The collection also includes an autograph collection, and a small amount of correspondence of Ferdinand Kramer's father, Adolf Kramer. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Kramer, Ferdinand. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Ferdinand (Ferd) Kramer was born on August 10, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, to Adolf and Ray Kramer. Kramer graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory School. He went on to attend West Point and graduate from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 1922. He resided on Chicago's South Side for much of his life, and connected his real estate development work to his personal attachments to the South Side. In 1958, Kramer moved with his family into Prairie Shores, one of his best known housing developments on the South Side.
In 1922, Kramer began his long career in real estate when he joined his father's firm, Draper and Kramer, Inc. He became chairman of that firm in 1944, serving in that position until 1995. Kramer served as president of Chicago's Metropolitan Housing and Planning Council beginning in 1943. As a real estate developer, Kramer championed the Prairie Shores and the Lake Meadows housing complexes between the late 1940s and 1960s, and the Dearborn Park housing complex in the 1970s. Kramer saw new urban housing developments as a key way to keep middle income residents, particularly white families, in America's struggling cities. Kramer was also a proponent of managed integration, ensuring a racially diverse population within housing complexes through the use of racial quotas. Kramer's efforts at managed integration were frustrated when the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ruled that these practices were in violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
In addition to Kramer's work life, he also maintained strong ties to the University of Chicago, where he served a life trustee and was awarded the University Alumni Service Award in 1997. Kramer was also a passionate tennis player, continuing to play into his nineties. Between the 1970s and 1990s, he won twelve national seniors doubles titles from the United States Tennis Association. He also bred English Bull dogs, and was a two-time judge of the Westminster Dog Show.
Kramer married his first wife Stephanie Shambaugh Kramer (1909-1973) in 1933. A landscape architect, Stephanie Kramer designed the garden in the center of the University of Chicago Quadrangle.
Ferd Kramer died on July 16, 2002 in Chicago, Illinois. He was survived by his wife Julia Wood McDermott Kramer his children Douglas Kramer, Anthony Kramer and Barbara Kramer Bailey, and three step-children: John McDermott, Jeanne McDermott and Charles McDermott;
The Ferdinand Kramer papers are divided into ten series.
Series I consists of alphabetical items relating to Kramer's personal life, including correspondence, clippings and awards. This series includes several folders relating to Kramer's tennis career. Also included is Adolf Kramer's autograph collection. Series II includes the bulk of Kramer's professional correspondence from the years between 1939 and 2001.
Series III holds copies of speeches given by Kramer between the 1930s and the 1990s. Most of the speeches focus on issues of housing, urban renewal, and racial integration.
Series IV consists of alphabetical files relating to general housing issues. These files include clippings and reports, and focus on international housing development models, civil rights issues, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Series V consists of materials documenting Kramer's attempts to promote racial integration through the use of racial quotas in housing, and of HUD's rejection of these schemes. The series is made up primarily of correspondence, with smaller amounts of reports, legal documents, and clippings.
Series VI includes brochures, correspondence, and reports relating to Urban American, Inc., a non-profit devoted to making the public more aware of issues of urban planning. Founded in 1965 as the organizations American Planning and Civic Association and the ACTION Council for Better Cities
Series VII includes brochures, correspondence, memorandum, reports, photographs, and slides relating to Kramer's largest housing development project, Dearborn Park. Begun in the 1970s, Dearborn Park was one of the earliest attempts to revitalize Chicago's South Loop through residential development.
Series VIII consists of files relating to the University of Chicago, particularly Kramer's involvement with the University as a trustee. Series IX includes audio and video cassettes. Series X contains of oversized items, including advertising mock ups and pamphlets.
Series IX includes oversized material and a videotape. Series X contains materials collected for Lois Wille's, At Home in the Loop (1997), documenting the development of the South Loop, including recordings and transcripts of interviews.
Series I: Personal |
Box 1 | Folder1: Autographs, Collected by Adolf Kramer, circa 1886-1894 |
Box 1 | Alger, Horatio, Jr. |
Box 1 | Bissell, W.T. |
Box 1 | Blaine, James G. |
Box 1 | Carlisle, J.G. |
Box 1 | Cleveland, Grover |
Box 1 | Conkling, Roscoe |
Box 1 | Davis, Jefferson |
Box 1 | Davis, Richard Harding |
Box 1 | DuChaillu, Paul |
Box 1 | Gunter, Archibald C. |
Box 1 | Hayes, R.B. |
Box 1 | Holmes, Oliver Wendell |
Box 1 | Landon, Melville D, (Eli Perkins) |
Box 1 | Lincoln, Robert T. |
Box 1 | Logan, John A. |
Box 1 | Lowell, J.R. |
Box 1 | McCullom |
Box 1 | Montefiore, Moses |
Box 1 | Oglesby, R.J. |
Box 1 | Porter, Fitz John |
Box 1 | Ridpath, John Clark |
Box 1 | Schofield, J.M. |
Box 1 | Sherman, W.T. |
Box 1 | Sherman, William |
Box 1 | Smith, Samuel Francis |
Box 1 | Stoddard, John L. |
Box 1 | Teller, William |
Box 1 | Waite, M.R. |
Box 1 Folder 2 | Awards and Certificates, 1940-1971 |
Box 1 Folder 3 | Clippings and Articles, 1966-1997 |
Box 1 Folder 4 | Clippings and Articles, 1997-1999 |
Box 1 Folder 5 | Book, Julia Ward Kramer, This, Too, Is for the Best, 1989 |
Box 1 Folder 6 | Jonathan Kleinbard, Remembrance of Kramer, 2002 |
Box 1 Folder 7 | Obituaries and Memorials, 2002 |
Box 1 Folder 8 | Pamphlets and Publications, 1967-1997 |
Box 1 Folder 9 | Photographs and Memorabilia, undated |
Box 1 Folder 10 | Photographs, 1960s-1990s |
Box 2 Folder 1 | Tennis, 1990-1994 |
Box 2 Folder 2 | Tennis, 1982-1987 |
Box 2 Folder 3 | Tennis, 1980-1991 |
Box 2 Folder 4 | Tennis, 1990 |
Box 2 Folder 5 | Tennis, 1991-1997 |
Series II: Correspondence |
Box 2 Folder 6 | Correspondence, A, 1942-1997
|
Box 2 Folder 7 | Correspondence, B, 1942-1997
|
Box 2 Folder 8 | Correspondence, C, 1975-1997
|
Box 2 Folder 9 | Correspondence, D, 1942-1999
|
Box 2 Folder 10 | Correspondence, E-F, 1938-1997
|
Box 2 Folder 11 | Correspondence, G, 1942-1991
|
Box 2 Folder 12 | Correspondence, H, 1938-1980
|
Box 3 Folder 1 | Correspondence, I-J, 1938-1980
|
Box 3 Folder 2 | Correspondence, K, 1942-1997
|
Box 3 Folder 3 | Correspondence, Philip M. Klutznick, 1942-1985 |
Box 3 Folder 4 | Correspondence, L, 1942-1991
|
Box 3 Folder 5 | Correspondence, M, 1942-1988
|
Box 3 Folder 6 | Correspondence, N-O, 1942-1997
|
Box 3 Folder 7 | Correspondence, P, 1942-1997
|
Box 3 Folder 8 | Correspondence, R., 1942-1997
|
Box 3 Folder 9 | Correspondence, S, 1942-1998
|
Box 3 Folder 10 | Correspondence, T, 1942-1997
|
Box 3 Folder 11 | Correspondence, U-Z, 1942-1986
|
Box 3 Folder 12 | Children's Letters to Kramer, 1997 |
Box 3 Folder 13 | Adolf Kramer Letters, 1916-1928
|
Box 4 Folder 1 | Correspondence, Presidency of the Housing Council, 1956
|
Series III: Speeches |
Box 4 Folder 2 | Speeches, 1930s |
Box 4 Folder 3 | Speeches, 1940s |
Box 4 Folder 4 | Speeches, 1950-1953 |
Box 4 Folder 5 | Speeches, 1954-1959 |
Box 4 Folder 6 | Speeches, 1960-1962 |
Box 4 Folder 7 | Speeches, 1963-1965 |
Box 5 Folder 1 | Speeches, 1963-1965 |
Box 5 Folder 2 | Speeches, 1970s |
Box 5 Folder 3 | Speeches, 1980s |
Box 5 Folder 4 | Speeches, 1990s |
Box 5 Folder 5 | Speeches, undated |
Series IV: Housing, General |
Box 5 Folder 6 | Advisory Council on Housing and Community Planning, 1958-1961 |
Box 5 Folder 7 | American Society of Real Estate Counselors, 1965 |
Box 5 Folder 8 | Brazil Housing, 1965 |
Box 5 Folder 9 | Brazil Housing, 1964 |
Box 5 Folder 10 | Brazil Housing, 1964-1965 |
Box 5 Folder 11 | Brazil Housing, 1964-1965 |
Box 6 Folder 1 | Civil Rights Bill, 1966 |
Box 6 Folder 2 | Civil Rights Bill, 1966 |
Box 6 Folder 3 | Clippings, 1930s |
Box 6 Folder 4 | Clippings, 1940s |
Box 6 Folder 5 | Clippings, 1950s |
Box 6 Folder 6 | Clippings, Federal Housing Administration Scandal, 1950s |
Box 6 Folder 7 | Clippings, Federal Housing Administration Scandal, 1950s |
Box 6 Folder 8 | Clippings, 1960s |
Box 6 Folder 9 | Clippings, 1960s-1970s |
Box 6 Folder 10 | Clippings, 1980s |
Box 6 Folder 11 | Clippings, 1990s |
Box 6 Folder 12 | Commercial Club Election, 1966 |
Box 6 Folder 13 | Cuba, 1962 |
Box 6 Folder 14 | Defense Housing, 1940s |
Box 7 Folder 1 | European Housing Tour, 1969 |
Box 7 Folder 2 | Fair Housing Act, 1979-1981 |
Box 7 Folder 3 | Fair Housing Act, 1980-1981 |
Box 7 Folder 4 | Fair Housing, Clippings and Documents, 1974-1980 |
Box 7 Folder 5 | Federal Housing Authority Investigation, 1954 |
Box 7 Folder 6 | Harvard, 1962-1966 |
Box 7 Folder 7 | Housing and Urban Development, 1965-1966 |
Box 7 Folder 8 | Housing and Urban Development, 1966 |
Box 7 Folder 9 | Housing and Urban Development, 1966 |
Box 8 Folder 1 | Housing Pamphlets and Articles, 1945-1991 |
Box 8 Folder 2 | Hyde Park Hilton, 1981 |
Box 8 Folder 3 | Illinois Development, 1968 |
Box 8 Folder 4 | Institute of Medicine, 1970 |
Box 8 Folder 5 | Johnson-Humphrey Presidential Ticket, 1964 |
Box 8 Folder 6 | Joint Negro Appeal, 1965 |
Box 8 Folder 7 | Lyndon Bains Johnson Library, Ferd Kramer Materials, 1964-1968, 2001 |
Box 8 Folder 8 | Metropolitan Housing Council, 1946-1951, 1999 |
Box 8 Folder 9 | National Organization of Housing Officials, 1952 |
Box 8 Folder 10 | National Organization of Housing Officials, 1952 |
Box 8 Folder 11 | Panama Canal Treaty, 1977-1978 |
Box 8 Folder 12 | Partee, 1973 |
Box 9 Folder 1 | Presidential Commission on Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1964-1965 |
Box 9 Folder 2 | Real Estate Research Report and Fellowship, 1973-1980 |
Box 9 Folder 3 | Real Estate Research Report and Fellowship, 1971-1977 |
Box 9 Folder 4 | Michael Reese Hospital, undated |
Series V: Racial Integration in Housing |
Box 10 Folder 1 | Committee on Financing Minority Housing Report, 1955 |
Box 10 Folder 2 | Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1962 |
Box 10 Folder 3 | Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1963 |
Box 10 Folder 4 | Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1963 |
Box 10 Folder 5 | Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1964 |
Box 10 Folder 6 | Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1965 |
Box 10 Folder 7 | Equal Opportunity in Housing Reports, 1965 |
Box 10 Folder 8 | Equal Opportunity in Housing, 1967 |
Box 10 Folder 9 | Equal Opportunity in Housing Pamphlets, 1964 |
Box 10 Folder 10 | Integration File, 1958-1969 |
Box 10 Folder 11 | Integration File, 1969-1970 |
Box 10 Folder 12 | Integration File, 1970 |
Box 10 Folder 13 | Integration File, 1970 |
Box 10 Folder 14 | Quotas for Integration, Memorandum of Law, 1970 |
Box 11 Folder 1 | Integration File, 1971 |
Box 11 Folder 2 | Integration File, 1972 |
Box 11 Folder 3 | Integration File, 1972 |
Box 11 Folder 4 | Integration File, 1972 |
Box 11 Folder 5 | Integration File, 1973 |
Box 11 Folder 6 | Integration File, 1974 |
Box 11 Folder 7 | Integration File, 1975 |
Box 11 Folder 8 | Integration File, 1975 |
Box 11 Folder 9 | Integration File, 1976 |
Box 11 Folder 10 | Integration File, 1977-1978 |
Box 11 Folder 11 | Integration File, Prairie Shores, 1978 |
Box 12 Folder 1 | Integration File, 1979 |
Box 12 Folder 2 | Integration File, 1979 |
Box 12 Folder 3 | Integration File, 1980-1981 |
Box 12 Folder 4 | Integration File, 1982 |
Box 12 Folder 5 | Integration File, 1983 |
Box 12 Folder 6 | Integration File, 1984 |
Box 12 Folder 7 | Integration File, 1985-1986 |
Box 12 Folder 8 | Integration File, 1986-1988 |
Box 12 Folder 9 | Integration Speeches, 1965-1971 |
Series VI: Urban America, Inc. |
Box 13 Folder 1 | Architectural Forum, 1969 |
Box 13 Folder 2 | Brochures, 1968 |
Box 13 Folder 3 | Brochures, 1965-1968 |
Box 13 Folder 4 | Budget, 1968-1969 |
Box 13 Folder 5 | Chamber of Commerce, 1957-1964 |
Box 13 Folder 6 | Conference on Development Funds, 1967 |
Box 13 Folder 7 | Contributions, 1966-1970 |
Box 13 Folder 8 | Correspondence, A-D, 1966-1969
|
Box 13 Folder 10 | Correspondence, K, 1966-1968
|
Box 14 Folder 1 | Lash, James E., 1964-1966 |
Box 14 Folder 2 | Correspondence, M, 1964-1966
|
Box 14 Folder 3 | Correspondence N, , 1966-1968
|
Box 14 Folder 4 | Correspondence P-S, 1965-1970
|
Box 14 Folder 5 | Correspondence, T-Y, 1964-1968
|
Box 14 Folder 6 | Director's Bulletin with Photograph, undated |
Box 14 Folder 7 | Elder Housing, undated |
Box 14 Folder 8 | Five Year Plan, 1967 |
Box 14 Folder 9 | Ford Foundation, 1965-1967 |
Box 14 Folder 10 | Ford Foundation, 1968 |
Box 15 Folder 1 | Ford Foundation, 1965 |
Box 15 Folder 2 | Ford Foundation, 1966 |
Box 15 Folder 3 | Heiskell Award, 1961-1965 |
Box 15 Folder 4 | Local Development, 1966 |
Box 15 Folder 5 | Management Committee, 1968 |
Box 15 Folder 6 | Memos, 1966-1968 |
Box 15 Folder 7 | National Symposium, 1963-1965 |
Box 15 Folder 8 | Newark Conference, 1959 |
Box 15 Folder 9 | Notes, 1965-1966 |
Box 15 Folder 10 | Reports, 1966-1968 |
Box 15 Folder 11 | Reports, 1966 |
Box 16 Folder 1 | Reports, 1966-1967 |
Box 16 Folder 2 | Stern Family Fund, 1965-1974 |
Box 16 Folder 3 | Stern Family Fund, 1966, 1981 |
Box 16 Folder 4 | Stern Family Fund, 1964-1965 |
Box 16 Folder 5 | Solicitation, Mortgage Bankers, 1967-1968 |
Box 16 Folder 6 | Urban Coalition Meeting, 1967-1969 |
Series VII: Dearborn Park |
Box 17 Folder 1 | Brochures, 1976-1993 |
Box 17 Folder 2 | Brochures, 1974-1992 |
Box 17 Folder 3 | Chicago 21 Corporation, Minutes, 1974-1977 |
Box 17 Folder 4 | Chicago 21 Corporation, Board of Directors, 1973-1976 |
Box 17 Folder 5 | Chicago 21 Corporation, Sales and Marketing, 1976-1977 |
Box 17 Folder 6 | Chicago 21, Stockholders, 1972-1974 |
Box 17 Folder 7 | Chicago 21, Planning, 1976-1977 |
Box 17 Folder 8 | Chicago 21, Development Plan and South Loop Guidelines |
Box 17 Folder 9 | Chicago 21, 1977 |
Box 18 Folder 1 | Dearborn Park, Board of Directors, Minutes, 1977-1994 |
Box 18 Folder 2 | Dearborn Park, Executive Committee, Minutes, 1977-1994 |
Box 18 Folder 3 | Dearborn Park, Executive Committee, Minutes, 1977-1994 |
Box 18 Folder 4 | Dearborn Park, Shareholder Meeting, 1977-1994 |
Box 18 Folder 5 | Correspondence, A-H, 1986-1990
|
Box 18 Folder 6 | Correspondence, K-Z, 1986-1989
|
Box 18 Folder 7 | Developments, 12th and State, 1984 |
Box 18 Folder 8 | Developments, #169, 1988 |
Box 19 Folder 1 | Developments, Dearborn Station, 1987-1990 |
Box 19 Folder 2 | Developments, 899 S. Plymouth Court, 1985-1987 |
Box 19 Folder 3 | Developments, The Oaks, 1983-1992 |
Box 19 Folder 4 | Developer Response to Environmental Security Report, 1985 |
Box 19 Folder 5 | Food Stores, 1979-1980 |
Box 19 Folder 6 | Index, 1978-1985 |
Box 19 Folder 7 | Marketing, Sales, and Rentals, 1985-1986 |
Box 19 Folder 8 | Mortgage Information, 1981-1989 |
Box 19 Folder 9 | Mortgage, 1986-1987 |
Box 19 Folder 10 | Public Hearing Notice, 1986-1987 |
Box 19 Folder 11 | Publicity |
Box 19 Folder 12 | Publicity |
Box 20 Folder 1 | Reports, South Loop, 1974 |
Box 20 Folder 2 | Reports, Dearborn Park, 1976 |
Box 20 Folder 3 | Report, Dearborn Park Market Survey, 1976 |
Box 20 Folder 4 | Report, Planned Unit Development, 1977 |
Box 20 Folder 5 | Report, Economic Development in Chicago, 1981 |
Box 20 Folder 6 | Report, Chicago 21 Plan and Central Area Plan |
Box 20 Folder 7 | Report, Central Area Plan, 1983 |
Box 20 Folder 8 | Report, Near South Development, TIF, 1994 |
Box 20 Folder 9 | School at Dearborn Park, Articles, 1987-1991 |
Box 20 Folder 10 | School at Dearborn Park, 1984-1990 |
Box 21 Folder 1 | School at Dearborn Park, 1984-1990 |
Box 21 Folder 2 | School at Dearborn Park, Community School Downtown Report, 1974 |
Box 21 Folder 3 | Street Names, 1978-1979 |
Box 21 Folder 4 | Visual, Photographs, undated |
Box 21 Folder 5 | Visual, Photographs and Film, undated |
Box 21 Folder 6 | Visual, Photographs for Lois Wille, At Home in the Loop, undated |
Box 21 Folder 7 | Visual, Ariel Views, undated |
Box 21 Folder 8 | Visual, Negatives, undated |
Box 21 Folder 9 | Visual, Photographs by Kramer, undated |
Box 21 Folder 10 | Visual, Slides by Kramer, undated |
Box 22 Folder 1 | Visual, Slides, undated |
Box 22 Folder 2 | Visual, Slides, undated |
Box 22 Folder 3 | Visual, Slides, undated |
Box 22 Folder 4 | Documents from Philip Klutznick, 1972-1974 |
Box 23 Folder 1 | Documents from Philip Klutznick, 1974 |
Box 23 Folder 2 | Documents from Philip Klutznick, 1974-1976 |
Box 23 Folder 3 | Documents from Philip Klutznick, 1977-1978 |
Series VIII: University of Chicago |
Box 23 Folder 4 | Development, 1979-1984 |
Box 23 Folder 5 | Development, 1979-198 |
Box 24 Folder 1 | Fundraising, 1992-1994 |
Box 24 Folder 2 | Investment Committee, 1969-1971 |
Box 24 Folder 3 | Investment, 1973 |
Box 24 Folder 4 | Investment, 1973-1974 |
Box 24 Folder 5 | Investment, 1975-1976 |
Box 24 Folder 6 | Investment, 1977-1980 |
Box 24 Folder 7 | Investment Committee, Heizer, 1969-1976 |
Box 24 Folder 8 | Investment Committee, Treasurer Search, 1968-1981 |
Box 24 Folder 9 | Investment, Report, undated |
Box 24 Folder 10 | Lisle Letters, undated |
Box 24 Folder 11 | Planning, 1979 |
Box 25 Folder 1 | Policy, 1979 |
Box 25 Folder 2 | President's Fund, 25th Anniversary, 1989 |
Box 25 Folder 3 | President's Fund, Development Committee, 1974-1979 |
Box 25 Folder 4 | President's Fund, Petrie, 1958, 1973-1979 |
Box 25 Folder 5 | Protests, 1969 |
Box 25 Folder 6 | Real Estate, 1972-1977 |
Box 25 Folder 7 | Real Estate, 1972 |
Box 25 Folder 8 | Reports, General, 1982 |
Box 25 Folder 9 | University Alumni Service Award, 1997 |
Box 25 Folder 10 | University of Chicago Magazine, 1969 |
Box 25 Folder 11 | University Planning Publications, 1979-1985 |
Box 25 Folder 12 | Windemere Redevelopment, 1977-1979 |
Series IX: Audio Visual and Oversized Items |
Box 26 | Video Tapes |
Box 27 | Urban American Ad Campaign Mock Ups, 1968 |
Box 27 | Chicago Central Area Committee, Progress Report, 1993 |
Box 27 | Chicago 21: A Plan for the Central Area Communities, 1973 |
Box 27 | Draper and Kramer, 1943 |
Box 27 | "There are no little plans: Aging Kramer pushes Kenwood rebirth," Chicago Tribune, April 25, 1988, color reproduction (2) |
Series X: Lois Wille, At Home in the Loop, Interviews and Research Materials |
Box 28 Folder 1 | Documents, 1972-1974 |
Box 28 Folder 2 | Documents, 1975-1976 |
Box 28 Folder 3 | Documents, 1977 |
Box 28 Folder 4 | Documents, 1978-1979 |
Box 28 Folder 5 | Documents, 1980-1982 |
Box 28 Folder 6 | Documents, 1983-1984 |
Box 28 Folder 7 | Documents, 1985-1989 |
Box 28 Folder 8 | Excerpts from Taped Interviews, 1994-1996 |
Box 28 Folder 9 | Excerpts from Taped Interviews, 1994-1996 |
Box 28 Folder 10 | Excerpts from Taped Interviews, 1994-1996 |
Box 29 Folder 1 | Excerpts from Taped Interviews, 1994-1996 |
Box 29 Folder 2 | Excerpts from Taped Interviews, 1994-1996 |
Box 30 | Cassette tapes of interviews |
Box 31 | Cassette tapes of interviews |
Box 32 | Cassette tapes of interviews |