Arts & Architecture, vol. 69, 1952

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was recruited in 1938 by Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago. Mies was given the title Professor of Architecture and Director of the Architectural Curriculum. Following the merger of Armour with Lewis Institute (another Chicago technical college) to create Illinois Institute of Technology in 1940, Mies held the same position and titles at IIT. He became Professor of Architecture and Director of the Architecture Department in 1949 after a reorganization of the curriculum. Upon a further reorganization of the Architecture Department in 1951, his title was changed to Professor of Architecture and Director of the Department of Architecture and City Planning. After his retirement in Sept. 1958, Mies continued as Emeritus Professor of Architecture until his death. Mies received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from John F. Kennedy in July 1963, the Gold Medal from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in June 1966, and the Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from IIT, also in June 1966. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1968. Mies developed the IIT campus master plan in 1941 and designed ca. 20 buildings on the university's campus, which is located at 33rd and State St. on Chicago's South Side, including the first classroom building on the campus, Alumni Memorial Hall (1945-1946). Other Mies buildings on campus include Perlstein Hall (1945-1946), Carr Memorial Chapel (1949-1952), Carman Hall Apartments (1951-1953), the Commons (1952-1953), and the world-renowned Crown Hall (1950-1956)1. S. R. Crown Hall (built 1950-1956) was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) and continues to house the university's College of Architecture on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago). The building was dedicated April 30, 1956. Crown Hall was depicted on a U. S. postage stamp in 1982. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 1, 1997 and received National Historic Landmark status on August 7, 2001 - a distinction rarely given to buildings less than 50 years old. 1Construction dates taken from "Guide to the Campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology" by Rolf Achilles; see IIT Acc. No. 2000.12 Source: IIT Archives (Chicago) Please cite source when quoting this information. Please send corrections or additional information about this topic to archives@iit.edu.