{{short description|German-American architect (1905–1970)}} '''Oscar Gregory Stonorov''' (December 2, 1905 – May 9, 1970) was a [[modernist]] [[architect]] and architectural [[writer]], [[historian]] and [[archivist]] who emigrated to the [[United States]] from [[Germany]] in 1929.<ref name=pab>{{Philadelphia Architects and Buildings |ar=21630 |Stonorov, Oskar Gregory (1905-1970)}}</ref> His first name is often spelled "Oskar".

==Early life== Stonorov was born in [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]], the son of Helene (Traub) and Gregor Stonorov, an engineer.<ref name=pab/> He studied at the [[University of Florence]] (1924/25), [[Italy]] and at the [[University of Zurich]] (1925–1928), [[Switzerland]], and apprenticed with [[France|French]] sculptor [[Aristide Maillol]]. In 1928, he worked in the offices of [[André Lurçat]] in [[Paris]], [[France]].{{citation needed|date = June 2014}}

In these years, Stonorov researched and co-edited with Willy Boesiger the publication of the work of [[Switzerland|Swiss]] architect [[Le Corbusier]], covering the period 1910 to 1929 (published in 1929).<ref>Ursula Cliff, ''Stonorov, Oscar'', in: Muriel Emanuel (Ed.), ''Contemporary architects'', [[London]] 1980, 358.</ref> With Boesiger's work continuing for four decades, this would be the first volume of the definitive 8 volume set of the complete works of ''Le Corbusier and [[Pierre Jeanneret]]'' (completed in 1969; numerous re-editions with varying titles and in different languages).<ref>[[WorldCat]] search results for [https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3Acorbusier+au%3Aboesiger&qt=advanced&dblist=638 title “corbusier” and author “boesiger”].</ref>

==Career== [[File:Mackley NE Philly.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Carl Mackley Houses]]]] In 1940, Stonorov, along with [[George Howe (architect)|George Howe]], worked on the design of [[housing developments]] in [[Pennsylvania]] with [[Louis Kahn]]. A formal architectural office partnership between Stonorov and Louis Kahn began in February 1942 and ended in March 1947, produced fifty-four known projects and structures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/architect/partners/1042/|title=Partners: Stonorov and Kahn|work=The Pacific Coast Architecture Database|access-date=2 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502181318/https://digital.lib.washington.edu/architect/partners/1042/|archive-date=2014-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{Philadelphia Architects and Buildings |ar=23842 |Stonorov & Kahn |short=yes}}</ref> In 1943, Stonorov co-wrote with Kahn ''Why City Planning Is Your Responsibility'' and in 1944 again collaborated with Kahn to write ''You and Your Neighborhood ... A Primer for Neighborhood Planning''.<ref>[https://www.nndb.com/people/048/000113706 Louis Kahn<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=859021184&searchurl=an%3DStonorov%26sts%3Dt%26x%3D51%26y%3D15 Book Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Between 1950 and 1954 [[Philadelphia]] architect and future [[Pritzker Prize]] winner [[Robert Venturi]] (who later worked directly for Kahn) worked in the offices of Stonorov.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pritzkerprize.com/full_new_site/venturi_biography.htm |title=Robert Venturi biography at PritzerPrize.com |access-date=2007-12-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422001518/http://www.pritzkerprize.com/full_new_site/venturi_biography.htm |archive-date=2008-04-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-venturi Venturi, Robert Charles: Biography at Answers.com]</ref> In 1957 he partnered with Frank Haws , with whom he designed the Palace Hotel in Philadelphia (1963) and the Indian Pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair (with Mansinh Rana ).{{citation needed|date = June 2014}}

Stonorov lived and worked near Philadelphia, where he designed [[modernist]] [[public housing]], such as the [[Carl Mackley Houses]], which was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1982<ref>http://www.arch.state.pa.us/display.asp{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and the [[National Park Service]]'s [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1998.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-1998-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf National Register of Historic Places Listings -May 15, 1998]</ref> Because Stonorov was not registered as an architect in the United States at the time, [[William Pope Barney]] was enlisted as chief architect for the purposes of obtaining permits from the city.<ref>{{Philadelphia Architects and Buildings |ar=22264 |Barney, William Pope (1890-1970) |short=yes}}</ref>

==Death== [[File:Stonorov Chesco.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Avon Lea Farm, designed by Stonorov around an old stone farmhouse]] Stonorov died May 9, 1970, with [[Walter P. Reuther]], president of the [[United Automobile Workers]], when Reuther's [[Gates Learjet 23]] crashed on approach to Emmet County Airport (now [[Pellston Regional Airport]]) in [[Pellston, Michigan|Pellston]], [[Michigan]]. Also killed were Reuther's wife, his bodyguard, and the plane's pilot and copilot.<ref>[https://www.planecrashinfo.com/famous1970s.htm planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1970s]</ref> Reuther and Stonorov were to have performed the final inspection of a union recreation and education facility Stonorov had designed at [[Black Lake (Michigan)|Black Lake]], Michigan 25&nbsp;miles (40&nbsp;km) from Pellston.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news | title = Reuther Dies in Jet Crash With Wife and 4 Others | newspaper = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0901.html}}</ref> The center was to open three weeks after the crash.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

==Family== With his wife, Elizabeth Foster "Miss Betty" Stonorov (March 5, 1906 - December 8, 2003), Stonorov had daughters Katrina Daly, Tasha Stonorov Churchill and Andrea Stonorov Foster as well as a son Derek Stonorov and nine grandchildren.<ref name="charles">{{cite web | title = Elizabeth Foster "Miss Betty" Stonorov March 5, 1906 - December 8, 2003 | publisher = Charlestown Township | url = http://www.charlestown.org/ct-org/ct-hst/ct_bettystonorov01.asp | access-date = September 23, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100425023202/http://www.charlestown.org/ct-org/ct-hst/ct_bettystonorov01.asp | archive-date = April 25, 2010 | url-status = dead }}</ref> They lived at [[Oskar G. Stonorov House|Avon Lea Farm]] in [[Charlestown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania|Charlestown Township]], outside Philadelphia.{{citation needed|date = June 2014}}

==Timeline of works== [[File:Cherokee Village apts.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Cherokee Apartments]] *1933 - Juniata Park Housing, AKA [[Carl Mackley Houses]], [[Philadelphia]] (with Alfred Kastner and W. Pope Barney) *1939 - Charlestown Playhouse, [[Chester County, Pennsylvania]] *1939 - Children's World, 1939 New York World's Fair *1940 - Avon Lea, [[Chester County, Pennsylvania]] (Stonorov personal home) *1940 - Bake House III, Torresdale, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Edmund Bacon, still standing, on site of Delaire Landing residential community, 9355 State Road, formerly the site of the historic Bake House. Contact 27thpal@comcast.net for photos and a substantial amount of information *1940 - [[Carver Court]], [[Coatesville, Pennsylvania]] (with [[Louis Kahn]] and [[George Howe (architect)|George Howe]]) *1942 - Pennypack Woods, [[Philadelphia]] (with Louis I. Kahn and George Howe) *1943 - Model Neighborhood Rehabilitation Project, [[Philadelphia]] (with Louis I. Kahn) *1945 - Prefabricated Houses, [[Chester County, Pennsylvania]] (with Louis I. Kahn) *1948 - Penn Towne Apartment Complex, [[Philadelphia]] *1950 - Cherokee Apartments, [[Philadelphia]] ([[Robert Venturi]] was a draftsman for this project<ref>{{Philadelphia Architects and Buildings |pj=11175 |Cherokee Village |short=yes}}</ref>) [[File:Adam Eve Storonov.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Sculpture by Stonorov of Adam and Eve in the Hopkinson House which he also designed]] *1951 - [[United Auto Workers|UAW]] Solidarity House, Detroit *1952 - Martin Residence, Wyncote, Pennsylvania *1952 - Friends Housing Cooperative, [[Philadelphia]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170131182741/https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/15000735.pdf "Friends Housing Cooperative"], ''National Register of Historic Places Registration Form'', August 8, 2015.</ref>) *1953 - Schuylkill Falls Housing Project, [[Philadelphia]] (demolished, 1996<ref>[http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/05/29/story3.html "Unusual housing mix to be built"], ''Philadelphia Business Journal'', May 26, 2006.</ref>) *1962 - Hopkinson House, Washington Square, Philadelphia<ref>{{cite web|last=Childress|first=Nelly|title=Hopkinson House: A Unique Residential High-Rise On Washington Square|url=http://thehopkinsonhouse.com/history.html|publisher=Hopkinson House|access-date=24 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721074525/http://www.thehopkinsonhouse.com/history.html|archive-date=21 July 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> *1964 - [[India]] Pavilion at [[1964 World's Fair]] (with Stonorov & Haws and Mansinh Rana) *1969 - Casa-studio di [[Jorio Vivarelli]], [[Pistoia]], [[Italy]] *Nancy Cook Most Residence, [[Valley Forge]], PA *1970 - [[United Auto Workers|UAW]] Retreat and Education Facility, Black Lake, MI

==Further reading== *Ursula Cliff, ''Stonorov, Oscar'', in: Muriel Emanuel (Ed.), ''Contemporary architects'', [[London]] 1980, 348–360. *{{cite book | last =Frampton | first =Kenneth | title =Modern Architecture: a critical history | year =1992 | edition = 3rd ed. rev. | publisher = Thames and Hudson, Inc. | location = New York, NY | isbn =0-500-20257-5 | pages =149–151 | chapter =The Eclipse of the New Deal: Buckminster Fuller, Philip Johnson and Louis Kahn 1934-64 }} *Sandeen, Eric J. "The Design of Public Housing in the New Deal: Oskar Stonorov and Carl Mackley Houses." ''American Quarterly'', 37 (Winter 1985): 645–67. *{{cite book | last =Wodehouse | first =Lawrence | title =The roots of international style architecture | year =1991 | publisher = Locust Hill Press | location = West Cornwall, CT | isbn =0-933951-46-9 | pages =149–151 | chapter =Tucker & Howell and Oscar Stonorov: the Non-Environmentalists }} *"Juniata Park Housing Corporation project in Philadelphia", ''Architectural Record'', 1958 Apr., v. 77, p.&nbsp;328-329 *"Preview: New York World's Fair 1964-1965", ''Architectural Record'', 1964 Feb., v. 135, p.&nbsp;137-144.

==External links== *{{Philadelphia Architects and Buildings |ar=21630 |Oskar Gregory Stonorov}} *[http://www.explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=3951 Pennypack Woods government-sponsored cooperative communities]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }} *[http://ruins.wordpress.com/2006/10/23/carl-mackley-homes-unionism-and-collaborative-design/ Carl Mackley Homes: Unionism and Collaborative Design] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071107002708/http://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/washw/images/E/E20.jpg Casa Fermi, 1300 Lombard Street, built ca. 1964, Stonorov & Haws, architects] *{{archINFORM|arch|8384}} (biography) *[https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv927849 Oscar Stonorov papers] at the [[American Heritage Center]] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110708011940/http://www.blacklakegolf.com/family-education-center-24/ The Walter & May Reuther UAW Family Education Center]

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonorov, Oscar}} [[Category:1905 births]] [[Category:1970 deaths]] [[Category:Architects from Frankfurt]] [[Category:20th-century German architects]] [[Category:University of Florence alumni]] [[Category:University of Zurich alumni]] [[Category:German emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:German people of Russian descent]] [[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1970]] [[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]] [[Category:Accidental deaths in Michigan]] [[Category:20th-century American architects]]