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Fritz Burns Papers
Fritz Burns Papers
THE THOMAS AND DOROTHY LEAVEY CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LOS ANGELES RESEARCH COLLECTION
FRITZ BURNS PAPERS
Fritz Bernard Burns (1899-1979) was a major real estate developer in Southern California. He was involved in the development of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Windsor Hills, Panorama City, parts of North Hollywood and other areas. Burns was president of the Home Builders Association of Los Angeles in 1942 and of the National Association of Home Builders in 1945.
James Keane has authored the definitive biography of Fritz Burns: Fritz B. Burns and the development of Los Angeles: the biography of a community developer and philanthropist. Los Angeles: Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University, Historical Society of Southern California, 2001. James Keane also collected materials for his biography, now found in James Keane Collection of Fritz Burns Biographical Materials. CSLA-24.
The Research Collection has two separate but related Fritz Burns collections:
Fritz Burns Papers, 1899-ca.1980
COLLECTION TITLE AND NUMBER: Fritz Burns Papers, 1899-circa1990. CSLA-4
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1996.16
COLLECTION SIZE: 8 archival document boxes, 11 oversize boxes
The bulk of this collection dates from the 1920s-1950s. Much of the material pertains to Burns's early career and his involvement in the development of Palisades Del Rey (now part of Marina del Rey). There are also notes for talks that Fritz Burns and his partner F. W. Marlow gave at morning sales meetings (1941-1942); newspaper clippings about public housing, and photographs of Burns and others and some of his projects.
There are some especially interesting photographs of the Palisades del Rey development in the 1920s. At this time Fritz Burns worked for Dickinson & Gillespie, a development company based in Minneapolis.
Fritz Burns Papers, 1939-1973
COLLECTION NUMBER AND TITLE: Fritz Burns Papers, 1939-1973. CSLA-2
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1996.26; gift of the Fritz B. Burns Foundation
COLLECTION SIZE: 7 archival document boxes, 11 oversize boxes
The Fritz B. Burns Foundation donated this collection to LMU in 1996. The collection contains business files from Fritz Burns's association with Fred W. Marlow. There is also biograpical information about Burns and photographs of Burns, his wife Gladys, son F. Patrick, and others. Many photographs show Hawaiian hotels in which Burns had a business interest.
RESEARCH ACCESS: The collection is open for research by appointment with no restrictions under the conditions of the access policy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To schedule an appointment, please call the Department of Archives and Special Collections at 310-338-5710 or 310-338-5357, or email the department: Special.Collections@lmu.edu. The Research Collection is a program of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles.