Recessions have proven to be incredibly difficult times for architects, and the Great Depression of the 1930s caused many architects to lose work and the ability to support their firms and families. Chapters of the AIA and other architects' societies around the country organized relief efforts to aid architects. Some of these efforts included raffles, home tours, and auctions. In Chicago, the organizers for the Architects' Relief Fund hosted a "Latin Quarter Fete" themed fundraiser at the fashionable Drake Hotel in 1932. The poster for the event, shown above, depicts a dizzying event complete with dancers, libations, rabbits, and carousel horses. Costumes obligatory.
While I haven't been able to locate historical photos of the event in our collection, or at other repositories, perhaps you know where they reside. If you do, please share links in the comments below.
Image: The Architects' Present A Latin Quarter Fete for the Benefit of the Architects' Relief Fund poster, 1932. Poster Collection, Drawings + Documents Archive, Ball State University.
