In America's postwar years, architects and builders were redefining modernism, taking advantage of new construction techniques and materials to create a visual language for the 20th century. Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen was amazingly prolific and successful throughout this era, designing projects large and small, from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the TWA Flight Center at New York's JFK Airport to community churches and individual homes. Photographer Balthazar Korab worked for Saarinen, skillfully capturing the nuances, shapes, and lines of his structures and documenting the creative process involved. In the process, he earned a reputation as a well-respected architectural photographer. Korab, who passed away earlier this year, graciously donated nearly 800 of these photographs to the Library of Congress in 2007.
The 20th-Century Architecture of Eero Saarinen
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Read moreArchitectural detail of the interior of the Trans World Airlines Terminal, John F. Kennedy Airport, New York, circa 1962. The expansive, futuristic terminal building, designed by architect Eero Saarinen, opened in 1962, described as a "Grand Central of the jet age." #
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Read moreArchitect Eero Saarinen stands behind a scale model of the Saint Louis Gateway Arch, between 1947 and 1961. #
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Read moreConstruction underway on the Saarinen-designed Saint Louis Gateway Arch, circa 1964. #
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Read moreThe Saint Louis Gateway Arch, dedicated in 1968. #
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Read moreDesign Center interior with stair in background, part of the General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan, 1945. #
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Read moreWater tower and frozen water feature, General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan, 1945. #
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Read moreWater tower detail, General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan, 1945. #
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Read moreMilwaukee Art Museum (originally Milwaukee War Memorial), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between 1952 and 1957. #
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Read moreScale model of Kresge Auditorium and Chapel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, circa 1950. #
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Read moreCompleted Kresge Auditorium and Chapel on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, circa 1955. #
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Read moreArchitectural model of the Miller house, Columbus, Indiana, circa 1953. The residence was commissioned by American industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia Simons Miller in 1953. #
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Read moreLiving area from terrace, Miller house, Columbus, Indiana, circa 1957. #
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Read moreExterior detail of the Miller house, in Columbus, Indiana, in 1957. #
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Read moreScale model of the David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, for Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1956. #
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Read morePhotographer Balthazar Korab is barely visible photographing the interior of a model of Yale University's David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, circa 1956. #
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Read moreConstruction of the David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1959. #
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Read moreCompleted David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, circa 1959. See this location today on Google Streetview. #
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Read moreConcordia Theological Seminary (originally Concordia Senior College), Fort Wayne, Indiana, circa 1958. #
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Read moreInterior of the chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, circa 1958. #
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Read moreA model of the United States Embassy, to be based in London, England, circa 1955. #
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Read moreThe completed United States Embassy in London, circa 1960. #
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Read moreA scale model of the Trans World Airlines Terminal, John F. Kennedy Airport, New York, circa 1956. #
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Read moreA drawing, a column study, part of the design work for the Trans World Airlines Terminal, in New York, circa 1956. #
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Read moreModel of the Trans World Airlines Terminal, circa 1956. #
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Read moreWork takes place on a model of the TWA Terminal, circa 1956. #
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Read moreAn interior shot of a model of the TWA Terminal, circa 1956. #
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Read morePhotographer Balthazar Korab with TWA model, ca 1960. #
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Read moreConstruction underway of the TWA Terminal, at JFK Airport, in New York, circa 1960. #
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Read moreConstruction underway inside the TWA Terminal, at new York's JFK Airport, circa 1960. #
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Read moreDetail visible during construction of the TWA Terminal, circa 1960. #
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Read moreWalkway interior of the TWA Terminal. #
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Read moreInterior of the TWA Terminal, circa 1962. #
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Read moreInterior of the TWA Terminal, circa 1962. #
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Read moreInformation desk inside the TWA Terminal, circa 1962. #
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Read moreInterior of the TWA Terminal, circa 1962. #
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Read moreNight shot of the interior of the opened TWA Terminal, circa 1962. #
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Read moreModel of Washington Dulles International Airport, planned for construction near Chantilly, Virginia, circa 1958. #
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Read morePhotographing the interior of a model of Dulles International Airport, circa 1958. #
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Read moreThe interior of a model of Dulles International Airport, circa 1958. #
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Read moreDulles International Airport under construction, in Chantilly, Virginia, circa 1962. #
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Read moreConstruction underway on Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia, 1958-63. Construction. #
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Read moreNewly-completed Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia, circa 1963. #
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Read moreMobile lounges, or Passenger Transfer Vehicle (PTVs) parked at Washington Dulles International Airport, in 1963. The PTVs could carry 100 passengers and had ramps at one end that could be raised or lowered to the floor height of an aircraft. The PTV concept, a pre-cursor to jet bridges, was championed by architect Eero Saarinen, and originally featured prominently in the flow of traffic at Dulles. #
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Read moreEvening view of Washington Dulles International Airport, in Virginia, circa 1963. #
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