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Barrie Greenbie with G-Frame model
A member of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1970 to 1989, Barrie Barstow Greenbie (1920-1998) enjoyed a remarkably diverse career, contributing to fields ranging from art to theatre, architecture to landscape planning. Born in New York on March 29, 1920, Greenbie's early life was in many ways as diverse as his adulthood. Raised to believe that his father, Sydney, was of Swedish descent, he discovered in his forties that he actually descended from a Jewish family who had fled Russia during the pogroms of Alexander II. His mother Marjorie, scion of an old New England family, was among the first women granted a PhD from Yale and taught English at Mount Holyoke College.
Prepped at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, during the height of the Great Depression, Greenbie faced a still-sluggish economy upon graduation. After studying at the Corcoran School of Art and the Art Students League, both in New York City, he earned his first job in 1940, when he earned the distinction of becoming the youngest artist ever commissioned by the Works Progress Administration, painting a mural for the post office in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.
After service with the Field Artillery in the Pacific during the Second World War and as a correspondent with the 6th Army in occupied Japan, Greenbie returned home to continue his education at the University of Miami, studying drama with a concentration in playwriting and stage design. Following receipt of his BA in 1953, he joined the Theatre Department at Skidmore College in Saratoga, N.Y., all the while maintaining an active creative life. It was there that he first branched out into architecture, designing buildings for the college and in 1959, the widely acclaimed East 74th Street Theater in New York (later renamed the Phoenix). He later returned to school, earning a doctorate in urban affairs and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin (1972) two years after accepting a position at UMass Amherst.
The wide-ranging intellect and keen artistic talent displayed at Skidmore characterized Greenbie's professional life at every stage. Author of a raft of essays, plays, and poetry, he designed theatres for dance for the Ford Foundation, invented a new conveyor belt system, and acquired five patents for inventions such as the Portapavillion, a portable open-framed tent, and the G-Frame house, a prefabricated house design that is easy and fast to build. Among his scholarly contributions were three monographs
Greenbie died at his home in South Amherst in 1998. He was survived by his wife of thirty-four years, Vlasta J. (Koran) Greenbie, three daughters, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Documenting the creative and professional life of Barrie Greenbie, this collection offers a rich resource for study of Greenbie's education, overseas service during World War II, his professional lives in the theatre and landscape architecture, and his relationships with family members, including his first wife Meg and his parents Marjorie and Sydney. The collection is organized into four series: Personal and Biographical, Professional, the Theatre, and the Connecticut River.
An engaging writer from early in life, Greenbie maintained a robust correspondence with his parents and wife from his time at the Taft School through the end of the Second World War, with slightly sparser correspondence for later years. Also included is a fascinating volume of typed copies of letters exchanged between Marjorie and Sydney Greenbie during their courtship in 1918-1919.
Among the great constants of Greenbie's varied life was a passion for the theatre, which emerges throughout the collection. In addition to some architectural designs for theatres and a model of the East 74th Street Theatre, the collection includes correspondence, an array of playbills and photographs of plays directed by Greenbie (primarily during the early 1950s), and several scripts, ending with
Finally, the collection brings together material that highlights Greenbie's interest in the Connecticut River Valley. The collection includes research, analysis, and correspondence relating to his study of the Valley and a compact disk containing numerous aerial images of the riverscape.
The collection is open for research.
The Greenbie were donated by Barrie Greenbie in 1998, with subsequent additions from his widow, Vlasta, in 2000.
Processed by Sarah Goldstein and Rebecca Tran, May 2010.
For other materials related to landscape architecture, see faculty collections:
Consists chiefly of correspondence, with a significant portion of the letters exchanged between Greenbie and his wife, Meg, during his service in World War II. Documents Greenbie's childhood, early education, and his parents' lives and work. The history of his father's origin is captured in Greenbie's book,
Contains a variety of professional papers documenting Greenbie's long and distinguished career, in particular his design of the G-Frame prefabricated house and the Portapavilion as well as his work in Japan. Also includes correspondence and research notes relating to his book,
Ranges from Greenbie's early theater work at the University of Miami to his later work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on
Highlights Greenbie's interest in the Connecticut River and includes a CD of aerial images he took. Public response to these aerial images of the river prompted Greenbie to begin writing a book about the Connecticut River titled
Based on research conducted by Marjorie Greenbie.
Bound volume of typed copies of letters exchanged between Marjorie and Sydney Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Letters to wife, Meg Greenbie.
Layout of apartment at 3513 13th St NW, Apt. 24 in Washington, D.C.
Photocopy of originals with annotations.
Includes some photocopies of originals with itinerary of his tour along the East Coast of New Zealand on the Officer of Minister of Finance letterhead.
Extracts from diary are photocopied from original; also includes newclippings, biograhpical sketch an notes kept by Barrie Greenbie.
Identified as "Ingrid's Diary" on page 5; probably an excerpt from Barrie Greenbie's daughter's diary.
Course information and class notes.
Reviews of Greenbie's work.
Reviews of the work of others.
Early version of
Deeds, correspondence, newspaper clippings.
Research, correspondence, newspaper clippings.
Correspondence, memorial, poems, map
Correspondence.
Correspondence.
Correspondence.
Exam for Ph.D. pre-liminaries.
With Vincent Dowling.