Colossus

Get ready to expend a lot of bandwidth downloading a slew of PDFs. Colossus US Modernist Library, a project of North Carolina Modernist Houses, has made hundreds of issues of old architecture magazines available in digital form with the goal of becoming "the largest open digital architecture magazine collection in the world." Of particular note are issues of Progressive Architecture, which ran from 1945 to 1996, and Architectural Forum, which dates back to 1892 and ceased operations in 1974.


[November 1995 issue of Progressive Architecture]

The description of the ambitious, ongoing project from ncmodernist.org:

All across America, architecture magazines from the 20th century are rotting in basements, if they haven't already been trashed. These visually brilliant publications chronicled the best of Modernist architecture along with the talented, progressive architects of that era. To have your building featured in these magazines was a real honor for an architect.

Today, mid-century Modernist architects and original Modernist homeowners are rapidly passing away. Their houses are largely forgotten and in some cases needlessly destroyed. Today's architects, realtors, and buyers don't have an easy way to research these houses through prior press coverage.

Access to historical information has never been more critical for preservation. Colossus is the first vast open searchable digital archive of major 20th century architecture publications. Colossus collects and shares architecture magazines from architects and offices and basements and libraries across the country.

Once complete, Colossus will be the largest open digital architecture magazine collection in the world.

[March 1974 issue of Architectural Forum]

(Via Arch Daily)