Structural Forum / the magazine of building / Rockefeller Center New York 20 New York

FORUM

PUBLISHED BY TIME INC

February 10, 1961

Mrs. Eero Saarinen
1300 North Woodward
Birmingham, Michigan

Dear Aline:

I am awfully sorry about this University of Pennsylvania
mix-up. I find myself suddenly in a Kafka-like position of
being a villain all around.

We gave up our priority when it turned out our story would be
relatively short, but are apparently held responsible that the
others didn't pick it up; and, although we no longer had a priority,
we are held to the highest performance standards on the story.
I just can't believe, Aline, the others would not have snatched
the opportunity to show up the FORUM had they thought they could
improve on our story so much—or wanted to. Of course it was easy
to put the onus on us.

May I suggest that in the future with your finished jobs—since
they all, in the end, command your love—you simply work out a
date for a general release to architectural magazines. On pre-
views it is still possible to get things especially arranged.

Of course I am going down there as soon as I can and will look
at the dorms myself—reliance was earlier put on a qualified
staff member—and if they are as completely charming as all that,
then who knows there may still be a chance to put one of the
name photographers in there and play up the interiors in con-
nection with a story on colleges. This I don't promise—I only
suggest.

Now as for the embassy, we are trying very hard to make this
story come out fair all around. Of course we were going to have
to do one as soon as the embassy was ready. We have Eero's own
statement, and you have now promised us his reply to Richards.
(We knew that the facade was structural.) We had the job photo-
graphed for us by the best talent that our colleagues in magazine
editorial positions in London could suggest.