Roman Mars, creator and producer of the popular podcast on design and architecture, 99% Invisible, released an episode this past Tuesday titled “The Gruen Effect.”  The podcast, focused on the shopping mall designs of Viennese architect Victor Gruen, features audio and video clips digitized from the AHC’s Victor Gruen Collection.

The collection, which was made available on the AHC’s digital collections site in early 2015, includes candid photographs of Gruen and his associates, blueprints, audio of Gruen’s speeches, and films of Gruen’s Southdale Shopping Center, as well as press conferences and newsreels.

Photograph of Victor Gruen lighting his pipe. University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Victor Gruen Papers, Collection #5809, Box 56.

Mars, based in Oakland, California, recently completed a very successful campaign on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to continue production of 99% Invisible, as well as provide a source of funding for other independent podcast productions.  Previous episodes of 99% Invisible are hosted at 99pi.org; you can learn more about the AHC’s Victor Gruen collection here.

–Tyler Cline, Digital Programs Department Head