Finding Aids

John Raskob (1879-1950) was a financial executive for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and General Motors, and builder of the Empire State Building. The collection primarily consists of construction progress photographs of the Durant Building in Detroit, Michighan in 1919 and 1920. There is a small set of images of a renovation at Raskob's Archmere estate in 1916, and a few portraits and snapshots of Raskob.

John Raskob (1879-1950) was a financial executive for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., General Motors, and financier of the Empire State Building. During the 1920s Raskob became active in Democratic Party politics and from 1928 to 1932 served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was an important financial backer of Governor Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944) when he ran for president in 1928. This collection consists of seven oral history interviews conducted between 2004 and 2005 with members of John J. Raskob’s immediate family, primarily his children and grandchildren. The interviews are largely personal in nature and often focus on family relationships.