Carson & Lundin, later known as Carson, Lundin & Shaw and Carson, Lundin & Thorson, was an American architectural firm based in New York City and active from 1941 until 1996. It was formed initially by the 1941 partnership between architects Robert Carson and Earl H. Lundin.

History and principals The partnership of Carson & Lundin was formed in 1941 by Robert Carson and Earl H. Lundin, Resident Architects of Rockefeller Center Inc., the developers of Rockefeller Center.

Robert Carson was born July 19, 1906, in Macon, Illinois. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania under Paul P. Cret, graduating in 1928 with a BArch. He worked for Raymond Hood and Harrison & Fouilhoux, the architects of Rockefeller Center, until the completion of the center in 1939."Carson, Robert" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 85. That year he and Earl H. Lundin, another Harrison employee, were named Resident Architects for the center's developers, in which role they would serve until 1957."Robert Carson, Architect, Dies," New York Times, March 4, 1960, 25.

Earl H. Lundin was born January 11, 1902, in Detroit he was educated at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1923. In 1930 he moved to New York City to join the Rockefeller architects, and along with Carson was appointed Resident Architect in 1939."Earl H. Lundin, 74, Architect, Dead," New York Times, March 4, 1976, 34.

Building on their experience with Rockefeller Center, Carson & Lundin developed a specialty in the design of large office buildings. The first of these was 75 Rockefeller Plaza (1947), which was followed by major buildings in New York City and in other cities as far away as Tulsa and Cleveland. In 1957 the partnership was reorganized to include Arvin B. Shaw III, though the name of the firm was not changed.

Arvin B. Shaw III was born March 7, 1916, in Los Angeles. He was educated at Yale University, graduating in 1939 with a BFA in architecture."Shaw, Arvin Benjamin, III" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 828. He worked for Harrison & Fouilhoux in New York City until 1941, when he joined the navy for the duration of World War II. In 1945 he returned to California and joined the office of Lutah Maria Riggs in Santa Barbara, for whom he had worked in the summers of 1937 and 1938.Volker M. Welter, Tremaine Houses: One Family's Patronage of Domestic Architecture in Midcentury America (Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2019): 101. In 1951 he returned east, joining Carson & Lundin in 1955.

Carson died March 1, 1960, at the age of 53. Lundin and Shaw continued the firm under the name Carson, Lundin & Shaw. In 1962 Carson, Lundin & Shaw was one of seven firms considered to design the original World Trade Center, but lost the job to Minoru Yamasaki & Associates.Dale Allen Gyure, Minoru Yamasaki: Humanist Architecture for a Modernist World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017): 192-193. Major projects completed during the 1960s include the quarter-mile long Swan Street Building (1968) in Albany, part of Empire State Plaza. In 1970 they were joined by a third partner, Robert L. Thorson."News of the Realty Trade," New York Times, February 15, 1970, R6.

Robert L. Thorson was born April 9, 1930, in St. Ansgar, Iowa. He was educated at the University of Minnesota and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, graduating from the latter in 1957. He worked for I. M. Pei & Associates and Ulrich Franzen & Associates before joining Carson, Lundin & Shaw as a senior associate in 1969."Architects Name Senior Associates," New York Times, May 16, 1969, 77."Thorson, Robert Leon" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 917.

Shaw retired in 1972 and died May 29, 1973, at the age of 57."Arvin Shaw 3d, 57, Architect, Dead," New York Times, May 30, 1973, 42. Lundin and Thorson continued under the name of Carson, Lundin & Thorson. Lundin died March 1, 1976, at the age of 74. Thorson, as the sole surviving partner, incorporated the firm in May as Carson Lundin & Thorson PC.New York corporation records In April of 1979 state officials had noticed that the heavy marble slabs that made up the facade of the firm's Swan Street Building (1968) had come loose and may be in danger of falling.Sheila Rule, "Albany Aide Cites Supplier As Marble Falls From Mall," New York Times, April 22, 1979, 59. Later, in August, the firm was sued for $28 million by the state for damages, while asking for an even larger sum from the contractors."Architects Sued on Albany Mall," New York Times, August 9, 1979, B2. The lawsuit was dismissed in 1983 because the statute of limitations had passed. The firm appears to have been responsible for little work after the fact. Thorson died November 13, 1992, at the age of 62.Robert Leon Thorson (1930-1992), AIA Historical Directory of American Architects. Accessed October 24, 2023. The firm was dissolved in 1996.

Architectural works All dates are date of completion.

Carson & Lundin, 1941–1960 1947 – 75 Rockefeller Plaza, 15 W 51st St, New York CityBuilding Permit Search, Office for Metropolitan History, no date. Accessed December 7, 2023. 1948 – I. Miller & Sons building, 75 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, New York"Miller Shoes Opens White Plains Store," New York Times, February 29, 1948, R1. 1950 – Esso Building, 4045 Scenic Hwy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana"Use Flexible Layout In New Esso Offices," New York Times, November 28, 1948, R1. 1950 – First National Bank Building, 15 E 5th St, Tulsa, Oklahoma"Southwest Gets Two Big Buildings," New York Times, January 16, 1949, R1. 1952 – 600 Fifth Avenue, New York City 1953 – Ridgeway School, 225 Ridgeway Cir, White Plains, New York 1955 – Liberty Life Insurance Company Building, 2000 Wade Hampton Blvd, Greenville, South CarolinaArchitectural Record (April, 1954): 199-200. 1955 – NYCHA Cypress Hills Houses, 475 Fountain Ave, Brooklyn 1956 – FDNY Engine 28/Ladder 11, 222 E 2nd St, New York City 1956 – PS 175 Henry H. Garnet, 175 W 134th St, New York City 1957 – 660 Fifth Avenue, New York City 1958 – 55 Public Square, Cleveland"Cleveland Adds a New Skyscraper," New York Times, March 9, 1958, R6. 1958 – 125 Maiden Lane, New York City 1958 – Carrier Corporation administration and research center, 4800 Carrier Pkwy, DeWitt, New YorkProgressive Architecture (September, 1958): 36. 1958 – Deering Milliken Building, 1045 Sixth Ave, New York City 1959 – 730 Third Ave, New York City 1961 – 399 Park Avenue, New York City 1962 – 28 East 28th Street, New York City 1962 – United States Courthouse and Emanuel Celler Federal Office Building, 225 Cadman Plz E, Brooklyn"Brooklyn Court To Break Ground," New York Times, March 27, 1960, 63.

Carson, Lundin & Shaw, 1960–1972 1963 – Brooklyn Savings Bank Building, 205 Montague St, Brooklyn"Brooklyn Savings Bank to Get New Main Office," New York Times, August 24, 1961, 46. 1963 – One Constitution Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut"Insuring the Growth of Hartford" in Architectural Record (March, 1964): 177-187. 1966 – 4 New York Plaza, 25 Water St, New York City 1966 – Chaney Dining Hall and Heritage Residence Hall, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York"Terraced Buildings at Canton" in Architectural Record (June, 1965): 158."An Analysis of Excellence" in Architectural Record (January, 1971): 106-109. 1966 – Union Bank Building, 300 Ottawa Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MichiganVictoria Newhouse, Wallace K. Harrison, Architect (New York: Rizzoli, 1989): 255. 1967 – French and Nevaldine Halls, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York 1967 – Mohawk and Payson Residence Halls, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York 1968 – Cook and Payson Halls, Miller Campus Center and Southworth Library, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York 1968 – Smith Residence Hall, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York 1968 – Swan Street Building, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New YorkVictoria Newhouse, Wallace K. Harrison, Architect (New York: Rizzoli, 1989): 255. 1969 – 25 Park Place, 25 Park Pl NE, AtlantaIsabelle Gournay, AIA Guide to the Architecture of Atlanta (Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 1993): 42. 1969 – Dana Hall, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York 1971 – Cooper Service Complex, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York 1972 – Faculty Office Building and Wicks Hall, State University of New York at Canton, Canton, New York

Carson, Lundin & Thorson, 1972–1976 1972 – Belson Hall, St. John's University, QueensRobert A. M. Stern, David Fishman and Jacob Tilove, New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Bicentennial and the Millennium (New York: Monacelli Press, 2006): 1330. 1976 – Chase Tower, 400 Texas St, Shreveport, LouisianaEngineering News-Record 187 (December 16, 1971): 136.

Carson Lundin & Thorson PC, 1976–1996 1990 – Dawnwood Apartments, 500 Fairview Ave, Hudson, New York"Rural Housing," New York Times, March 1, 1987, R1. 1994 – Finley Hall, St. John's University, Queens

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