Architecture

Harvey Partridge Smith (1889-1964) was a San Antonio architect and early preservationist. The collection consists of measured drawings and field notes documenting Smith's work on Spanish missions in San Antonio.

Image: Smith, Harvey P.. (circa 1930s). Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña: details and elevations. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://collections.lib.utexas.edu/catalog/utlarch:4b8d98d2-a729-416c-b…

Created in 1977 by the Executive Committee of the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA), The History of Planning in Texas Project focus was to create a record of the experiences of planners from around Texas. The collection contains transcriptions, monographs, reports, slides, and documentation relating to the history of planning in nine metropolitan areas: Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio.

Arch B. Swank Jr. (1913-1999) is one of the great innovative figures of Texas architecture, working on such projects as the semiconductor complex in Richardson (1958) for Texas Instruments and the Great Southwest Corporation's industrial park in Arlington (1958). Architectural drawings and reproductions, building specifications, financial documentation, correspondence, legal documentation, reports, photographic material, maps, minutes, creative works, printed material, and material samples document his work.

Ayres and Ayres records represents extensive documentation of a prominent San Antonio firm spanning a period of 83 years of practice (1894-1977). Atlee Bernard Ayres (1872-1969) and his son Robert Moss Ayres (1898-1977) formed a partnership in 1925. Papers, photographs, and drawings document the long practice of the San Antonio architects. The firm library was donated to the Architecture and Planning Library Special Collections.

Charles Stevens Dilbeck (1907-1990) designed hundreds of houses during his long career, contributing significantly to the residential environment in Dallas and the surrounding area. In addition to his single-family homes, he built a number of apartment buildings, hotels, shopping centers, and country clubs. The collection consists of architectural drawings and specifications.

Charles Willard Moore (1925-1993) was an architect, educator, author, and traveler. His academic posts include serving as Dean, Chairman, and faculty member at six different universities, including the University of California at Berkeley, Yale University, and The University of Texas at Austin. Moore completed 180 commissions, and served as principal architect in firms in California, Connecticut, and Texas.

David Williams (1890-1962) is best-known as the leading proponent of the regionalist movement among Texas architects (1920-1939), incorporating elements of vernacular architecture and native materials in the houses he designed. Photographic images, which Williams took on his travels through central Texas in the 1920s, show examples of vernacular architecture. Williams donated the negatives to the UT's School of Architecture in 1961 and they were subsequently transferred to the Alexander Architectural Archives. Manuscript material consists of photocopies of a portion of the David R.

Frank D. Welch was a noteworthy North Texas architect who practiced in Midland and Dallas. In addition to his architectural practice, Welch served as an adjunct professor at several institutions, including Rice University, University of Houston, University of Texas at Arlington, and University of North Texas. Welch has been the recipient of multiple awards and his work, as well as his original writings, have been published extensively.

Frederick Ernst Ruffini (1851-1885) was trained in architecture in Cleveland before moving to Austin in 1877 to become a partner to Jasper N. Preston and then continuing architectural practice on his own. His work included courthouses, jails, and buildings for institutions such as the Texas School for the Deaf and the University of Texas, for whom he designed the Old Main Building. The Frederick E. Ruffini collection consists of drawings, specifications, and photographic prints that document his professional career.

Beginning in the late 1950s, architect George F. Andrews and his wife Geraldine spent over forty years visiting and studying the Yucatán and its Mayan culture and architecture. The collection includes papers, architectural drawings, and photographs documenting the region.