Archive & Notable Collection

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.

Architect Harwell Hamilton Harris (1903-1990) was an early proponent of regional modernism in California and Texas. He taught architectural design at North Carolina State University and the University of Texas School of Architecture where he was the dean from 1952 to 1955. Personal papers, correspondence, office and job files, articles, photographs, and drawings document the architectural career of Harwell Hamilton Harris.

James Riely Gordon (1863-1937), an architect who practiced in both San Antonio and New York City, was best-known for his Richardsonian Romanesque designs of public buildings, especially courthouses. He was active in professional organizations such as the American Institute of Architects and its chapters in and around New York City, constantly seeking to improve professional standards. The collection contains personal and professional material that documents both the Texas and New York phases of Gordon's career (1890-1937).

The Dallas firm of Lang and Witchell was a leader in that city's construction during the first half of the twentieth century and had a lasting effect on its architectural style. The collection consists of photoprints, drawings, project lists, and manuscript material that document the work of this prolific firm.

Marshall and Fox was a Chicago architectural firm (1905-1926), best known for luxury apartment buildings and hotels. After Charles Eli Fox's death in 1926, Benjamin Marshall continued to practice alone until the 1930s. The collection is comprised of drawings, contract ledgers, account books, photographs, specifications, correspondence, plat books and a scrapbook documenting the work of the Chicago architectural firms of Benjamin Marshall, Marshall and Fox, successor firms Walton and Kegley, and Walton and Walton.

Nicholas Clayton (1839-1916) was one of the first professional architects to establish a practice in Texas and is most famous for his work in Galveston between 1873 and 1900. Drawings, sketches, and specifications a selction of projects designed by Clayton.

Philadelphia architect Paul Philippe Cret was retained by the University of Texas at Austin as a consulting architect for the development of a master plan for the campus (1930-1945). Cret was born in Lyon, France in 1876, attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1897-1903), and specialized in the design of public buildings. The collection contain drawings, floor plans, elevations, sections, details, landscape plans, diagrams and presentation renderings of Cret's work at the University of Texas at Austin (1930-1945).