Wrapping up the Blake Alexander Project

Blake Alexander (fourth from left) and other faculty members from the School of Architecture, along with students, at a small restaurant in Round Top (or nearby), Texas. ca. the early 1980’s

I’m in the last few days of my project processing the Blake Alexander Collection, and while I’m happy that it’s nearly in a stage to open it up for researchers, I’m sad to leave.  I graduated a few weeks ago and am now moving on from my Graduate Research Assistant position.

The collection will be ready for researchers soon, and I hope that you are as excited as I am about its usefulness.  There are so many materials in the collection which could be used for so many different types of research.  However, the ones that I find the most useful are:

  • Curriculum Development at the University
  • Historic Preservation in Texas
  • The Architectural History Profession in the US
  • University campus and buildings history
  • Images of Texas architecture

I had the opportunity to present my work at the Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting in Austin last week, and I’ve included the poster which I presented below.

Processing of a Foundation Collection: Blake Alexander’s Materials at the Alexander Architectural Archive
Jarred Wilson and Donna Coates at the Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting in Austin

I chose the image above for this blog post because I feel like it does a good job of capturing the spirit of the School of Architecture at the time.  Blake Alexander gave so much of his time, energy, and efforts to promoting the historic preservation and architectural history programs in the School of Architecture and beyond, and I think that this photo speaks to the camaraderie which he fostered.  However, we don’t have all of the people in the photograph identified.  Do you know who some of them are?  If so, please comment on this post and let us know.  And, check back soon for a completed finding aid for this collection.

Wagner’s Ice House, across the road from the Winedale Historical Center. Summer 1986.(Click on the image to enlarge it)
  1. Jim Kistler
  2. Kathy Edwards
  3. Bob Harding
  4. Ann Yaklovich
  5. Ralph Newlan
  6. Maggie Gibbons
  7. John Mayfield
  8. David Franks
  9. Rick Lewis
  10. Anthony DeGrazia
  11. David Thompson

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