Ford, Powell & Carson collection

Ford, Powell & Carson is an architectural firm based in San Antonio, Texas. The firm’s predecessor, O’Neil Ford & Associates, was originally founded in 1953 by acclaimed Texas architect O’Neil Ford and took its current name after the elevation of Boone Powell and Chris Carson to partners in 1967. Over the last several decades, the firm's services have evolved to include landscaping, planning, interior design, and historic preservation.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s O’Neil Ford & Associates was known primarily for their work in San Antonio, including the La Villita Assembly Hall (1958) and the Tower of the Americas (1968) (completed after the firm officially became Ford, Powell & Carson), as well as their work in Dallas for then-nascent electronics company Texas Instruments. During this time the firm’s work reflected Ford’s desire to incorporate regional vernacular elements and materials into the architectural language of modernism, with special attention paid to how their projects fit into their immediate environments.

After Powell and Carson were made partners, the firm began to work on larger scale planning and preservation projects. This is perhaps best exemplified by their long-term planning work on the Alamo Complex in San Antonio, including the historic building’s restoration and the construction of the Paseo del Alamo walkway connecting the complex to the San Antonio River. This shift into preservation and planning work culminated in the elevation of preservation architect Carolyn Peterson, who had first joined O’Neil Ford & Associates in 1964, to one of Ford, Powell & Carson's principals in 1979.

Though Ford would die in 1982, the firm’s work continued into the 1980s and 1990s under the leadership of Powell, Carson, Peterson, John Gutzler (named a principal in 1991), and John Mize (named a principal in 1997). In 1989, they began work on a project for the restoration and master planning of the Texas State Capitol complex.

The firm’s long history of contributions to the city of San Antonio and the state of Texas were recognized in 1999, when Ford, Powell & Carson were named the Texas Society of Architects’ Firm of the Year. The individual contributions of Powell, Peterson, and Carson were also recognized in the following two decades, with each being awarded the Llewellyn Pitts Lifetime Achievement Medal in 2004, 2009, and 2019 (respectively).

Following Boone Powell’s retirement in 2015, Rachel Wright and Adam Reed were named principals. Chris Carson would also retire in 2019, with Wright and Peterson becoming the firm’s primary leadership.

Sources:

O'Neil Ford collection, the Alexander Architectural Archives, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin

Ford, Powell & Carson. “Our Story.” Accessed February 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214222220/https://www.fpcarch.com/about/our-story/

O’Neil Ford (1905-1982) was an architect based in Texas. He began his career in 1926 as an apprentice with no formal architectural training at the Dallas office of David R. Williams, and worked there until its closure in 1936. After leaving Williams’ office, Ford began his own long-term partnership in Dallas with Arch Swank, with whom he would collaborate on several projects from the 1930s through the 1950s. In 1939, Ford was contracted to work as a consultant on the restoration of the La Villita neighborhood of San Antonio; the following year, he permanently relocated to the city, where he would remain for the rest of his life. In the next two decades, Ford would begin several different partnerships; in addition to his work with Swank, Ford began a partnership with Jerry Rogers that between 1946-1953. It was during this period with Rogers that Ford began his long professional relationship with Trinity University: he would play an important role in the design, planning, and construction of the Trinity campus from 1949 through the early 1980s.

In 1953, Ford established the firm of O’Neil Ford & Associates, which became Ford, Powell & Carson in 1967 after the elevation of Boone Powell and Chris Carson to partners. Under his leadership, Ford, Powell & Carson became one of San Antonio’s leading architectural firms as the practice expanded into the fields of urban planning and historic preservation. Ford remained an active part of the firm until his death in 1982.

In addition to his large body of built architectural work, Ford’s career was notable for his extensive work as a travelling lecturer, as well as his professional service as an advocate for architecture and the arts. Ford’s active schedule as a speaker and advocate earned him a reputation for gregariousness and natural showmanship, and in the latter part of his career he became well-known as an elder statesman of the Texas architectural community. He was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1960, and served as a member of the National Council on the Arts during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1974, he became the only person ever declared a National Historic Landmark. In 1978, O’Neil Ford was awarded the Llewellyn Pitts Lifetime Achievement Medal by the Texas Society of Architects. In recognition of the outstanding quality and longevity of Ford’s career, in 2015 the Texas Society of Architects named their O’Neil Ford Medal for Design Achievement in his honor.

Sources:

O'Neil Ford collection, the Alexander Architectural Archives, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin

George, Mary Carolyn Hollers. O'Neil Ford, Architect. Texas A&M University Press, 1992.

Boone Powell (1933-) is an architect and urban planner based in San Antonio, Texas. After graduating with a degree in architecture from The University of Texas at Austin in 1956, he served in the United States Army for two years before finishing his education with graduate studies in city and regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After graduating from MIT in 1960, he returned to Texas to work for the architectural firm of O’Neil Ford & Associates. In 1967, Powell was elevated to partner, and the firm was renamed Ford, Powell & Carson. He would spend the rest of his career with the firm, and served as its vice president from 1972-1984, chairman of the board from 1984-1997, and president from 1997 until his retirement in 2015.

Powell’s career is notable for his extensive work in Texas, primarily in San Antonio. His design for the Tower of the Americas, part of the 1968 San Antonio HemisFair, was awarded 25-Year awards by the Texas Society of Architects and the San Antonio chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Additionally, his work on the redevelopment of the San Antonio River (including the 1982 Paseo del Alamo) has had an extensive impact on San Antonio’s architectural fabric. While at Ford, Powell & Carson, he also oversaw many of the firm’s urban planning projects, including the master plan for the University of Texas San Antonio and the master plan for Skidmore College in New York from 1963-1990.

In addition to his design and planning work, Powell was involved throughout his career in professional service, including as the vice president of the Texas Society of Architects from 1977-1979, and as its president in 1980. He was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1980, and served on the advisory council for The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture from 1985-2015. In 2004 the Texas Society of Architects awarded him the Llewellyn Pitts Lifetime Achievement Medal, and in 2016 he was also awarded their O’Neil Ford Medal in honor of his outstanding contributions to Texas architecture.

Sources:

“Interview with Boone Powell, 2003,” University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collection, UA 15.01.12, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections

Ford, Powell & Carson. “Our Story.” Accessed February 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214222220/https://www.fpcarch.com/about/our-story/

San Antonio Public Library. “Voices of San Antonio: Boone Powell.” Accessed February 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214222707/https://guides.mysapl.org/c.php?g=815582&p=6826144

Chris Carson is an architect based in San Antonio, Texas. He studied architecture at Texas A&M, and joined the firm of O’Neil Ford & Associates after his graduation in 1956. In 1967, he was elevated to partner, and he would remain at the newly-renamed Ford, Powell & Carson for the rest of his career until his retirement in 2019.

Carson’s career is notable for his residential architecture, and for his contributions to a regionally-inspired style of architecture both in Texas and across the Southwest. His work with O’Neil Ford on the 1967 Marshall Steves Residence in San Antonio, as well as his contributions to the restoration of the Cibolo Creek Ranch in the early 1990s, exemplify his contributions to the regional architecture of the Southwest.

Carson was active throughout his career in the San Antonio chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and served as chapter president from 1980-1981. He also served as the editor of the San Antonio chapter’s 1986 Guide to San Antonio Architecture. He was made a Fellow of the AIA in 1992. He was a recipient of the O’Neil Ford Award in 2016 and Llewellyn Pitts Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Texas Society of Architects in 2019.

Sources:

Cavazos, Monica. “2019 Honor Awards,” Texas Architect. August 2, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20210420045554/https://magazine.texasarchitects.org/2019/08/02/2019-honor-awards/

Ford, Powell & Carson. “Our Story.” Accessed February 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214222220/https://www.fpcarch.com/about/our-story/

Carolyn Peterson is an architect and historic preservation specialist based in San Antonio, Texas. She studied at Victoria College and The University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1964. Later that year she joined O’Neil Ford & Associates, and she was named as a principal of Ford, Powell & Carson in 1979. She has spent her entire career with Ford, Powell & Carson, and has served as chair of the firm’s board of directors since 2020.

During her career at Ford, Powell & Carson, Peterson has been responsible for many of the firm’s high-profile historic preservation and conservation projects. She has played a significant role in preserving San Antonio’s architectural heritage through her long-term work on the city’s historic Spanish missions. This work began with her restoration of the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1965, and has included several projects over five decades at the Alamo (also known as Mission San Antonio de Valero). She has also overseen Ford, Powell & Carson’s restoration of the Texas State Capitol in Austin between 1989-1995, and was tasked with the restoration of the Texas Governor’s Mansion in 2012 after it was damaged by arson in 2008.

Peterson has been a member of the American Institute of Architects since 1978, and was made an AIA Fellow in 1990. In 2009, she became the first woman to ever receive the Llewellyn Pitts Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Texas Society of Architects, and in 2008 she was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.

Sources:

Ford, Powell & Carson. “Our Story.” Accessed February 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214222220/https://www.fpcarch.com/about/our-story/

George, Mary Carolyn Hollers. “Peterson is First Woman to Receive Top TSA Honor.” Texas Architect. November/December 2009.