Walter Eugene George, Jr. collection
Scope and Content of the collection
The Walter Eugene George, Jr. collection encompasses a diverse range of material types, including reference materials, notes, reports, publications, photographic materials, and drawings, which document the career and interests of Walter Eugene George Jr. from 1951 to 2007. The bulk of the materials date from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, and dates refer to the period of the material's publication or origination. The collection is organized into six series: Professional Papers (1853-2004, undated; 9.2 linear feet), Faculty Papers (1959-2007; 6 folders), Project Records (1958-1982; 0.8 linear feet), Oral Histories (2005-2010; 4 interviews), Photographic Materials (1958-2007, undated; approx. 21,000 items), and Drawings (1951-1979; approx. 500 drawings). In addition to materials for both historic restorations and new construction projects conducted by George, the collection contains research notes, reference materials and photographs indicative of his academic career and scholarly interest in the architecture of the Texas-Mexico border region, including sites in Starr and Zapata Counties. Materials pertaining to the Historic American Buildings Survey in Texas (1961) and Nantucket, Massachusetts (1967) are found throughout the collection. The bullk of the material covers sites in Texas, but Virginia is also well represented, reflecting George's work at Colonial Williamsburg and the Yorktown Battlefield at Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Virginia. Travel photos represent many historic buildings outside the United States.
Series A: Professional Papers
Series A: Professional Papers consists of clippings, notes, manuscripts, reports, drafts, correspondence, ephemera, publications, and photographic materials that pertain to George's work as a practicing architect and preservationist. The Professional Papers series is divided into three subseries: Biographical information (1972-2005; 1 folder), Texas Society of Architects Committee on Historic Resources (1970-1985; 5 folders), and Reference Files (1853-2007, undated; 7.9 linear feet). The bulk of the material is in the Reference Files series, which includes clippings from architectural journals, brochures, pamphlets, and other ephemera collected by Eugene George about a range of topics in historic preservation and architecture. Most of the materials in the Reference Files subseries pertain to Texas (1853-2004, undated; 3.8 linear feet), but five other subseries are also represented: Preservation (1914-1999, undated; 1.3 linear feet), Conservation (1957-1999, undated; 0.6 linear feet), Landscape (1940-1999, undated; 0.6 linear feet), Architects (1943-1993, undated; 0.6 linear feet), and Construction and Engineering (1937-2004, undated; 0.8 linear feet). George's original order has been maintained.
Series B: Faculty Papers
Series B: Faculty Papers includes a small amount of material related to George's career as an architecture professor. Materials largely date from George's career as a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Kansas. The series includes correspondence, writings, course materials, and student papers.
Series C: Project Records
Series C: Project Records includes notes, reports, photographic materials, correspondence, reference materials, and specifications for both historic restorations and new construction projects conducted by George. This series is organized into two subseries: Historic American Buildings Survey (1961-1975, undated; 0.7 linear feet) and Professional Projects (1977-1982; 3 folders). The bulk of the material is in the HABS series, which documents George's involvement in the 1961 survey of Texas and the 1967 survey of Nantucket. The Professional Projects series contains specifications for George's South Austin Fire Station, the restoration of the Magoffin House in El Paso, and a research and restoration study for Socorro Mission in El Paso.
Series D: Oral Histories
Series D: Oral Histories consists of four interviews with George, three of which were conducted with staff of the Alexander Architectural Archives with respect to accessioning his collection. The fourth is an edited video interview by Robin Silberling on the building of Naranjal in Austin.
Series E: Photographic Materials
Series E: Photographic Materials includes over 20,000 items in the form of slides, transparencies, negatives, photographic prints, polaroids, and contact sheets (17.85 linear feet in five subseries), which provide visual evidence of George's teaching, historic preservation work, and travel. George organized the materials in large binders, and this arrangement has largely been preserved. The materials are organized into five subseries on the basis of format and original order: Photo records (1979-2007; 0.4 linear feet), 35mm slides (1958-2004, undated; 12,149 items), Photographic prints, negatives, and transparencies (1936-2004, undated; approximately 6,515 items), Mounted photographs (1978-1996, undated; 151 photographs), and 2.25 inch slides (undated; 1,997 slides). 35mm slides make up the bulk of materials in this series, but color transparencies of various sizes are also numerous (over 4,000 exposures). Subjects include historic architecture in Texas and the United States, building and preservation projects in progress, student work, and copy work in support of teaching and research. Photographs from George's trips abroad also document historic architecture in Europe, Asia and Central America. For more information on the organization of this series, see below.
Series F: Drawings
Series F: Drawings encompasses approximately 500 original architectural drawings and prints for some 30 projects. The series contains measured drawings of historic buildings in Texas restored under the supervision of George, including the Jordan-Bowles Homestead, near Grand Prairie (1975); the Friedrich Schob House in Victoria County (no date); and the Schumann House in Henkel Square, Round Top (nd). There are also copies of measured drawings for historic Texas buildings from the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), including the Janda Farm in Fayette County and the Claiborne Kyle Log House in Hays County.
The series includes examples of George's original designs for new construction, such as the residences for Patrick Gibbons in San Antonio (nd), Kent Kennan in Austin (1955), and William Carter in Austin (1961). Of particular note are the drawings for an office building for Nieman, Hanks & Puryear in Austin, an award winning rehabilitation project from 1978.
The series also includes material for historic buildings outside of the boundaries of Texas, including prints of measured drawings for various buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, executed while George was the resident architect from 1971 to 1973, and prints of measured drawings for Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Pennsylvania from 1974 to 1975. There are also copies of measured drawings from the Historic American Buildings Survey, including the Robie House in Chicago and the Second Congregational Meeting House in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
George has also generously donated portions of his personal library to the Architecture and Planning Library. This collection is not fully processed. For more information, please consult Archives' staff.
Dates
- Creation: 1951-2007
Creator
- George, W. Eugene, 1922-2013 (contributor, Person)
Policies Governing Use and Access
This collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using archival materials. As all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site, advance notice of at least three working days is required for retrieval. Certain items may require additional time for flattening or humidifying before they can be viewed. Access is by appointment only. Please contact the archives' reference staff for further information.
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasions of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person).
The Alexander Architectural Archives operate in accordance with applicable federal or state laws and regulations, providing unrestricted access to university records not covered by state and federal right to privacy acts.
The Alexander Architectural Archives, The University of Texas Libraries, and The University of Texas at Austin, assume no responsibility for infringement of literary property rights and copyright or for liability to any person for defamation or invasion of privacy that results from a researcher's use of collections.
Researchers agree to indemnify and hold harmless The University of Texas at Austin, and their officers, employees, and agents from and against all suits, claims, actions, and expenses arising out of use of collections held by the libraries. Please alert staff if anything inappropriate is found during research.
Copyright interests in this collection may not have been transferred to the University of Texas. Researchers assume full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply. Additionally, the public use of material must be cited. See citation information below.
Biographical Sketch of Eugene George
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1922, Eugene George received his Bachelors of Architecture degree from the University of Texas in 1949. During his student period, his academic qualities were acknowledged by membership in Tau Sigma Delta (Mu Chapter, University of Texas, May 1, 1947), Honorary Society for Architecture and the Allied Arts. On graduation, he received the Mont San Michel and Chartres Award from the American Institute of Architects for architectural scholarship. His studies were interrupted during World War II in which he served as a pilot in the Eighth Air Force (England). Captured by the Germans, he spent almost a year in a POW prison camp (Stalag Luft I) in Germany. While in prison, he established and taught an introductory architectural course (see Goldwin Goldsmith: "Prisoner-of-War School Teachers." Am. Inst. Arch. J. 4: 183-184 O'45). He was awarded the WW II Air Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters), Purple Heart, Normandy Campaign Medal, and three European battle stars. George received a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where he was a student of Walter Gropius.
During a summer period, George worked for the firm of Giesecke, Kuehne, and Brooks (Austin). Following graduation he worked for Wiltshire and Fisher (Dallas) and Richard Colley (Corpus Christi). He was licensed to practice architecture in Texas (by examination 08-03-1950). Subsequently, he received a Certificate from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards as well as architectural licenses from the states of Kansas, Virginia, and New Mexico. With others he established his own firm (Pendley George and Bowman) in September 1952. Except for a brief tenure with the Austin firm of Page, Southerland, and Page (1970-1971) and serving as Resident Architect for Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia (1971-1973), George has always maintained a private architectural practice.
George was one of the leading architects of the historic preservation movement in Texas. He reactivated the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in Texas during 1961 following a dormant period of more than two decades. In addition to preparing measured drawings for San Antonio's Mission of San Antonio de Valero ("The Alamo"), he was active in the documentation of historic buildings in the Rio Grande borderlands. Additionally, he documented historic buildings for HABS on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts during 1967. For the Texas Historical Commission, he documented Socorro Mission during 1979. His restoration projects include vernacular structures at Round Top, Texas (1969-1970), restoration at the Yorktown Battlefield and the Nelson Block, both in Virginia (1976, for the National Park Service), restoration of the Magoffin adobe in El Paso, Texas (1977), The Randle-Turner House, near Itasca, Texas (1977), The Sixth Floor (museum at the John F. Kennedy assassination site, in Dallas, Texas, 1987), and both the Willis-Moody House and the Quigg-Ballard Cottage, Galveston, Texas (1985-1987). He is well known for his research concerned with the preservation of adobe structures and his studies of the vernacular Hispanic building traditions of the southwestern borderlands.
While maintaining a professional practice, George also established a notable career as an educator. He taught in the architectural program at the University of Texas at Austin from 1957 to 1962, receiving from the Students' Association their Teaching Excellence Award during a convocation held April 2nd, 1960. At Lawrence, Kansas, from 1962 to 1967, he was chairman of the departments of Architecture and Architectural Engineering. In 1967, he was appointed Dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Houston, resigning in 1969. He resumed teaching at the University of Texas at Austin during 1975, including positions both in the Historic Restoration program in the School of Architecture and in the Architectural Engineering program in the Department of Civil Engineering until 1997. In 1997 he inaugurated a new graduate program at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he was the first recipient of the Mary Ann Blocker Castleberry Endowed Professorship on Historic Preservation established by the San Antonio Conservation Society, an appointment from which he resigned in June 2003 in order to resume active professional practice in collaboration with William Clayton Barbee.
George received numerous awards for his work in historic preservation including a 1978 award from the Austin Heritage Society for the conversion of a historic service station into a corporate office facility. He was awarded the Maharishi Award for Cultural Integrity, Invincibility and World Harmony for research concerning Hispanic cultures in 1979. From the Texas Society of Architects, he received an Honor Award for the restoration of the Randle-Turner House in 1982, as well as the Edward J. Romieniec FAIA Award from the Texas Society of Architects in November of 2001 for outstanding contributions in education. Furthermore, George established the Gene George Endowed Architecture Scholarship in Historic Preservation at the University of Texas at San Antonio in early 2002, and was later elected to the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects in Chicago in June of 2004.
During the 1960s, George served as editor for the Texas Architect magazine. He has lectured in the United States, Mexico, and England on such topics as preservation technology, the architectural history of Texas, architectural education, and the history of construction technology. He has participated in numerous conferences. George has authored articles in such journals as Preservation, Fine Homebuilding, the Journal of the Association for Preservation Technology as well as in numerous conference proceedings. His book, Historic Architecture of Texas: The Falcon Reservoir, includes the architecture of ranch structures and towns submerged beneath the reservoir.
George served on many committees including national AIA Committee on Historic Buildings, the Texas Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Kansas Historical Committee, and the Texas State Board of Review for the National Register of Historic Places. He has additionally served during two sessions as the State Preservation Coordinator for the Governor's office. Walter Eugene George, Jr. has been listed in Who's Who in America since 1967. He married to Mary Carolyn Hollers, an art and architectural historian.
Eugene George passed away in January 2013.
- Eugene George, May 1998
Partial Extent
9.2 Linear Feet
Partial Extent
20000 photographs
Partial Extent
500 drawings
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Walter Eugene George Jr. was one of the leading architects of the historic preservation movement in Texas. He reactivated the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in Texas during 1961 following a dormant period of more than two decades. While maintaining a professional practice, George also established a notable career as an educator. Papers, photographic materials, and drawings are representative of his work. Collection materials date from 1951 to 2007 and document historic restorations, new construction projects, teaching, research, and travel.
Organization of the collection
Materials in Series A-C are maintained in George's original order.
The Texas materials in the collection (approximately 7 linear feet of the reference files and 10,000 photographic materials created prior to 1979) are arranged geographically according to George's original order. The United States Geological Survey designations for the 15-minute map series of Texas provided an organizing principle for George in ordering his reference and photographic materials. USGS designations are noted after place names in parentheses, reflecting George's original file labels: e.g. Austin (NH 14-6). Counties included in the coverage of each USGS area have been noted wherever possible. An index to the map designations is avalailable in the Reference Materials subseries of Series A: Professional Papers. The remainder of the collection is also in George's original order, and is arranged topically and geographically.
The photographic materials are arranged according to two different filing systems. From around 1958 to 1980, George stored photographs as 35mm slides arranged geographically. Texas materials in this arrangement are keyed to the USGS 15-minute map designations described above. In 1979, George began keeping detailed handwritten records of his photographs in log books and filing his photographic materials chronologically by a system of unique numeric identifiers. George assigned each exposure a frame number, starting with 1A, and recorded the date, subject and location, film, aperture, filter, lens, and notes on the exposure. An index to the photo records has been created by the Archives' staff and is available as an Excel spreadsheet, which may aid in identifying subjects and sites in Subseries E2: 35mm slides, Subseries E3: Photographic prints, negatives, and transparencies, and Subseries E5: 2.25 inch slides. Some of the photographs in Subseries E4: Mounted photographs are also labeled with identifying frame numbers. Entries in the logs do not guarantee that corresponding photographic materials were received by the Archive.
The drawings are arranged alphabetically by client and then by name of project.
Other Finding Aids
Several spreadsheets are available as access tools for working with the photographic media [Series E] within the Walter Eugene George, Jr. Collection. The spreadsheets and metadata were created by the Alexander Architectural Archives in 2010 to assist staff and patrons who wish to locate photographs of buildings and other sites. Please contact Archives' staff if you have additional questions. See Series E: Photographic Materials for links.
Unpublished inventory in the Archive.
A digital exhibit, Eugene George: Architect, Scholar, Educator, Photographer, provides an overview of Eugene George's career.
References to works by or about Walter Eugene George Jr. (1922-)
-compiled by Nancy Sparrow
- Burns, Katie. "UT Lecturer Studies Fading Texan Cultures." Images: The Daily Texan Features Magazine (October 10, 1983).
- Freudenheim, Susan. "Eugene George: Preservationist." Texas Homes 7 (August 1983): p. 23-7
- George, Walter Eugene. "Adobe Bibliography." Bulletin of the APT V (1973): p. 97-103.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Architecture for People: The Utilization of History." Kansas Quarterly 6 (Spring 1974): p. 15-7.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Educating Architects, A Look Ahead." The University of Kansas Alumni Magazine 61 (March 1963): p. 10.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Espada Doorway: A Lesson in Harmony." Perspective IX (May 1980): p. 13-4.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Goldwin Goldsmith." The University of Kansas Alumni Magazine 61 (March 1963): p. 12-3.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Green Grows the Grass." Texas Architect 11 (April 1960).
- George, Walter Eugene. "The Hispanic Touch." Discovery 8 (Summer 1984): p. 8-10.
- George, Walter Eugene. Historic Architecture of Texas: The Falcon Reservoir. Austin: Texas Historical Foundation, 1975.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Indianola." Texas Architect 10 (January 1960).
- George, Walter Eugene. "Kimball Bend Country. Part 1: The City of Kent." Texas Architect 11 (June 1960).
- George, Walter Eugene. "Kimball Bend Country. Part 2: The Village of Kimball." Texas Architect 11 (July 1960).
- George, Walter Eugene. "Medina River Ranch." Fine Homebuilding (Spring 1987): p. 66-71.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Methods of Making Heat Behave." Texas Architect 10 (February 1960).
- George, Walter Eugene, and Mary Carolyn George. "O'Neil Ford's Boveda House." Fine Homebuilding (October-November 1984): p. 26-31.
- George, Walter Eugene. 1982. Review of Gone From Texas: Our Lost Architectural Heritage, by Willard B. Robinson. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 1982: p. 458-60.
- George, Walter Eugene. 1983. Review of Texas Was His Land: Willis Day Twitchell, Pioneer Surveyor, by Fred M. Truett. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 1983: p. 238-9.
- George, Walter Eugene. 1983. Review of Three Dollars Per Mile: Accounts of Early Surveying in Texas, edited by Marilyn Webb. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 1983: p. 239.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Some Observations Concerning Religious Architecture." Image (1965) (A student publication of the School of Architecture of the University of Texas at Austin.)
- George, Walter Eugene. "Some Second Thoughts." Kansas Engineer (May 1963).
- George, Walter Eugene. "Texas Architecture: Some Early Beginnings." In Texana I, The Frontier Proceedings, edited by LeRoy Johnson. Austin: Texas Historical Commission, 1983.
- George, Walter Eugene. "Tradition and Progress: A Creative Partnership." Historic Preservation (October-December 1974): p. 15-7.
- Timmons, Sharon, ed. Preservation and Conservation: Principles and Practice. Washington D. C.: Preservation Press, 1976.
Processing Information
Processing is not completed. Collection contains unprocessed oversized flat material. Please see Archives' staff for more information.
Collection Processors
Drawings processed by: Lila Knight, Beth Dodd
Papers and photographs processed by: Kelli Hansen
Subject
- George, W. Eugene, 1922-2013 (contributor, Person)
- Mary Carolyn Hollers George (contributor, Person)
- Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated (contributor, Organization)
- Colonial National Historic Park (contributor, Organization)
- Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (contributor, Organization)
- Texas Historical Commission (contributor, Organization)
- Title
- Walter Eugene George, Jr. collection
- Author
- Inventory prepared by Lila Knight and Beth Dodd
- Date
- September 4, 2002
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- This collection was processed in part through generous funding from Eugene and Mary Carolyn Hollers George.
Repository Details
Part of the Alexander Architectural Archives Repository
University of Texas Libraries
101 E. 21st Street
Austin Texas 78712 United States
(512) 495-4621
apl-aaa@lib.utexas.edu