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Roy Graham Photographs and Publications

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0501

Scope and Content

Architecture slides used by Roy E. Graham in his Historic Preservation courses at the University of Florida as well as for other various projects he worked on in his career. Note that many of the countries and states listed in the inventory are further broken down into specific cities and/or building sites. Also includes some of his writings, publications, and research material.

Dates

  • Creation: 1966 - 2011

Creator

Access

The collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical Note

Roy E. Graham was born on August 20, 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana and grew up in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 1961 with a degree in Architectural Engineering. In 1966 he attended the University of Virginia where he received a Master's Degree in Architectural History in 1968. He later pursued a doctorate in art history at the University of Texas in Austin.

Graham was a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve until 1968 when he began a teaching career at the University of Texas, teaching architectural history and design and developed the first historic preservation courses as part of an advanced design studio. He went on leave for a decade in 1979 to become the Resident Architect of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

In 1979, Graham led a team of American preservation experts to the Soviet Union as part of the Nixon-Brezhnev cultural exchange created in 1973 and he was president of the ICOMOS General Assembly in Rome. In 1975, Graham became the first full time director of the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Virginia. He returned to Austin in 1982 to begin the restoration of the Texas Capitol and to pursue architectural projects in his own firm.

Five years later, he joined the faculty of the Catholic University of America in Washington, where he established an architectural conservation program and began working with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), as well as the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Property of the Church. Projects of note included a conservation plan for the World Heritage Town of Lunenburg, Canada, and an inventory of cultural properties belonging to the Catholic Church in the US. Through ICCROM, he was a consultant on a conservation project at the Taj Mahal and the earthquake damaged St. Francis of Assisi Basilica in Italy. As a spokesman for ICCROM, he participated in meetings and gave talks around the world Including the UK, Spain, Finland, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania and Latvia. In the latter, he was the US and ICCROM voice in developing the Riga Charter on reconstructing historic sites. He became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and US/ ICOMOS. In 1991, Graham was awarded a Senior Fulbright Professorship at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, which led to further Fulbright funding in order for him to establish the Consortium for Urban Conservation between Slovenia, ICCROM and CUA. After assisting in its formation, he became a member of the board of the National Center for Preservation Technology, serving as chair and remained active on the board until his death.

In 2003, Graham became director of the historic preservation program at the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning. As the Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Professor, he helped create the Master of Historic Preservation in 2008 and developed the Ph.D. historic preservation concentration. His students produced neighborhood conservation plans for a number of historic Florida neighborhoods, as Graham became active on the board of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. That organization awarded him The Carl Weinhardt Lifetime Achievement award in 2011 and named a preservation education award for him in 2014.

He was also instrumental in the University of Florida taking management of state-owned properties in St. Augustine and helping establish Historic St. Augustine, Inc. and Preservation Institute St. Augustine.

He passed away on May 29, 2018.

Sources:

Dignity Memorial. 2018. Obituary - Roy Graham. [online] Available at: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/dallas-tx/roy-graham-7869445 [Accessed 23 November 2020].

UF College of Design, Construction and Planning. 2018. Saying Goodbye To A Colleague And Friend. [online] Available at: https://dcp.ufl.edu/blog/spotlights/saying-goodbye-to-a-colleague-and-friend/ [Accessed 23 November 2020].

Extent

4.19 Linear Feet (15 Boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Architecture slides used by Roy E. Graham in his Historic Preservation courses at the University of Florida as well as for other various projects he worked on in his career. Also includes some of his writings, publications, and research material.

Location

Please note that this collection is housed in the Auxiliary Library Facility off campus and will require advance notice for timely retrieval. Please contact the Special and Area Studies Collections department prior to your visit.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Garrett Graham (grandson).

Title
A Guide to the Roy Graham Photographs and Publications
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid created by Matt Kruse
Date
November 2020 (Updated March 2024)
Description rules
Finding Aid Prepared Using Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository

Contact:
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755