Gainesville Modern Archive

Gainesville Modern is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting the location and history of architecturally significant modernist properties in Gainesville and Alachua County, Florida. Gainesville Modern is a natural outgrowth of Historic Gainesville, Inc. (HGI), founded in 1972 for the purpose of advancing historic preservation efforts in Gainesville. The organization was instrumental in the purchase and preservation of the Thomas Hotel and its repurposing into the Thomas Center. HGI also spearheaded the designation of five historic districts in the city, and worked with homeowners to get architecturally significant properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More than forty years later, through Gainesville Modern, HGI's scope has expanded to include architecturally significant properties of the Mid-Century Modern style, many of which now meet the National Register of Historic Places fifty year age threshold. In addition, the organization sees Gainesville's growing inventory of contemporary residential and commercial architecture, including many LEED-certified "green" buildings, as deserving of wider recognition.

Gainesville Modern occasionally collects architectural drawings, photographs and other historical materials relating to these properties. The Gainesville Modern Archive was established in 2016 as part of the Architecture Archives at the UF George A. Smathers Libraries in order to preserve these significant drawings and materials for education and research.