Finding Aid for Lachlan F. Blair Papers, 1919, 1933-2000 | University of Illinois Archives

Title: Lachlan F. Blair Papers, 1919, 1933-2000

ID: 12/8/25

Primary Creator: Blair, Lachlan F. (1919-)

Extent: 14.0 cubic feet

Arrangement: Numerical/Chronological

Subjects: American Institute of Planners, Case Western Reserve University, City Planning, Faculty Papers, Illinois Arts Council, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Urban and Regional Planning Department, Urban Planning

Formats/Genres: Papers

Languages: English

Papers of Lachlan F. Blair (1919- ), professor of urban planning (1966-1988), and principal in Blair Associates (1957-1964) and the URBANA Group (1986-1999), including letters, reports, publications, and photographs, concerning Blair's urban and regional planning, related to historic preservation, land use, zoning, comprehensive plans, and community renewal programs. Subjects include American Institute of Planners, Associates, Cape Cod, MA, the Chicago Department of Development and Planning, Chicago, IL, Cranston (R.I.) City Plan Commission, Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Kentucky State Economic Development Department, Massachusetts Department of Commerce, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Register, Providence, RI, Rhode Island City Plan Commission, Rhode Island Development Council, the United States Army Engineers, the URBANA Group, Urbana, IL, Western Reserve University, and Willemstad, Curacao.

Lachlan F. Blair (1919-2001) was professor of urban planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from 1966 to 1988. He specialized in historic preservation and contributed to the urban planning field through practice, teaching, and advocacy.

Blair spent many years teaching preservation and urban planning at UIUC. He earned national recognition for his work on College Hill, a demonstration study of historic area renewal (College Hill, Rhode Island, City Plan Commission, 1967), which was one of the earliest plans for urban renewal in the US to prioritize historic preservation concerns. Locally in Urbana and Champaign, Blair also served as principal in Blair Associates (1957-64) and the URBANA Group (1986-99). He was an active promoter of preservation, and he helped found the Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA) in 1981, serving as its first vice president and second president. He also worked for the passage of preservation ordinances in Champaign and Urbana, and he served on Urbana's first Historic Preservation Commission.

Blair died on August 5, 2001.

Sources:

Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA) newsletter, vol. 1, no. 4, July/August 2001, accessed April 16, 2020, http://pacacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Vol21No4.pdf.

College Hill, a demonstration study of historic area renewal (College Hill, Rhode Island, City Plan Commission, 1967), accessed via UIUC library on April 16, 2020, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015035381303&view=1up&seq=4.

American Institute of Planners
Case Western Reserve University
City Planning
Faculty Papers
Illinois Arts Council
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Urban and Regional Planning Department
Urban Planning

Repository: University of Illinois Archives

Accruals: 2/2000; 12/2004

Other Note: 12 Pages

URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/1208025.pdf

PDF finding aid for Lachlan F. Blair Papers (12/8/25)