Title: Blueprint Folio, ca. 1919
ID: 37/2/12
Primary Creator: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Division of Architecture
Extent: 1.0 cubic feet
Arrangement: Chronological
Formats/Genres: Papers
Languages: English
Blueprint folio containing scale drawings of College of Agriculture buildings, Davenport Hall (3), Agronomy Seed and Store House, Beef Cattle Building, Armory, Auditorium (3), Old Boiler and Pump House, Botanical Department Building, Ceramics and Mining Laboratory, Chemistry Building - Noyes Laboratory (5), School of Commerce Building - Administration Building (4), Electrical Engineering Laboratory, Engineering Hall (4), State Entomology Building - Natural History Laboratory, Farm Mechanics Building - Agricultural Engineering (2), Floricultural House, Gymnasium - Kenney or Men's Old Gym (2), Horticulture Building, Metal and Forge Shops, Hydraulic and Mechanics Laboratory, Law Building - Harker Hall, University Library - Altgeld Hall (3), Lincoln Hall (3), Locomotive Testing Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (5), President's House at Wright and Green, Stock Judging Pavilion (2), Transportation Building, University Hall (3), Vegetable Plant Breeding House, Woman's Building - English Building (4), Woodshop and Foundry, 508 Goodwin Avenue (1.5) and 1210 Springfield Avenue (1.5).
The position of Supervising Architect was created on June 4, 1907.1 The Department of Buildings and Grounds was placed under the direction of the Supervising Architect in July 1912.2 On May 22, 1934 the Supervising Architect's Office became the Physical Plant Department.3 In the University statutes adopted by the Board of Trustees on March 10, 1936, the duties of the Department comprised seven functions of which the two major ones were operation and maintenance and architecture.4 By 1948 the Department had two division, Architecture and Buildings and Grounds.5
The Architectural Division was responsible for the supervision of all new construction on the Champaign-Urbana campus, from the time of the development of preliminary drawings and specifications until the time of construction and occupancy. It served as a liaison with the Board of Trustees in hiring architects. The Division worked with operational systems to see that they were compatible with other University functions, worked with the contractor, checked out buildings and, in some instances, acted as its own architect in doing small designing and remodeling.
In 1967 there was a complete reorganization and the Architectural Division disappeared. Alterations to existing buildings became the responsibility of Campus Directors of Physical Plant while planning and construction of new buildings, additions to existing buildings, landscape and site development related to these projects, and land acquisition (excluding the Airport, Allerton Park, experimental farms and areas, and properties maintained by the Athletic Association) became the responsibility of the University Director of Physical Plant, Planning and Construction.6
1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 24th Report, June 4, 1907, pp. 107-08.
2. Board of Trustees Transactions, 27th Report, July 5, 1912, p. 67.
3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 37th Report, May 22, 1934, p. 568.
4. Board of Trustees Transactions, 38th Report, March 10, 1936, p. 595.
5. Faculty Directory 1948-49, p. 38.
6. Board of Trustees Transactions, 54th Report, Oct. 16, 1967, pp. 771-72.
URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/3702012.pdf
PDF finding aid for Blueprint Folio (37/2/12)