This series contains minutes, agenda, and various attachments concerning actions taken by the Texas State Preservation Board dating 1984-2003. The minutes include reports of committees, the director, and other staff on the progress of Board projects and on the status of Capitol collections; actions taken; and discussion of proposals, contracts, policies, etc., concerning various projects of the Board. Projects covered include the restoration of the Capitol and contents, building of the Capitol extension, restoration of the Old General Land Office Building and contents, improvements and changes to the Capitol grounds, placement of new monuments, events at the Capitol or the visitors center, curatorial and historic preservation maintenance, development and implementation of educational programs, operation of the Capitol Visitors Center, and planning and construction of the new Texas State History Museum.

Beginning in 1994, the files consist largely of meeting packets sent to members prior to the board meeting for their review. The packets contain the agenda, descriptions of items to be discussed at the meeting, attachments, and minutes of the previous meeting. Attachments include rules and regulations, bid proposals, agreements, contracts, lists of accessions to or deaccessions from the Capitol Historical Artifact Collection, lists of current contracts, designs and drawings, policies, logs of building change requests, and occasional correspondence. Meeting files are not present for 1986 or 2002.

The files consist of minutes, agenda, and meeting packets sent to members of the Permanent Advisory Committee prior to meetings for their review, dating 1984-1992, 1994-1995. The Committee was an advisory committee to the Texas State Preservation Board. The meeting packets contain the agenda, descriptions of items to be discussed at the meeting, attachments, and minutes of the previous meeting. Handwritten notes are present on some of the meeting packets. Attachments include rules and regulations, lists of current contracts, reports, proposals, agreements, and contracts. Topics discussed at the meetings included restoration of the Capitol and contents, building of the Capitol extension, restoration of the General Land Office building and contents, improvements and changes to the Capitol grounds, curatorial and historic preservation maintenance, and the budget. Most files contain the full meeting packet, including minutes of the past and current meetings. Files for meetings in 1993 are not present.

This series contains the master plan and design briefs and project manuals prepared by the project architects for the Capitol extension and restoration project. Records are dated 1989-1992. All materials were prepared by the firm 3D/International and Ford, Powell & Carson for the Texas State Preservation Board.

The master plan contains a report on the history of the Capitol, its construction, modifications over the years, and conditions, detailing architectural and functional inadequacies. It discusses

needs and proposes a plan for the preservation of the Capitol and an underground expansion, including suggested construction phasings and projected costs. The design briefs give detailed architectural and engineering analysis of all components of the projects, including drawings, specifications, and budget schedules. The project manuals are bidding packages that give extensive, detailed information on various components of the projects to be bid on, such as excavation for the Capitol extension, interior preservation of the Capitol, etc.

The working project files (contracts, proposals, building plans, drawings, surveys, reports, correspondence, photographs, etc.) are still at the State Preservation Board.

This series contains the master plan and design briefs and project manuals prepared for the restoration of the General Land Office building. Records are dated 1989-1990. All materials were prepared by the firm of Chumney and Associates, Architects, for the Texas State Preservation Board.

The plan contains a report on the history of the 1857 General Land Office Building, its construction, modifications over the years, and conditions, detailing architectural and functional inadequacies. It discusses needs and proposes a plan for the restoration of the building, including suggested construction phasings and projected costs. The design briefs give detailed architectural and engineering analysis of all components of the project, including drawings, specifications, and budget schedules. The project manuals are bidding packages that give extensive, detailed information on various components of the projects to be bid on.

The working project files (contracts, proposals, building plans, drawings, surveys, reports, correspondence, photographs, etc.) are still at the State Preservation Board.

Master plan, Historic Grounds of the Texas Capitol was prepared by The Broussard Group/EDAW, A Joint Venture, in March 1995 for the Texas State Preservation Board. The plan contains a report on the evolution and history of the grounds, and their present condition. It proposes a plan for the restoration of the grounds to the period of 1888-1915, while balancing the historic landscape with functional and operational concerns. Included in the plan are suggested construction phasings and projected costs, drawings and plans of the grounds and proposed changes to the grounds, and photographs of the grounds taken throughout the years.

Copies of the plan are also available in the Texas Documents Collection of the Library and Archives Commission. Additional reports covering changes for the south grounds of the capitol are available in the Texas Documents Collection.

Records are contracts, amendments, change orders, correspondence, memos, notes, supply orders, invoices, copies of checks, applications for payment, list of vouchers submitted for particular contracts, time reports of contracted employees, and purchase vouchers from the projects to renovate the Capitol, the Capitol grounds, and the General Land Office Building; and the construction of the Capitol extension. Dates covered are 1988-2000 (bulk 1989-1995). These projects were undertaken by the Texas State Preservation Board. Several boxes contain contracts and most or all the above listed materials associated with each contract. Other boxes contain purchase vouchers, usually with attached applications for payment, invoices, time reports for contracted employees, correspondence, supply orders, copies of checks, or similar items. One box contains invoices the State Preservation Board did not pay. Most of the invoices are accompanied by memoranda or correspondence explaining why the invoice was not paid or questioning the validity of work done covered in the invoice.

These are incoming and outgoing letters and memos with attachments from the office of the Architect of the Capitol of the Texas State Preservation Board. Attachments include clippings, brochures, press releases, proposals, contracts, agreements, drawings, reports, policies, bills, and pamphlets. Records date from January 1985 to December 1987, and October 1988 to May 1991. The files cover the period Roy Graham served as Architect, January 1985-January 1988, and most of the period Allen McCree served as Architect, August 1988-May 1991. Most outgoing letters and memos were signed by the Architect. Other staff sending out mail through the Office of the Architect include the Curator, Historian, staff architects, and administrative assistants. Correspondents include members of the Preservation Board, legislators, state officials and agencies, private consultants, private companies, architects, antique dealers, art galleries, historians, conservators, manufacturers of historical reproductions, contractors, and the general public. Roy Graham's files consist largely of outgoing letters and memos. Graham's files contain alphabetical lists of correspondents. Such lists are not present in McCree's files.

Topics discussed include restoration in the Capitol of the Senate and House chambers, the Lieutenant Governor's reception room, and the Governor's public reception room. The inspection, removal, recasting, and replacement of the Goddess of Liberty generated a considerable body of correspondence. Also discussed in great detail are the condition and refurbishment of the Capitol grounds including the removal and replanting of all of the elm trees along the sidewalk of the Capitol's southern approach, the Grand Allee. Some correspondence is also present concerning historical research on the Capitol and the preservation of the contents of the buildings. Internal administrative matters discussed include budgets, collecting policies, consultant contracts, fundraising, and trip reports. Also present are acknowledgments, responses to requests for information about the Capitol or the projects, invitations to speak, and similar materials. Most routine materials were removed prior to transfer to the Archives.

Administrative correspondence concerning most of these same topics can be found in the series, Administrative correspondence. The most complete set of correspondence documenting the restoration/construction projects can be found in the working project files at the State Preservation Board, Capitol preservation and extension project files, General Land Office Building restoration project files, and Grounds project files. Correspondence concerning the planning and construction of the new Texas State History Museum can be found in the working project files at the Board, series title unknown.

This series contains correspondence, memos, reports, copies of bills, questionnaires, copies of floor plans and drawings, contracts and agreements, and performance and funds management reports of the Texas State Preservation Board, dating 1983-1992, 1995 (bulk 1987-1992). Correspondents include the Architect of the Capitol, the Curator, the Historian, staff architects and staff members, members of the State Preservation Board, Board committees such as the Permanent Advisory Committee, state agencies and officials, private companies, organizations, and the general public. The files for 1995 consist only of outgoing letters.

Topics covered include general repairs and improvements to the Capitol and the General Land Office Building, the Goddess of Liberty, work on the Capitol grounds, donations and purchases of artifacts, fundraising, search for architectural firms, hiring of the Architect of the Capitol, development of rules and regulations and policies, use of the Capitol or grounds for events, and internal administrative items such as security issues, requests for parking permits, and the budget.

This series contains computer printouts listing the artifacts acquired by the Curator of the Capitol for use in the restoration of the Capitol, photographs, and the Status of Capitol Collections annual reports. Dates covered are 1989-1994. As part of the Capitol restoration project, the Texas State Preservation Board attempted to locate historical artifacts (furniture, furnishings, etc.) used in the Capitol during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Board catalogued artifacts housed in the Capitol, and acquired other artifacts that had left the Capitol over the years, usually [through donation or purchase] from other state agencies, private individuals, or businesses, such as antique dealers. As they acquired these items, the Board created a database of the artifacts, listing the item, assigning it an inventory number and a photo inventory number, and giving its location, a brief description, date, and the dimensions. The inventory includes some items dated later than the early 20th century, primarily things such as portraits or plaques.

Historical artifacts listed in the inventory include furniture (tables, chairs, bookcases, wardrobes, vanities, benches, sofas, mirrors, dressers, chests, rostrums, etc.), lamps, wall and light fixtures (sconces, chandeliers, etc.), office-type equipment (file cabinets, staplers, wastebaskets, etc.), silver, dishes, dinnerware, paintings, portraits, photographic composites of each legislature, sculptures, busts, and monuments.

Many of the items listed in the computer printouts have accompanying photographs. Dates of the computer printouts are 1991-1994. The curator maintains the Capitol Historical Artifact Collection. During 1991-1992, the curator sent quarterly updates of the database printout and accompanying photographs of items for deposit in the Archives and Information Services Division. An updated printout of the entire database was received in February 1994, also containing photographs for 1993-1994. The latter database replaced the previous set of computer printouts. The photographs number approximately 1700 images and are filed in seven large notebooks.

Also included in this series are the Status of Capitol Collections annual reports, dating 1989-1993. The reports contain mainly summary information on the documentation and condition of the collection. Later reports also include information on the transfer of historical items to the Capitol, the capitol furnishing project, photodocumentation of the capitol preservation and extension project, and personnel issues. All reports include the text of the Collection Policy and the Collections Manual.

These files consist of correspondence, memoranda, staff meeting minutes, clippings, journal articles, brochures, lists of scheduled events and exhibits, and a few photographs of items to be exhibited. Dates covered are 1984-1989, 1995 (bulk 1987-1989). In March 1988, the Texas State Preservation Board became responsible for scheduling events and exhibits at the Capitol or on the grounds. Most of these records are the files of Anne Ramsey, the Capitol registrar with the Preservation Board, who was in charge of events and exhibits. There are a few chronological files of exhibits. A few materials concern the Capitol Centennial Celebration held in 1988. A program and insert are from the Capitol Restoration Celebration in 1995. Additional files of the registrar are at the State Preservation Board.

This series contains exhibit files, publications, press releases, and policy memoranda of the Capitol Visitors Center (formerly the Capitol Complex Visitors Center), dating 1836-1999 (bulk 1994-1997). The Capitol Visitors Center (CVC) is operated by the Texas State Preservation Board and housed in the General Land Office Building. The vast majority of the records were created to prepare and document exhibits held at the CVC from 1994 to 1997. Exhibit records include correspondence, memos, notes, press releases, clippings, publications and other research materials, brochures and handouts produced for the exhibit, text of labels for items on exhibit, floor plans for the exhibits, invitations to opening receptions, loan agreements, photographs, negatives, videocassettes, and photocopies of photographs and documents used in the exhibit. Files are present for the following exhibits: Stephen F. Austin of Texas; O. Henry: A Capital Fellow; Barbara Jordan: Freedom Medalist and Texas Treasure; Celebrating 150 Years of Texas Statehood: 1845-1995; This Wonderous Land: Mapping of Texas, 1570-1860; Governing the Lone Star State: Texas Governors and the Governor's Mansion; Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor in Texas; American Space Transport (NASA traveling exhibit); Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas; XIT: The Ranch that Built the Texas Capitol; Texas Images (Institute of Texan Cultures traveling exhibit); and Settling Texas: Land Ownership in the Early Days of the Republic.

Other records in this series are CVC publications, press releases, and policy files. The publications, dating 1996 and ca. 1999, consist of a gallery guide and brochure about the Capitol Visitors Center. Press releases, dating 1994-1997, primarily announce upcoming exhibits at the CVC. And policy files, dating 1994, consist of memoranda signalling a policy change and concern topics such as the use of the facility for receptions, and tours.

This series contains photocopies of newspaper clippings concerning the activities of the Texas State Preservation Board dating 1888, 1910, 1931, 1935, 1938, 1956, 1963, and 1983-2003, with the bulk dating 1985-1995. The clippings document all aspects of the Board's functions, but they primarily concern events and developments at the state capitol complex. Prominent in the series are articles on the restoration of the state capitol (1985-1995). This material documents the selection of architects, restoration planning, and replacement of the Goddess of Liberty statute on the capitol dome, fund raising and legislative appropriations, and the search for period furnishings. The series includes related articles on the renovation of the capitol grounds (1985-1997), the construction of the underground extension of the capitol (1988-1993), the restoration of the General Land Office Building (1989-1994), and creation of the Capitol Visitors Center in the GLO Building. Other topics covered in the clippings include the Capitol's centennial (1988), the acquisition of Pease Mansion (Woodlawn) by the state of Texas (1997-1999), the construction of the Texas State History Museum (1997-2000), the placement of monuments on the Capitol grounds (1986, 1990-2003), events held on the Capitol grounds or in the Capitol (1988-2003), security at the Capitol after the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks (2001-2003), possible sale of the Pease Mansion (Woodlawn) (2001-2002), controversy over keeping the Ten Commandments Monument on the Capitol grounds (2002-2003), firing of the State Preservation Board director (2003), and early articles about the Capitol (pre 1980s).

The Board collects clippings from various newspapers. Many of these articles are variations of single articles distributed by news services and uniquely edited by individual newspapers. Articles on a particular subject may span several days.

These records are press releases and occasional newsletters of the Texas State Preservation Board, dating 1985-1999. Topics covered in the releases include the Capitol renovation and extension project, restoration of the General Land Office Building, restoration of the Capitol Grounds, events and exhibits at the Capitol, the Capitol Centennial Celebration, the Capitol Restoration Celebration, burying of a time capsule at the Capitol, and resignations and appointments. A small media packet, with a photograph, is present for a 1986 release concerning the Goddess of Liberty. Two issues of a Texas State Preservation Board newsletter, Preservation Journal, are also present for 1990, 1991.