Ayres & Ayres, Architects:

An Inventory of their Architectural Drawings, Photographs and Records,1894-1977, Part 1 of 2

Biographical Sketch of Atlee Bernard Ayres

Atlee Bernard Ayres was born in Hillsboro, Ohio in in 1873 to Nathan Tandy Ayres and Mary Parson Atlee Ayres. He moved to Houston, Texas in 1879 with his parents and two sisters, but eventually settled in San Antonio in 1888. In 1892, at the age of 19 years, Ayres worked in the San Antonio architectural office of architect B.F. Trester as a draftsman. From 1892 to 1894, he attended architecture classes at the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art's school (under the supervision of Columbia University) where he received a typical Beaux-Arts education. He also attended the Art Students League and took painting lessons from Frank Vincent Dumont.

Ayres returned to San Antonio in 1894 to establish his own practice and teach in the San Antonio Art League. After marrying Olive Moss Cox in 1896, they moved to Mexico City where he was employed by George E. King. He again returned to San Antonio in 1898 working for himself until he formed a partnership in 1900 with C.A. Coughlin who had practiced in San Antonio since 1891. The firm of Coughlin and Ayres was dissolved in 1905 upon Coughlin's death. During the early years of his own practice, that existed from 1905 until 1921, Ayres designed numerous homes in the Colonial Revival style, as represented by the William Negley House (1901) and the Roy Hearne House (1910). After he established an independent practice, he began to experiment with other revival styles including the Renaissance Revival (David Strauss House of 1922); Tudor Revival (J.D. Oppenheimer House of 1923). His firm was one of the few in Texas that explored the Prairie Style of Frank Lloyd Wright in homes for Frank Winerich (1913) and Lonnie Wright (1914). George Willis, a former designer for Frank Lloyd Wright, was employed by Ayres at this time which may explain this sudden interest in Wrightian forms. Finally, Atlee Ayres formed his third and last partnership with his son Robert Moss Ayres between 1921 and 1930.

Ayres was also successful at obtaining large commissions for public buildings. While still in partnership with Coughlin, the firm was hired by The University of Texas to design a master development plan for the campus in Austin. Although their plan was never implemented, the firm designed the Woman's Building (1903; destroyed by fire in 1959) and the Engineering Building (1904). In 1908, after Coughlin's death, Ayres designed the Law Building (1908; demolished in 1972). All three of these buildings were designed in classical revival styles.

Ayres was a notable civic personality in San Antonio which earned him not only big residential and commercial commissions but some rather honorable appointments. In 1913 he was placed on San Antonio's Beautiful Commission by Mayor Gus Jones. Ayres received other large state commissions when in 1915, he was appointed State Architect by Governor James E. Ferguson. During his tenure with the state, he designed buildings for the State Land Office (1916 now the James Earl Rudder State Office Building), the State School for the Blind (1917), and made modifications to the mechanical systems of the State Capitol (1915-16).

Ayres' most important accomplishment was the development of a regional style that accommodated the Spanish heritage of San Antonio. Although his previous suburban residential work drew from the precedents of Colonial Revival, Italian Renaissance, English Tudor Style, and even the Prairie Style, Ayres and his son were most remembered for their Spanish influenced style. Ayres became interested in Spanish sources as early as 1905 when he designed a Mission Revival house for L.J. Hart. In 1925, he traveled to Mexico to obtain photographs for a book published the next year entitled Mexican Architecture: Domestic, Civil and Ecclesiastical. In 1926, he travelled extensively in California where he photographed hundreds of Spanish inspired houses. It seems as though he was even considering moving his practice to California, as he obtained a license to practice in that state in 1925. Ayres' adaptation of the Spanish Revival architecture popular in California is evident in numerous houses, including the Thomas Hogg House (1923), the Amye Bozarth House (1927), the Dr. D.T. Atkinson House (1927 - now known as the Marion Koogler McNay Museum), and the John Brown House (1931) in Oklahoma City. He applied this style to public buildings as well, including the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (1924; designed in association with Emmett Jackson and George Willis) and the Martin Wright Electric Company (1928). Between the years of 1924 and 1929, he authored several articles on both the Missions of San Antonio and his Spanish-influenced designs.

Ayres led a very active social life and was involved in numerous civic activities throughout his lifetime. In 1937 he attained state licensing for architects and he served as the president of the Fiesta Association from 1911 to 1918. He achieved local and national recognition through many architectural publications. Despite this he was still considered a practical man who worked well under the constraints of the client, climate, and the site to produce architecture with a strong sense of design and composition.

Ayres also made numerous contributions to the profession of architecture in the state. He was instrumental in obtaining state licensing of architects in 1937 and received license #3 from the State. Ayres played an influential role in bringing the first national convention of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to Texas in 1931. In addition, he was a charter member of the Texas Society of Architects and the West Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He was chosen as a Fellow of the AIA in 1931.

Atlee Ayres died on November 6, 1969. He was survived by his second wife, Katherine Cox Ayres and his two sons, Robert Moss Ayres and Atlee Tandy Ayres.

Biographical Sketch of Robert Moss Ayres

Robert Moss Ayres, the son of Atlee Ayres, was born in San Antonio in 1898. He attended San Antonio Academy and the Haverford Prep School. He was fortunate to have traveled with his family to Europe and the Far East on two occasions in 1911 and 1914. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and, upon his return, attended the School of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania from 1918 to 1920. He worked in the New York offices of Kenneth Murchison and McKim Mead and White before returning to San Antonio (in 1921 or 1923?). The name of the firm was changed to Ayres and Ayres in 1925.

While it is difficult to attribute individual buildings to each architect, it is known that Robert Ayres was solely responsible for the design of the Gothic Revival Smith- Young Tower (1929) which for many years was the dominant element of the San Antonio skyline. In addition, he designed numerous residences such as the H. Lutcher Brown House (1935). Trained in the Beaus-Arts tradition under the influence of Paul Cret, one would expect Robert Ayres to be interested in the classical tradition reflected in the design for the Brown House.

Robert Ayres was also involved in civic and professional activities. He was a past president of the West Texas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He also served on the Riverwalk Commission and the San Antonio Zoning Board.

After World War II, the firm made the difficult transition from historicist revival styles to the incorporation of Modernism into their work. The firm continued to receive numerous commissions, but the post- World War II work has not received the same accolades as their earlier designs. Representative of their later work are the Neisner Brothers Store (1946-47), the Frost National Bank (1963-65) and the large complex for the United Services Automobile Association (1953-73). While Atlee Ayres continued to be involved in the daily activities of the firm until his death in 1969, Robert Ayres probably became more involved with the actual design work during this post- World War II period. After his father's death, Robert Ayres continued the work of the firm until his own death in 1977.

Scope and Content of the collection

The Ayres and Ayres Papers represent a comprehensive documentation of a prominent San Antonio firm spanning a period of 83 years of practice (1894-1977). It is the most complete such archive for a Texas architectural firm in the Alexander Architectural Archive. In 1979 The University of Texas acquired over 12,000 drawings from the heirs of Atlee B. Ayres and Robert M. Ayres. Additional gifts were received in the 1980s from Mrs. Robert M. Ayres and Mrs. Anna Russell.

Current processing shows the Ayres and Ayres Papers to include over 12,000 drawings from the 1890s through the 1970s. The vast majority of these architectural drawings are original working drawings representing over 400 projects. Although little in the way of sketches survived from the early years of the firm, later projects from the 1930s on contain a good representation of early schematic designs. There are also a number of presentation drawings, usually executed in pastels or rendered in pencil.

The Ayres Papers contain over 18 linear feet of archival records including extensive project files (and specifications), correspondence with clients, personal correspondence, and correspondence with other Texas architects. Rare material from Atlee Ayres' student work at the Metropolitan Museum's Architecture Program (1893-94) document one of the early architecture programs in the country and includes lecture notes, a sketchbook, and prospectus for the school in addition to 38 drawings of his student work. From Atlee Ayres' early professional years are monthly account statements from Coughlin & Ayres (1899-1905), as well as their handwritten contract of partnership. Atlee Ayres served as State Architect from 1914 to 1917. Material from this period contains important information on the first major remodeling of the Texas State Capitol. Atlee Ayres was involved in both professional and civic affairs which are well documented through the firm's papers. Of particular note are papers regarding the organization of the 64th Annual AIA Convention (April 14-16, 1931) in San Antonio, the first such convention to be held in Texas, as well as rare information on the West Texas Chapter of the AIA (1940s-1950s), the first such chapter to be established in Texas, and the Texas Society of Architects' conventions from 1913, the 1940s, and the 1950s. Correspondence from Atlee Ayres' civic involvement includes records concerning the Fiesta Association (1915, 1939, 1950s) and the River Walk Commission (1962-1966).

Numerous photographic materials have survived including over 6,500 negatives and approximately 2,000 photographic prints. These include a diverse range of sizes and formats. Nitrate film bases have been identified and isolated as part of a 1992 Department of Education Title II-C grant. While these photographic materials document many of the projects designed by Ayres and Ayres, the majority of the photographs (particularly the negatives) record the extensive travels of Atlee Ayres and his family. Included are photographs of his various trips: a 1911 trip to Constantinople, the Black Sea and Europe; a 1914 trip around the world (including New York, France, Italy, Egypt, Ceylon, India, Burma, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Honolulu); a 1921 trip to Europe; a trip to California in the early 1920s to study Spanish Colonial Revival architecture; a 1931 trip to Spain and Mediterranean countries by automobile; a 1941 trip to Seattle, Los Angeles, Monterrey, San Francisco, Portland, Yellowstone Falls, and Denver; and later trips to Europe in 1961 and 1964. Of particular note is a 1925 trip to Mexico for the express purpose of obtaining photographs for Atlee Ayres' book, Mexican Architecture: Domestic, Civil and Ecclesiastical (NY, W. Helburn, Inc, 1926).

The firm's library, consisting of 398 volumes, includes many important American and European publications from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This library is representative of the pictorial and literary resources used by many architects in the early decades of the 20th century. It also documents the particular interests of the firm, including Renaissance Italian and Spanish architecture. The volumes in this library, particularly those with earmarked illustrations, allows scholars intimate access to the particular images studied by the firm. These books were integrated into the Architecture and Planning Library (most located within its Special Collections), but a list was maintained by the Archive with notations regarding pages earmarked by the firm.

Other miscellaneous items included in this corpus of material are: silver-plated cups, awards and licenses (Atlee received the third license in the state), newspaper clippings regarding the firm's work, and an extensive clipping file from contemporary architecture journals maintained by the firm.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access is by appointment only to any serious scholar. Rolled materials must be flattened before viewing. A three day advance notice is required to flatten rolled materials. Portions of this collection are not processed and may not be accessible.

Restrictions on Use

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Alexander Architectural Archive's Use Policy

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Preferred Citation

Ayres Ayres Architects, Atlee Bernard Ayres (1873-1969), Robert Moss Ayres (1898-1977), Architectural drawings, photographs and records, 1894-1977, San Antonio, South and Central Texas, Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin

Processing is not yet complete. For more information, please contact Archive's staff.

Other Finding Aids

References to works by or about Atlee Bernard Ayres and Robert Moss Ayres

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.