The Joe C. Aker Architecture Photographic Records consist of the photographic archives of Joe C. Aker, a noted professional photographer who specializes in the photography of architecture and interiors. The records include film negatives, transparencies, and prints, although projects after the year 2000 are primarily in digital format. In addition, the records include published materials such as books, magazines, and leasing brochures in which his work appeared. Materials are arranged according to Aker’s filing system, which organizes jobs in chronological order and by project number. The records document projects from the years 1980 through 2008, but some project files from the early 1980s are missing and presumed lost. The collection occupies 229 linear feet of shelf space and is stored in 234 regular and over-sized boxes and 5 file cabinet drawers. The photographs in the collection are historically significant because they document the built environment of Houston and other major cities during the last quarter of the twentieth century, a period of economic growth when the urban landscape changed frequently. Aker photographed not only the completed buildings but also worked closely with architecture firms to record the design process in sketches, studies, and models. Moreover, long before the advent of computer design and rendering technology, he perfected the art of using architectural models to create realistic presentation photographs of buildings before they were constructed. In the 1980s Aker was a principal photographer for Texas Commerce Bank and its parent company, Texas Commerce Bancshares. During this period Texas Commerce Bank was one of the largest banks in Texas. It later merged with New York’s Chemical Bank before becoming part of J. P. Morgan Chase. His files include portrait photographs of officers and directors and other images used for publicity and annual reports. These images are housed separately from his other projects.