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Lucian T. Hood, A.I.A. Architectural Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 2007-007

The Lucian T. Hood, A.I.A. Architectural Collection is comprised of architectural drawings as well as business files from the Lucian Hood, Inc. residential design firm. The collection contains Hood’s architectural drawings from the 1950s to 2006. The collection is not complete; records for many of the early projects have been lost or destroyed.

In 1992, William Carl acquired the Lucian T. Hood architectural firm to modify and re-design existing plans for clients. The firm built homes in the inner-loop areas of River Oaks, Eaton Square, West University, West Lane Place, and Briar Hollow as well as outside the loop in the Memorial Villages, Tanglewood, Westhaven Estates, and Broad Oaks. The records from Carl's firm did not include any architectural drawings of Hood's projects from the 1950s, but some have been added to the collection through the generosity of homeowners who donated their copies of the drawings.

Dates

  • 1951-2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

201.0 linear feet

Biographical Information

Lucian T. Hood, Jr. (1916 – 2001) was an important Houston architect who was known primarily for his residential architecture. At his peak in the 1980s he had one of the most successful residential design practices of any Houston architect, serving a loyal clientele of wealthy individuals and real estate developers. His career spanned the 1950s to the early 1990s, and while he is remembered for the modernist designs of his early career, he was better known for his work in traditional architectural styles, which proved more popular with the public. Regardless of style, his work was marked not only by a keen sense of design, but also by a rigorous attention to detail. He dazzled clients and colleagues alike with his graphic skills, seen in the dramatic pencil renderings that accompanied most of his construction drawings.

Hood was born in the small town of Talpa, Texas but grew up in Fort Worth. He showed artistic talent as a child and eventually chose to pursue a career as an architect. He studied architecture at the University of Texas from 1935 to 1937. He returned to Fort Worth to work as a draftsman with architect Robert P. Woltz, Jr. from 1937 to 1942. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was based at Brooks Field in San Antonio. After the war he married Mary Edna Allen, and in 1946 the couple and their new son moved to Houston, where Hood enrolled in the architecture program at the University of Houston. There he studied under a distinguished faculty that included Donald Barthelme, Sr. and Howard Barnstone.

Hood went to work immediately with architect Philip G. Willard, a friend from Fort Worth. Together they produced a number of memorable mid-century modern houses in Riverside Terrace and other neighborhoods. Hood received his architecture degree from the University of Houston in 1952 and the following year left Willard to open his own office. From 1954 to 1955 Hood worked in partnership with Lars Bang to produce two office buildings, the Times Building at 2444 Times Blvd. (1955) and the Century Building at 2120 Travis (1956). Hood then returned to working on his own, assisted by several draftsmen. Over the next few decades he developed a small but busy practice designing single-family residences, apartment projects, and small office buildings. By the time he retired in 1992 he was so well known for residential architecture that others continued his work, offering Lucian Hood designs to those who associated his name with fine design and high quality. He was prolific, designing hundreds of projects over a forty-year career. While his designs are found throughout Houston, the greatest concentration is in the city’s exclusive Tanglewood neighborhood, particularly the section near Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Country Club.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquired in 2007.

Drawings for 51-132, 4127 Drummond, Houston donated by Stephen Goldberg and Tim Kollatschny in August 2018.

Drawings for 56-32, 7818 Nairn, Houston donated by Mary H. Jacobus and Jason S. Jones in 2013.

Drawings for 56-60, 9307 McAvoy, Houston donated by Ognjen S. Miljanic in March 2015.

Drawings for 58-54, 5680 Briar Drive, Houston acquired as part of the Detering Company Records (2015-005).

Digital Collections

Lucian T. Hood Architectural Drawings digital collection

https://digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu/collections/rb68xd387

Title
Guide to the Lucian T. Hood, A.I.A. Architectural Papers
Author
Rebecca Russell and Stephen James
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
MD Anderson Library
4333 University Drive
Houston TX 77204-2000 USA
713-743-9750