Collection inventory

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William P. Crane Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Erin Lee
Date: 2012

Revision history:

Biography

William Piers Crane (1904-1991) was born in Chicago in and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1928, receiving a degree in architecture. He later attended the Chicago Art Institute. He married Mary Allen Cowgill on August 9, 1963.

Crane participated in the U.S. Department of the Interior's Historic American Buildings Survey and helped plan the 1934 World's Fair. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Housing under the Roosevelt Administration to construct public housing projects in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas.

Crane taught design at Syracuse University's School of Architecture from 1937 until 1970. He was a member of the Alpha Rho Chi architecture fraternity and won the coveted Plym Fellowship for architects in 1929. He was a co-founder of Central New York Architectural Historians and the Preservation Association of Central New York. He was a past president and life member of the Technology Club of Syracuse and emeritus member of the American Institute of Architects, the State Association of Architects Central New York Chapter and the American Association of University Professors.

Scope and Content Note

The Crane Papers span the years 1920 to 1991 and comprise of correspondence, clippings, drawings, photographs and other materials. The correspondence is made up of letters and cards received by Crane and his wife, with much from the period immediately following his death. Newspaper clippings cover the topics of architecture and Syracuse University. There are oversized architectural and mechanical drawings from early in Crane's career, as well as drawings, paintings, poetry and documents related to his time at Syracuse University. The papers also include photographs of Crane and his associates as well as buildings.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Crane, Mary Allen.
Crane, William P.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Architectural drawing.
Architecture -- Designs and plans.
Architecture.
Syracuse (N.Y.) -- History.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Blueprints (reprographic copies)
Correspondence.
Drawings (visual works)
Photographs.
Watercolors (paintings)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

William P. Crane Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The Syracuse University Architecture Library donated the collection in two parts, one in 2006 and then a scrapbook in 2008.

Processing Information

The collection has been placed in acid-free folders and the photographs placed in mylar sleeves. Items have been removed from a scrapbook and processed with the rest of the collection but the original provenance has been maintained. Newspaper clippings were photocopied and discarded.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Table of Contents

Papers

Inventory