A Guide to the Joe Stubblefield Papers, 1939-2007 (bulk 1970-2006)

Biographical Note

San Antonio architect Joe L. Stubblefield was born on May 24, 1944, in Dallas, Texas. He attended Arlington State College (now the University of Texas at Arlington) from 1962 to 1964, and then the University of Texas at Austin, earning a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1968 and a Master of Science, Community, and Regional Planning in 1972. He worked as an intern at O'Neil Ford, Boone Powell and Chris Carson until 1974. In 1994 he joined the SA Partnership. His work included the designing or renovating of over 200 private residences in various sections of San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, as well as work on commercial, industrial, adaptive reuse, restoration and remodeling projects.

Major San Antonio architectural projects on which Stubblefield worked include the San Pedro Springs Park master plan, McAllister Fine Arts Center, St. Paul Square South Block improvements, San Antonio Police Officers Association, Borglum Studio Restoration, El Mirador Garden House, Via-Ellis Alley historic restoration, and Villas Del Norte alternative housing. Projects outside of San Antonio included the Nimitz Museum expansion in Fredericksburg, Texas, and the McFaddin Ward House Museum in Beaumont, Texas.

In addition to his design work, Stubblefield also chaired San Antonio's Historic Review Board in the early 1980s and taught drawing courses in the architecture program at San Antonio College and at the University of Texas at San Antonio during the 1980s. He was the winner of several awards, including the Texas Historical Commission's Award of Excellence in Historic Architecture in 2006. He died on October 24, 2007, in San Antonio.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection spans the years 1939 through 2007 and includes appointment books and sketchbooks documenting the architect's career and writings. The collection is divided into two series: Appointment Books and Sketchbooks.

Appointment Books follow a daily diary format and contain appointments, to-do lists, contact information, and other notes for each year from 1996 to 2006.

Sketchbooks, used by Stubblefield as part of his design process, contain records of building projects, designs and revisions for clients, and sketches of interiors and exteriors of buildings and private residences, floor plans, outdoor scenes, and architectural details of sites in San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, and other parts of Texas, as well as scenes from other cities. Some San Antonio sites depicted include the HemisFair '68 fair site, Alamo, El Capote Ranch, and San Pedro Springs; other sites include the Student Union of the University of Texas at Austin, University Methodist Church (Austin, Tex.), and the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. Other drawings depict figures and objects. Also included in the sketchbooks are writings by Stubblefield: various notes, poetry, reflections on towns visited, and journal writings. Oversize sketchbooks, dating 1965-1970, also contain watercolor paintings of various sites.

The Awards and Diplomas series includes photocopies of certificates and college diplomas that range in date from 1965 to 2006.

The Additions contain Majestic theatre points of origin, drawings, blueprints, and a master plan of Brackenridge park, as well as reports, inventories, manuals and other documents, all related to renovations or the development of historical buildings or historical districts in San Antonio and Del Rio and ranges in date from 1977-1991.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

RESTRICTED: Permission of the donor is required to access the following series: Appointment Books, Sketchbooks, and Awards and Diplomas. Applicants must provide name, affiliation, and intended use of the collection. Please contact University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections for further information. This restriction expires on January 1, 2030. No access restrictions for the remaining series.

This collection is housed at UTSA's Hemisfair Campus and must be accessed via the Institute of Texan Cultures Special Collections reading room. To request access, please use our Collections Request Form.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Joe Stubblefield Papers, 1965-2007, MS 160, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.

Acquisition Information

Received as a gift from Phyllis Palmer in 2007-2009 (Acc. 2007-136, 2008-026, 2008-060, 2009-012, 2009-027) and a donation from SA Partnership in 2012 (Acc. 2012-007).

Processing Information

Processed by Angela McClendon, Manuscripts Archivist, December 2007, May 2008; and Tatina Wulzer, Collections Assistant, November 2008. Accession 2012-007 encoded by Nikki Lynn Thomas, Manuscripts Curator, May 2012.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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