The Architects' Roster, 1946-53
The AIA Archives has Architects Roster Questionnaires for over a thousand firms. All have been scanned (including low-resolution copies of photos if they exist). The list below is arranged by state and city. Not all AIA chapters participated in the program. To view the questionnaires, click on the firm name, then click on Architects' Roster Questionnaire under Archival Holdings in the firm's record. Anchor
Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii
Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri
Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon
Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin
Canal Zone Puerto Rico Mexico
About the Architects' Roster
Established in 1946 on the recommendation of the AIA Committee on Architect and Government Relations, the "Architects' Roster and/or Register of Architects Qualified for Federal Public Works" was intended to help the private architect get federal work. Questionnaires were sent to all registered architects in the United States, and review committees were established to judge the qualifications of those answering the questionnaires. The qualified list was available to government agencies involved in building programs.
Almost immediately, in 1947, the "Register" was abandoned in favor of a simple "Roster," maintained as "an accurate record of the background and achievements of the members of the architectural profession." Individuals or firms wishing to do federal work could check the appropriate blank of the questionnaire, but the Committees of Review would no longer judge the qualifications of the architects, only substantiate the accuracy of statements made on the form.
By the time of the 1953 roster this attempt, too, had been abandoned, and forms carried the disclaimer, "The American Institute of Architects assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of statements made in this questionnaire. The obligation to maintain this record as a current description of an architectural firm rests with the firm..."
The portions of the Roster which survive in the AIA Archives are a valuable source of documentation for the profession prior to 1953.
--by Tony Wrenn, HAIA, former AIA Archivist, text from 1982 exhibit catalog
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Auburn
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Washington (see also Maryland; Virginia)
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