Ralph Anderson, Jr., ’43, ’47

Not long ago a patron was in the Woodson doing research in the papers of architect Ralph Anderson. I had known of the existence of this collection and even been aware that Anderson was a Rice grad but I’d never had any particular reason to have these papers brought over from the Library Service Center. But with no effort on my part there they were, sitting on a book truck in the back room, so I dug in to them. Anderson had quite a career–quite a life, really–and it’s a great collection. (The guide to the collection, along with a short biography, is here.) What initially caught my eye was this, a 1947 letter to Anderson from Rice trustee Harry Wiess:

Well, that’s extremely high praise from an astute critic, high enough that I got up and went looking for the Fondren Library booklet that Wiess was talking about. It is a lovely thing; open, light  and so very optimistic. Here are a couple of Anderson’s drawings:

I had been assuming that Anderson was on the architecture faculty at this time but as I began to put the dates together I was startled to realize that he was a student. And then, as I worked through the rest of the files I discovered something even more remarkable. Five years earlier, before his military service and even before he received his B.A., Anderson had designed several houses that were built on the east side of town. They’re small but I think they’re quite graceful. This simple house is my favorite:

Narcissus Street, March 1942

And here’s another. Pretty strong work for an undergraduate:

4141 Glenbrook Court, August 1941