Allison Owen, Sr. Drawings Collection

Collection

Identifier: SEAA-107

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection of original drawings, by New Orleans architect Allison Owen, Sr. (1869-1951), mostly includes charcoal sketches made while studying at Tulane University in the late 1880s. Sketches are mostly of plaster casts of classical statuary and architectural fragments. There are also two watercolor drawings of designs for the Confederate Memorial Hall on Camp Street in New Orleans.

Dates

1880s–1890s

Creator

Owen, Allison., Sr., 1869-1951 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is the physical property of Tulane University Special Collections. Copyright belongs to the creators or their legal heirs and assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or owner’s heir for permission to publish where Tulane University Special Collections does not hold the copyright. For further information, please contact Research Services at specialcollections@tulane.edu.

Biographical / Historical

Allison Owen was an architect, soldier, and civic and religious leader. Born in New Orleans, he was the son of General William Miller Owen and Caroline Amanda Zacharie. He attended Tulane University (1885-1888), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1892-1894), and the United States War College in Washington, D.C., in 1924. He partnered with C.C. Diboll in their architectural practice, which was active during the 1920s and 1930s.

Some examples of Owen's work include the New Orleans Public Library, Criminal Court, the Milne Home, St. Francis of Assisi, Canal-Louisiana Bank and Office Building, Municipal Office Building, Metropolitan Bank and Office Building, Prytania Street Presbyterian Church, Notre Dame Seminary at New Orleans, Westminster Congregational Church at Kansas City, St. Joseph's Church at Mobile, and many other church and school structures in New Orleans and other cities of the South.

Allison Owen joined the Washington Artillery, rising to the rank of captain and adjutant, then to major and served with the rank of major, from July 1916 to February 1917, when the regiment was on the Mexican border. In July 1917, he became lieutenant colonel, and when the Washington Artillery was mustered into the national army and became the 141st Artillery, he became colonel.

Extent

2.44 Linear Feet (1 folio case)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

Collection is arranged by project.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Charcoal sketches were given by Samuel Wilson, Jr. to Tulane in 1973. Watercolor drawings were given by Leonard V. Huber to Tulane in 1980.

Subjects

Architecture -- Louisiana -- New Orleans Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Drawing -- Study and teaching Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Pictorial works Subject Source: Fast