Inventory of the A. French Textile Building Architectural Drawings, 1898-1899

VAMD343

History of the A. French Textile Building

In the late 1890s the textile industry in Georgia and South Carolina was growing rapidly and Georgia Tech President Lyman Hall believed the time was right for Tech to establish a textile engineering program. Hall led the effort to raise funds using a three-pronged approach: the use of New South rhetoric, conditional gifts from philanthropists, and conditional appropriations by the State legislature. President Hall obtained substantial donations from his acquaintance Aaron French, a Pittsburgh manufacturer. Hall also successfully persuaded the Georgia Legislature to fund the school pending receipt of private donations. In 1897 the Legislature appropriated $10,000 to establish a Textile Department; the appropriation was to be released only when "ten thousand dollars, in money or equipment, is donated by private individuals or others."

Oscar Elsas, a Tech alumnus and vice president of the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill, persuaded textile firms in the North to donate state-of-the-art machinery later valued at $20,000. The wide variety of equipment available to the students would enable them to operate all kinds of textile machinery anywhere they might go and would make them attractive candidates for positions as textile mill operators and managers.

When the prospect of sufficient funds was evident, Lyman Hall approached officials of the Lowell (Massachusetts) Textile School for assistance in designing the Textile Department. C. P. Brooks, head of the Lowell School, provided advice regarding the design of the building, equipment, and curriculum for the new department. With the required funds and the promise of machinery secured, the State of Georgia released its appropriation in the summer of 1898. Construction began soon and proceeded very quickly; the building was completed the same year. The brand new A. French Textile School opened its doors for instruction in February 1899.

Named in honor of the chief donor, Aaron French, the building was designed by the Massachusetts architectural firm of Lockwood Greene. It was considered a very modern cotton mill, embodying "the very latest ideas of mill construction." The three story brick structure measured 150 feet by 70 feet. There was an elevator in the Receiving Room in the basement so machinery and supplies could easily be lifted to the upper floors. The main entrance, on the south side, was set slightly to one side, with eight windows to the left (west) and six windows to the right (east). Many large windows on all sides of the building and in all three stories allowed plenty of daylight to enter the building. A skylight over the main staircase provided additional light for the departments on the top floor. Power for the many machines throughout the mill was provided by an eighty horsepower Corliss steam engine in the basement.

The A. French Building was home to Textile Engineering at Georgia Tech until the completion of the Harrison Hightower Textile Engineering Building in 1949. [Abstracted from "Splendid Growth": The Textile Educational Enterprise at Georgia Tech written by Marilyn Williamson. This article, along with additional information on the building, architects, and Aaron French, can be found at http://www.library.gatech.edu/gtbuildings/french/history_frame.htm.]

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Description

The A. French Textile Building Architectural Drawings contain the original plans, details, mechanical plans, and equipment layouts for the 1898-1899 construction of the A. French Textile Building on the Georgia Tech campus. All drawings are digitized and available through the digital collection " 'Splendid Growth' Architectural Drawings of the A. French Textile Building" http://www.library.gatech.edu/gtbuildings/french/history_frame.htm.

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Arrangement

The architectural drawings are arranged as they appear in the digital collection " 'Splendid Growth' Architectural Drawings of the A. French Textile Building." Drawings with letter identifications are listed first, followed by the numbered sheets. The last two drawings were originally unnumbered and therefore were assigned numbers at the end of the series (24 and 25). Some sequential drawings were missing from the original donation: B, 6, 16, 18, and 19.

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Restrictions

Restrictions: Access

None

Restrictions: Use

Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Head of Archives and Special Collections.

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Related Material

The written specifications for the A. French Textile Building are processed separately as MS343.

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Subject Headings

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Please cite A. French Textile Building Architectural Drawings VAMD343, Archives, Library and Information Center, Georgia Institute of Technology.

Provenance

Accession #1999.0201. These materials came to the Georgia Tech Archives from the original architectural firm, Lockwood Greene.

Processing Information

Mandi D. Johnson processed these architectural drawings in June 2008.

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Other Finding Aids

A print copy of this finding aid is available in the Georgia Tech Archives reading room.

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Image List

Drawer	Folder
2d	1	Sheet A: Shafting, 15 March 1899
	2	Sheet C: Machinery in first story, 15 March 1899
	3	Sheet D: Machinery in second story, 15 March 1899
	4	Sheet E: Section showing head drive, 15 March 1899
	5	Sheet 1: Plat of campus showing location of new textile building, 26 October 1898
	6	Sheet 2: Foundation, basement and elevator, 26 October 1898
	7	Sheet 3: First story and Second story, 26 October 1898
	8	Sheet 4: Section of Line A-B and Line C-D, 26 October 1898
	9	Sheet 5: Section of Line E-F, 26 October 1898
	10	Sheet 7: Detail of framing, 26 October 1898
	11	Sheet 8: Detail of cut stone, 26 October 1898
	12	Sheet 9: Detail of cast iron, 26 October 1898
	13	Sheet 10: Detail of wrought iron, 26 October 1898
	14	Sheet 11: Detail of window frames, 26 October 1898
Drawer	Folder
Top of 2	15	Sheet 12: Detail of outside doors, 26 October 1898
	16	Sheet 13: Detail of stairs, 26 October 1898
Drawer	Folder
2d	17	Sheet 13A: Detail of stairs, 26 October 1898
Drawer	Folder
Top of 2	18	Sheet 14: Detail of partition work, 26 October 1898
Drawer	Folder
2d	19	Sheets 14A and Part of 14A (labeled 14b in digital collection): Detail of partition work, 26 October 1898
Drawer	Folder
Top of 2	20	Sheet 15: Detail of cornices, 26 October 1898
Drawer	Folder
2d	21	Sheet 17: Plan and section of hot air pipes, 17 January 1899
	22	Sheet 20: Rearrangement of hot air pipes, 17 January 1899
	23	Sheet 21: Detail of hood over chimney, 06 February 1899
	24	Sheet 22: Detail of head shaft framing, 15 March 1899
	25	Sheet 23: Section showing dust pipes from pickers, 27 June 1899
	26	Sheet 24: Gin room, undated
	27	Sheet 25: Site sketch, 1898

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