Have you ever dreamt of building something that will last for generations?
Fort Worth native Killis Almond developed his love of architecture during his undergraduate years at the University of Texas. But it wasn’t until he decided to stay on and earn a second architecture degree at the behest of professor Roy Eugene Graham that he realized his passion for preservation.
“I grew up in and around construction and understanding how materials go together had always been my strength,” says Almond. “But up until that time, preservation was the focus I had been missing.”
After working at historic preservation sites for Texas Parks and Wildlife in Austin, Almond moved to San Antonio in 1977 and founded Killis Almond Architects. In the decades that followed he formed several partnerships, many of which developed into lasting friendships, as with renowned architect O’Neil Ford.
In 1981, Almond’s firm took on a renovation job at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston. For Almond, this project was the catalyst that sparked a true love for historic theaters, and for renewing the vitality of these buildings and turning them into captivating artifacts. This fascination led to over 45 different theater projects throughout the United States, including serving on the board and as president for the League of Historic American Theatres.
When asked why he chose to donate his firm’s records to UTSA, he is quick to acknowledge the importance of keeping the materials in San Antonio. “I practiced my entire professional life in this community. This is my home and we have an excellent preservation architecture program at UTSA. It was a no brainer.”
Killis believes there are many opportunities for young preservationists to take away something from his collection, and that others will return to the work he started and continue to build upon its foundation.
“As a preservationist I have a duty to preserve my documents for the people who will come after me. Down the road architects can retrieve this information and say, ‘let’s go to Killis and see what he did.’ It will be important to someone in the future.”
“The Killis Almond and Associates records are a wonderful resource for practicing architects and UTSA students studying historic preservation and adaptive reuse,” said Amy Rushing, Head of Special Collections. “The collection offers a wealth of resources including architectural plans, historic structure and mitigation reports, adaptive reuse feasibility studies and preservation plans. We are grateful to Killis for his financial support to sustain the ongoing preservation and stewardship of the collection.”
Almond’s financial contribution will be used to support the collection by digitizing blueprints, purchasing custom storage boxes, and sponsoring internship opportunities for UTSA architecture students to gain valuable hands-on experience.
The Killis Almond and Associates Records consist of over 300 linear feet of materials, the bulk of which are architectural plans. The collection can be viewed in the Special Collections reading room at the Institute of Texan Cultures.
Killis Almond Architects, PC is a national multi-disciplinary professional consulting firm based in San Antonio, Texas specializing in architectural design for new construction, historical preservation, rehabilitation and research, and cultural resource management.
The UTSA Libraries Special Collections brings national recognition to the university for distinctive research materials documenting the diverse histories and development of San Antonio and South Texas. If you have a local collection with lasting significance and would like to make a financial contribution to fund digitizing and preserving it for generations to come, complete a donation form by clicking the link below.