Ayres, Atlee Bernard, 1873-1969

Atlee B. Ayres (1873-1969) was a architect in San Antonio, Tex.

Architect; San Antonio, Tex.

Architect, of San Antonio.

Atlee B. Ayres was a noted San Antonio, Texas, resident and architect involved with more than 500 architectural projects, mostly in and around the Alamo City. The son of Nathan Tandy and Mary Parsons (Atlee) Ayres, Atlee was born in Ohio on 1873 July 13. The family moved to Texas while he was young, first to Houston (1880) and then eventually to San Antonio (1888). Between 1892 and 1894, Ayres attended the Metropolitan School of Art in New York City, where he completed his course with honors. He returned to San Antonio after receiving his diploma, but departed with his new wife, Olive Moss Cox, for Mexico after marrying in 1896. After a brief stay in Mexico, he returned to San Antonio in 1898 to work independently until partnering with Charles A. Coughlin from 1900 to 1905. Robert M. Ayres, Atlee’s son, joined the firm in the early 1920s, with the name of the firm formally changed to Ayres and Ayres in 1925. During his career Ayres was active with the Texas Society of Architects and the Fiesta Association; he was also the author of Mexican Architecture (1926). Ayres remained active as an architect until his death on 1969 November 6, at age 96.

References

“Atlee Bernard Ayres.” Handbook of Texas Online . http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fay03 .

Atlee B. Ayres biographical file, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.

“Ayres & Ayres Architects, Atlee Bernard Ayres (1873-1969), Robert Moss Ayres (1898-1977), Architectural drawings, photographs and records, 1894-1977, San Antonio, South and Central Texas.” Finding aid at the Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. Accessed through Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO).

Ayres family biographical file, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.

Coote, Robert James. The Eclectic Odyssey of Atlee B. Ayres, Architect . College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2001.

Robert Moss Ayres, Jr. biographical file, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.

Robert Moss Ayres, Sr. biographical file, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.

Born to Nathan Tandy and Mary Parsons (Atlee) Ayres in Ohio, Atlee Bernard Ayres (1873-1969) moved with his family to Texas, settling in San Antonio in 1888. Graduating from the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University School of Architecture in 1894, he returned to San Antonio and married Olive Moss Cox in 1896. The couple had two sons, Robert Moss and Atlee Tandy, before her death in 1937. He then married Katherine Cox in 1940.

In 1900, Ayres entered into a partnership with Charles A. Coughlin, which lasted until the latter’s death in 1905, when Ayres established his own architectural firm. Becoming State Architect of Texas in 1915, he formed a firm with his son Robert in 1921. During his career, Ayres built numerous buildings in San Antonio and other Texas cities, including the James E. Rudder State Office Building (1916), the Texas School for the Blind (1917), the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (1924) with Emmett Jackson and George Willis, the Smith-Young Tower (1929), several buildings for the University of Texas at Austin, as well as several citizens’ homes. Ayres also published Mexican Architecture (1926), served as president of the Fiesta Association (1911-1918), became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1931, influenced the establishment of state licensing for architects in 1937, and was a charter member of the Texas Society of Architects in 1939.

Sources:

Ayres, Atlee Bernard. Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed March 17, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fay03 .

Ayres & Ayres, Architects: An Inventory of their Architectural Drawings, Photographs, and Records, 1894-1977. Alexander Architectural Archives, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. Accessed March 17, 2011. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utaaa/00041/aaa-00041p1.html .

Born to Nathan Tandy and Mary Parsons (Atlee) Ayres in Ohio, Atlee Bernard Ayres (1873-1969) moved with his family to Texas, settling in San Antonio in 1888.

Graduating from the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University School of Architecture in 1894, he returned to San Antonio and married Olive Moss Cox in 1896. The couple had two sons, Robert Moss and Atlee Tandy, before her death in 1937. He then married Katherine Cox in 1940.

In 1900, Ayres entered into a partnership with Charles A. Coughlin, which lasted until the latter's death in 1905, when Ayres established his own architectural firm. Becoming State Architect of Texas in 1915, he formed a firm with his son Robert in 1921. During his career, Ayres built numerous buildings in San Antonio and other Texas cities, including the James E. Rudder State Office Building (1916), the Texas School for the Blind (1917), the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (1924) with Emmett Jackson and George Willis, the Smith-Young Tower (1929), several buildings for the University of Texas at Austin, as well as several citizens' homes. Ayres also published Mexican Architecture (1926), served as president of the Fiesta Association (1911-1918), became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1931, influenced the establishment of state licensing for architects in 1937, and was a charter member of the Texas Society of Architects in 1939.

Sources:

Ayres, Atlee Bernard.Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed March 17, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fay03.

Ayres & Ayres, Architects: An Inventory of their Architectural Drawings, Photographs, and Records, 1894-1977. Alexander Architectural Archives, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. Accessed March 17, 2011. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utaaa/00041/aaa-00041p1.html.