Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Carneal and Johnston Architectural Drawings, Ms2001-008, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Scope and Content

The Carneal and Johnston Architectural Drawings were transferred from the Office of the University Architect to Special Collections in February 2001.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Carneal and Johnston Architectural Drawings was completed in 2001.

Biographical Note

J. Ambler Johnston was born in 1885 and was a 1904 graduate of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. He also earned a master of science degree in 1905 from VPI. Johnston resided in Richmond, Virginia, where he served as a charter member of the Richmond Rotary Club and was a Civil War scholar. He died in 1974.

William Leigh Carneal, Jr., was born in Richmond on October 24, 1881, and graduated in 1903 from the Virginia Military Institute. He began his architectural practice around 1906 following a three year stint as a clerk in his father's company, Sitterding-Carneal-Davis Company. He died in 1958.

In 1908, Carneal and Johnston combined offices. The firm's first building was the original McBryde Hall on the VPI campus, completed in 1917. The firm helped to incorporate the Collegiate Gothic style to the campus landscape. For a brief period, the firm included a third partner and was known as Carneal, Johnston, & Wright. Both Carneal and Johnston retired in the 1950s. In 1999, the surviving firm of Carneal and Johnston merged with Ballou, Justice, & Upton Architects.

Scope and Content

The Carneal and Johnston Architectural Drawings contains detail drawings, sketches, and tracings of several campus buildings at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Items include 1934 drawings of 1934 Faculty Dormitory and Campus Soical Center, 1939 drawings of Agricultural Hall, 1952 and 1959 drawings of the Academic Science building, 1959 and 1961 drawings of the Engineering building, and 1961 and 1968 sketches of dorm buildings. The collection also contains original detail drawings and tracings of the Biology, Geology, and Education building.

Related Material

See the Virginia Tech Buildings Architectural Collection, RG 6/3/2e , and Carneal and Johnston Glass Negatives, Ms2014-016 , also at Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Architectural drawing -- 20th century
• Architectural drawings (visual works)
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• University Archives
• University History
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Carneal and Johnston Architectural Drawings by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).