Summary/Abstract: A native of Atlanta, Cecil Alexander Jr. was a World War II veteran, a renowned architect, and an outspoken activist during the Civil Rights Movement. Cecil influenced the physical appearance, as well as the political, social, and racial structure of Atlanta. The papers consist of correspondence, certificates, speeches, and newspaper articles.
Quantity/Physical Description: 1 linear foot
Language(s): English
Repository: The Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History, The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
Restrictions on Access: There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.
Restrictions on Use: Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation: Box #, Folder #, Mss 250, Cecil Alexander Papers, The Cuba Family Archives for Southern Jewish History, The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
Separated Material: Photographs removed to the visual arts collection.
Processed by: Demece Harvey
Note: This collection has been digitized and is available online due to the generous support of the Alexander family.
Arrangement: All material is arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically within each folder.
Biographical/Historical Note: Cecil Alexander was an American architect, principally a designer of commercial architecture, whose work was often "naturalistic". He worked with the firm FABRAP, which, in 1985, became Rosser FABRAP International and is now Rosser International. Together with other architects of the firm, he "shaped the skyline of Atlanta. Named Henry Alexander, at birth, he was named after an uncle who was unmarried at the time. When he was five years old, his "Uncle Harry" had married and the couple gave birth to a son. It was decided that young Henry would relinquish his name to his younger cousin and would, instead, be named after his own father, Cecil Alexander, Sr. Alexander attended Marist School and graduated from Boy's High in Atlanta. He enrolled in 1936 at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he spent one year before transferring to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he received a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1940. He continued graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1946, following his military service in World War II, he enrolled in the graduate architecture program and earned his Masters Degree at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he studied with Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus school, which was a major influence on the development of modern architecture.
Scope and Content: Researchers studying the Cecil Alexander Papers will gain insight into Jewish life in Atlanta, military service during World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement. All material is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and chronologically within each folder.