Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides of university buildings, including photos of each building owned by the university in 1923, and detailed construction photos of Angell Hall, West Medical Building (later renamed C.C. Little Science Building), Central Heating Plant, University Hospital (Old Main). Also includes houses surrounding campus, heating tunnels, and Buildings and Grounds vehicles, horse teams, employees and equipment.

The record group for the Buildings and Grounds Department is primarily comprised of visual materials that document the construction projects which the department oversaw. The bulk of the records are from the 1920s, with the photographs composing the largest portion of the collection. Non-original images of some university buildings from the 1800s are also included.

The records are arranged into six series: Architectural Drawings, Photo Albums, Photographs, Lantern Slides, Glass Plate Negatives, and Topographical Maps.

Blueprints, renderings, and blue-line prints of original University structures, and additions to, and alterations of existing structures. Architects and architectural firms represented include: Albert Kahn, Alexander J. Davis, Pond and Pond, C. William Palmer, and William LeBaron Jenney.

This collection of University of Michigan architectural blueprints, renderings, and blueline prints has been drawn together from different sources. The provenance is not always clear, though most of the sheets probably originated with the Buildings and Grounds Department of the University. The collection is selective and does not include all campus buildings. Significant buildings are included, however, as are important architects and architectural firms. Represented in the collection are the works of Albert Kahn, Alexander J. Davis, Pond and Pond, the Chicago architectural firm, C. William Palmer, William L. Jenney, and York and Sawyer of New York.