O'Neil Ford was an American architect of the mid-20th century in Texas, and a leading architect of the American Southwest.
17 Facts About O'Neil Ford
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O'Neil Ford is considered one of the nation's best unknown architects, and his designs merged the modernism of Europe with the indigenous qualities of early Texas architecture.
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O'Neil Ford was born in Pink Hill, in Grayson County, Texas, in 1905.
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O'Neil Ford's family moved to Denton, in 1917 after the death of his father.
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O'Neil Ford enrolled in North Texas State Teachers College for two years, but financial burdens forced him to abandon his efforts of a formal education.
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O'Neil Ford entered into private practice in 1934 and worked with a series of partners within Texas beginning in 1936.
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O'Neil Ford's well-crafted structures were composed of brick, glass, and wood, and were intimately tied to their settings.
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O'Neil Ford enlisted his brother Lynn, a master carver and sculptor, to create custom doors, screens, and louvered grates.
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O'Neil Ford contracted with local artist Martha Mood to produced light fixtures, fountains and wall hangings.
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O'Neil Ford was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1960.
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O'Neil Ford was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Lyndon B Johnson, and in 1974, Ford himself was designated a National Historic Landmark by the council.
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O'Neil Ford resided in San Antonio until his death in 1982 at age 76.
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O'Neil Ford's funeral was held on the campus of Trinity University in Margarite B Parker Chapel, which he designed.
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O'Neil Ford designed several buildings in Denton, among them the Little Chapel in the Woods, renovations at the Emily Fowler Public Library, the Denton Civic Center, Denton's City Hall, and several buildings at the Selwyn School.
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O'Neil Ford designed the Braniff Memorial Tower, the Braniff Graduate Center, the Gorman Lecture Center, parts of the art village, the Haggar University Center, and the Haggerty Science Building.
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O'Neil Ford was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 1976.
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Many of O'Neil Ford's works are in San Antonio, where he lived for much of his life.