This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
The archive includes architectural drawings and community studies, laying emphasis on Doman's belief that "architectural forms should reflect the cultural background and heritage of the people for whom they are designed." Approximately 25 projects are represented in the collection. The majority of projects are for housing complexes and urban development in New York City.
1970-2001
This collection is made up of two series: Series I: Architectural Drawings; Series II: Printed Material
This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For additional guidance, see Columbia University Libraries' publication policy.
In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.
James R. Doman architectural drawings and reports, 1970-2001, Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Source of acquisition--This collection was donated by Jen Doman in 2014 (accession number 2014.005).
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
This finding aid was produced by Shelley Hayreh, Avery Archivist, in 2014.
2014-06-12 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
The birth of Columbia architecture school graduate James Richard Doman, Jr. in 1937 coincided with the completion of New York City's first federally subsidized housing project. The Harlem River Houses, located at 151st Street and Harlem River Drive, was the architect's home from infancy until age 12. Doman's future mentor, John Louis Wilson, Jr., the first African American graduate of Columbia University's School of Architecture in 1928, was one of the primary architects of the housing complex.
By the early 1970s, Doman established James R. Doman and Associates, one of the largest architectural firms in the city headed by an African American. At the time, there were only eight such firms and as Doman stated in the Sept. 1976 Black Enterprise, in which he appears on the cover"There are so few of us in the field that a precise definition of Black architecture is impossible.".
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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