O’Neil Ford
(1905 – 1982) Pink Hill, TX
O’Neil Ford
Historical Information
O’Neil Ford was born to parents Bert and Lula Belle Ford in Pink Hill, TX on December 3, 1905. He later moved to Denton in 1917 following the death of his father. Ford graduated from Denton High School and attended North Texas State Teachers College (UNT) for two years. Ford later received an architectural certificate by mail from the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“In 1924 he and an uncle traveled through the Alsatian and German communities of Castroville, Brackettville, and Fredericksburg. Ford was deeply impressed by the simplicity and beauty of the German vernacular architecture, and the experience decisively influenced his later work.” In 1939 Ford moved to San Antonio, TX to begin working on the restoration of La Villita. That same year he opened the Ford, Powell, & Carson firm. Ford was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. At age 76, Ford passed away on July 20, 1982 leaving behind his wife, Wanda Graham, and their four children.
Major Works of O’Neil Ford
Little Chapel in the Woods, 1939
Denton, TX
“Located on the campus of Texas Women’s University, the O’Neil Ford-designed chapel is designated one of Texas’ 20 most outstanding architectural achievements by the Texas Society of Architects. Built by the National Youth Administration and dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1939, the small chapel—seating only 110 people—made use of local material as well as the building skills of students, faculty, and craftspeople. Rather than depicting religious imagery, the stained-glass windows are designed on the theme “Women Ministering to Human Needs.”
Trinity University, 1960s
San Antonio, TX
“In 2018 the campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places in part because it contains the largest collection of Ford works in one place.”
Tower of the Americas, 1968
San Antonio, TX
Ford’s firm, Ford, Powell & Carson, designed the Tower of the Americas for the World’s HemisFair. The structure remains an iconic landmark and part of the city’s skyline.
Characteristics
“O’Neil Ford, a Texas-based architect known for his attempt to merge modernism with the architectural idioms of the pioneer Southwest…”
Motifs & Ornamentation
Ford was a preservationist and his structures were composed of brick, stone, glass, tile, and wood. Saltillo tile and Douglas fir were commonly used materials. O’Neil Ford would often commission his brother Lynn, a skilled craftsman, for custom woodworking.
Ford was a preservationist and his structures were composed of brick, stone, glass, tile, and wood. Saltillo tile and Douglas fir were commonly used materials. O’Neil Ford would often commission his brother Lynn, a skilled craftsman, for custom woodworking.
Influences on Other Designers
Ford’s legacy lives on through the O’Neil Ford Medal for Design Achievement award by the Texas Society of Architects. The most recent recipients are David Lake and Ted Flato in 2018. “David Lake, FAIA, and Ted Flato, FAIA, both native Texans, met while working at O’Neil Ford & Associates in San Antonio and founded Lake|Flato in 1984. Now a renowned regional firm known for its sustainable modern designs and their engagement with the natural environment, Lake|Flato has received more than 270 design awards, including 11 Top Ten Green Project Awards from the AIA Committee on the Environment, and was recently named one of the Ten Most Innovative Architecture Firms in the World by Fast Company.”
Contemporaries
In 1926, O’Neil Ford was an apprentice and draftsman to Dallas architect David R. Williams. The pair designed several homes throughout North Texas.
Architects Boone Powell and Chris Carson shared a San Antonio firm with Ford that is still in business today.
Both O’Neil Ford and Fay Jones are noted for their homes and chapels. The two are also generally known their regional work and use of natural materials.
Videos
Interesting Facts
O’Neil Ford designed the UNT Gazebo located near the language building.
“He was born Otha Neil Ford. He hated his first name so as a boy referred to himself as O. Neil Ford. At some point he changed the O. period, to O’ apostrophe which radically changed the effect of his name and imbued it with a certain rakish twist.”
References
Marini, R. A. (2019, March 27). Architect O’Neil Ford built some of San Antonio’s biggest landmarks, but you may not have heard of him. Retrieved from https://www.expressnews.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article/Texas-architect-O-Neil-Ford-built-some-of-the-13721512.php#photo-17133785
Cochrane, M. (2012). Retrieved April 14, 2019, from http://www.dentonhistory.net/page84/
Florance, C. (n.d.). Denton: Little Chapel in the Woods. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://texastimetravel.oncell.com/en/denton-little-chapel-in-the-woods-96828.html
Goldberger, P. (1982, July 23). O’NEIL FORD, TEXAS ARCHITECT EMPHASIZED A REGIONAL STYLE. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/23/obituaries/o-neil-ford-texas-architect-emphasized-a-regional-style.html
Hollers, M. (2010, June 12). FORD, O’NEIL. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffo31
Marini, R. (2019, March 27). Architect O’Neil Ford built some of San Antonio’s biggest landmarks, but you may not have heard of him. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://www.expressnews.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article/Texas-architect-O-Neil-Ford-built-some-of-the-13721512.php#photo-1713378
O’Neil Ford Medal for Design Achievement. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://texasarchitects.org/ford-medal/
Urbanism, C. (2012, May 17). CNU XVI Tribute Presentation of O’Neil Ford given by Boone Powell. Retrieved April 14, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_UX0Kdfo6o&feature=youtu.be
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