Westwood Arcade

B.Y. Academy ca. 1895; courtesy of BYU Univ. Archives

J. D. C. Young at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY., courtesy of RPI Archives

In 1994, I completed my Masters of Science degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Art & Architecture.  My thesis title: “The early life and career of Joseph Don Carlos Young (1855-1938) : a study of Utah’s first institutionally trained architect to 1884.”   Click here if you are interested in reading my thesis.

I was (am) very interested  in 19th century American architecture, city planning and design history.  Also, because of my involvement with the Brigham Young Academy Foundation (Provo, Ut.), which I helped found with Shirley Paxman and Meryl Astrup in 1985; and because I aided in the discovery and preservation of Young’s architectural archive in 1986-88 (two separate but related lots) while working for the LDS Church Historical Department, I wanted to write my thesis on J.D.C. Young and the Brigham Young Academy Bldg. (Provo, Ut., designed in 1884, completed in 1892).  I also wanted to survey Mormon architecture and aesthetics during the same period (3rd and 4th quarters of the 19th c.). If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

The chapter headings are: (1) Education and Early Life (1855-1979); (2) “Attending to His Private Business”: The Self Training & Practicum of J.D.C. Young (1879-1884); (3) Early Career, Commissions & Patronage (1881-1884); and (4) Designing the Brigham Young Academy Building (1884).