Scope and Content Note
The papers of Waddy Butler Wood (1869-1944) span the years 1885-1941, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period between 1913 and 1935. The collection focuses on Wood's career as a leading architect and designer in Washington, D.C., and includes correspondence, professional papers, and miscellany.
Among the general correspondence are letters to and from major American architects such as Cass Gilbert, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, John Russell Pope, and the firms of Carrère and Hastings and McKim, Mead & White, as well as correspondence with professional organizations and trade journals. Wood was active in the American Institute of Architects and served as president of its Washington chapter. His affiliation with the Democratic Party is reflected in correspondence with numerous politicians and government officials, including Andrew W. Mellon, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, and advisors to Woodrow Wilson. Wood designed and later remodeled President Wilson's house in northwest Washington. Of particular interest are the files on Harold L. Ickes, secretary of the interior, and Frederic A. Delano, architect and chairman of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission during the Roosevelt administration. Delano, President Roosevelt's maternal uncle, commissioned Wood in the 1920s to design his home in northwest Washington.
Although Wood designed and remodeled numerous private residences, his reputation rested primarily on his larger commissions, such as banks, commercial offices, and government buildings. The professional file in the papers documents his activity as adviser, competitor, and juror in architectural competitions and provides information regarding several of his projects. Of particular interest are the files on the Interior Department building, Wood's largest major work. An inaugurations file chronicles Wood's role as designer of the "courts of honor" for the inaugurations of Woodrow Wilson in 1913 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and 1937.
Throughout Wood's lifetime, models, drawings, and photographs of his work could be seen frequently in public displays and trade publications. These depictions are chronicled in the exhibits file and in correspondence with architectural journals. Also of interest is Wood's correspondence with well-known photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston.
Miscellany includes biographical material and drafts of articles, speeches, and other brief writings and notes by Wood.