The papers of Alfred Easton Poor (1899-1988) span the years 1866-1985, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period from 1919 to 1983. The papers are organized into Correspondence , Subject Files , and Miscellany series.

Poor was an architect who designed and renovated some of the nation's most prominent public spaces. He was principal architect of the memorial to the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and was principal or contributing architect of the James Madison Memorial Building of the Library of Congress. He was also involved in the restoration of the West Front and renovation of the Old Supreme Court chamber of the United States Capitol. Other designs by Poor included government buildings in New York and military airfields and buildings around the world. .

The Correspondence series, dated 1866, 1901, and 1919-1983, chiefly concerns Poor's military service during the world wars and the activities of his architectural firm in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Much of Poor's correspondence regarding his architectural career was destroyed after his death. The remaining correspondence is disparate and sporadic, except for a surviving two-year segment of office chronological files from 1979 to 1981, which Poor accumulated while associated with Poor, Swanke, Hayden & Connell.

The Subject Files consist of correspondence, reports, and related material regarding Poor's architectural designs, his activities as an official of the National Academy of Design, family matters, and aircraft during World War II.

The Miscellany series includes Poor's daily calendars, notes and notations, programs, publications containing information about his designs, and a small number of writings by Poor and his father.