University of North Carolina at Asheville
D. Hiden Ramsey Library
Special Collections/University Archives

Oral History Register
for

Henry Irven Gaines


Henry Irven Gaines
Ewart M. Ball Photographic Collection, balln2382
D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville, 28804

Title

 Henry Irven Gaines Oral History

Creator

 Henry Irven Gaines
Alt. Creator Interviewer: Dr. Louis D. Silveri

Subject

 LCSH:

Subject

Keyword: Architects ; Six Associates Architectural Firm ; Architecture ; Asheville Mall ; Mountain people ; Beaucatcher Tunnel ; Textile Mills ; Thomas Wolfe ; Fleetwood Hotel, Hendersonville ; Depression ; Central Bank and Trust Company ; Wallace Davis

Description

Gaines discusses his ancestry and his childhood summers in the mountains of North Carolina where his father had a small farm. He recounts his life as an architect and the projects and personalities he encountered in the profession. He knew the author Thomas Wolfe and describes him in the interview.  He discusses life during the Depression.

Transcript of interview only: no tape.

Publisher

D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC, 28804

Contributor

 Henry Irven Gaines

Date

Electronic Record Issued: 2001-07-16

Type

Text

Format

 62 double-spaced pages, 1 copy

Identifier

 http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/oralhistory/SHRC/gaines.html

Source

Louis D. Silveri Oral History Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804

Language

English

Relation

see Kings Maelum by Henry Irven Gaines ; Special Collections Vertical File ; SHRC Anthony Lord Oral History

Coverage

 c1900's-1975 ; Asheville, NC
Rights No restrictions ;  Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Acquisition

Donor number: 23 ;  Date of acquisition: August, 1977

Processed By

 Southern Highlands Research Center staff , 1978 ; Special Collections staff, 2001

Interview Date

 1975-06-25

Biography

 An architect who lived and worked in Asheville for many years, Gaines struggled to become established in his profession during the Great Depression. During his career, he designed many private residences and public buildings, including the Asheville Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the Asheville Union Bus Station, the Woolworth Building, buildings on the Mars Hill College Campus, and the Brevard College Library.

During World War II, in order to attract government contracts, he joined with five other architects ( Erle Stillwell, Charles Waddell, Tony Lord, Bill Dodge, and Stewart Rogers) to form the architectural firm "Six Associates."

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