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Finding ASU History

Basic tools for finding ASU history materials

20 Years of Arizona State University

Published Sources

You will find more information if you are aware of the current and historic names of the building in question. The ASU General Catalog has lists of buildings and/or campus maps with descriptions and dates of construction after 1901. 

Names of specific buildings can be searched in the resources under the Digital Materials and Research Tools tabs. For example:

Dedication programs, news clippings and photographs for many campus buildings can be found through the University Archives Index. You'll need to record the call numbers from the Index so you can request materials through Ask An Archivist. News clipping files with an INFO number are accessible on a walk-in basis at the Wurzburger Reading Room, Hayden Library, Tempe campus. 

Articles on specific buildings are available in these sources at the Wurzburger Reading Room Reference Shelf:

  • A Guide to the Architecture of Metro Phoenix, pp.148-159. Call Number: NA735 P52 G8 1983
  • ASU From the Air: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, by David Scheatzle with Emily Kimling and Mookesh Patel, 2000. Call Number: 6.20 Sch21 2000
  • "By Design," Arizona State Magazine, Spring, 1994, pp.14-18. Call Number: 59.18 Ar47
  • Smith, Dean, Men to Match our Buildings, 1967. Call Number: 6.20 Sm54 1967
  • Vanished ASU, 1990 [exhibit catalog]. Call Number: LD197.28 V36x 

Records and Archives

STATISTICAL DATA AND ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS

General campus and building-specific statistics and other data are available from the Office of Facilities Services at their Campus and Building Information page. Students and researchers can request copies of architectural drawings through the "Plans Request" tab on this page!

ARCHIVAL RECORDS

Construction specifications, correspondence, and memoranda regarding many campus buildings are available within official university records. Records are available for inspection at the Wurzburger Reading RoomSearch the descriptions online at the links below: 

Office of the President, Arizona State University, Records, 1863-1981

Call Number: MSS-1 (ARCV)  

Office of the President (Schwada), Arizona State University, Records, 1961-1984

Call Number: MSS-125

University Archives Photograph Collection, 1885-1995

Call Number: UP ASUB ###

University Records Collection, 1885-1990

Call Number: MSS-98

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.