Archives West Finding Aid

Raymond J. Ashton was born January 23, 1877. Very little information about him is available. His approximate practice dates are 1912-1969. He worked with several firms, including Aston-Parry Co. (1915); Rutherford and Ashton (1919-1920); Ashton & Evans (1923-1946); Ashton, Evans, Brazier, & McClenahan (1948); Ashton, Evans, & Brazier (1949-1961); and Ashton, Brazier, Montmorency, & Associates (1964-1969). He died circa 1969. Raymond Leslie Evans was born January 30, 1895, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the brother of prominent Utah architect Clifford Evans. He began his architectural career in the office of Ware and Treganza in 1912; then, in 1923, he and Raymond J. Ashton formed a partnership lasting the duration of his career. Evans sometimes designed buildings in a neo-classical style, such as the old Union Building on the University of Utah campus (now called Gardner Hall). More often, he chose contemporary styles, such as with the Utah State Penitentiary and the George Thomas Library (now the Utah Museum of Natural History). At one point in his career, he served as president of the Utah chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Evans married Marie Lewis in 1924. He died October 20, 1963. Bernis Eugene Brazier was born June 15, 1908. He was first educated in engineering at the University of Utah, and then in architecture at L'Ecole National Superieu de Beaux-Arts in Strasbourg, France. When he returned to Salt Lake City, he became architect for the Manhatten Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Later, he organized a firm called Brazier, Montmorency, Hayes, and Talbot, Architects. This firm designed many large buildings around Salt Lake City, including the Veterans Administration Hospital, Salt Lake International Airport Terminal, University of Utah Medical Center, and Zion Lutheran Church. In 1948, Brazier joined the Raymond Ashton and Raymond Evans office. The YWCA in Salt Lake City is a product of their collaboration. He died May 4, 1970.