Don Murray was born in Walla Walla, Washington in 1920. He received his degree in architecture from Washington State University (WSU) in 1942. He served in the Navy during World War II, where he received a Silver Star for action in underwater demolition as a frogman. After the war, Murray returned to Spokane and from 1946 to 1957 he worked for the architecture firm of Funk, Molander & Johnson. In 1957, he became a partner and the firm changed its name to Funk, Murray & Johnson. In 1974, he founded his own firm, Don Murray & Associates. Don Murray designed buildings for the Catholic Church, WSU, Gonzaga University, IBM, the federal government, and many others. He was prominent in the mid-century modern architecture movement in the Pacific Northwest and The Don Murray house in Spokane is considered a classic in the Shed style. He was also a prominent member of the Riverfront Development Master Planning Committee in Spokane. Don Murray retired in 1982 and devoted himself to photography. He died in Spokane in 2004.
Quarto, string-tied black paper album. Contains 347 black and white silver gelatin photographs measuring between 2.375" x 3.25" to 2.5" x 4.125" with some captions.
The album begins with a series of crisp, captivating photos showing Murray’s friends and family. What follows includes shots of the campus including Murray’s fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, and various other sites around town. We’re also shown road trips including camping, a visit to a Mount Spokane ski lodge, and a trip to Chatcolet Lake in Idaho with several water skiing photos.
Around 15 photos highlight Murray’s engineering and design classes including photos of projects including Storefronts of Tomorrow and a building products display center. A nine shot sequence of players in a batting stance for the freshman/senior game depicts amateur baseball photography at its best. (From seller's description)
This collection is open and available for research use.
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[Item description]
Donald Murray, Architecture Student at Washington State College, Photograph Album, circa early 1940s (PC 167)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Purchased by WSU MASC in 2017.
This collection was processed by Greg Matthews in 2017.
Preliminary Guide to the Donald Howard Murray Papers, 1922-1983
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.