Issue 49  July 28th 2025

OA+D Archives Collections Processing Update

In 2024, OA+D Archives acquired the Annette Del Zoppo Papers Related to Paolo Soleri. Anne Marie Del Zoppo (1936-2001) was a photographer whose work also included preparing media presentations for the studio of Charles and Ray Eames from 1961 to 1970 and recording the preparation process for the 1986 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

The Del Zoppo collection held by OA+D Archives reflects her decades of work recording the creation of Arcosanti in the mid-1960s and the evolving life of the community established by Paolo Soleri and sustained today by the non-profit Cosanti Foundation. The bulk of the documentation dates from 1963 to the mid-1980s.

From initial design drawings through years of ongoing construction, the approximately 22,000 35mm slides and related materials such as rare posters and publications--and a fine group of early Soleri bells--form one of the most substantial visual resources available for the study of organic architectural design at this Arizona landmark.

OA+D Archives has received two grants to support archival processing of the Del Zoppo collection. Funding from the Arizona Architecture Foundation (2024) and the Arizona Humanities (2025) provided for the purchase of conservation supplies and a slide scanner. After being placed in protective enclosures and organized with a storage location system, more than 3,500 slides have now been digitized with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers.

Cataloging work is now being undertaken to title and describe the Del Zoppo slides. Over the next six months, 5,000 high resolution Del Zoppo images will be added to the OA+D Archives online catalog. In addition, reference thumbnail images of all 22,000 slides will be presented. The remainder of the collection is currently being placed into proper archival containers and a finding aid prepared.

If you'd also like to support the OA+D Archives in its efforts to save and digitize archival architectural materials like these, please consider joining the Friends of OA+D sustaining membership program or making a tax-deductible donation HERE.

From The Archives

This month we feature a rare signed first edition of My Father Who Is On Earth by John Lloyd Wright, published in 1946 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Written by Frank Lloyd Wright’s second son, the book provides a deeply personal account of growing up with the famous architect. It explores John’s own career as an architect and toy designer, while offering rare insights into his father’s personality, work, and their often complicated relationship.

This copy is signed by John and included a December 7, 1939 letter on John's Michigan City, IN letterhead with a hand drawn sketch of architectural details sent to Goldwin Goldsmith at the University of Texas at Austin. Goldsmith (1871-1962) was a well-known professor of architecture, taught at the University of Texas School of Architecture (1928-1955), and served as chairman of the department. Born in Paterson, N.J., he worked as an office assistant at McKim, Mead & White (1888-1890), studied at Columbia University and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1897), practiced in the firm Van Vleck & Goldsmith in New York (1897-1913), and established and taught at the University of Kansas School of Architecture (1913-1928) before coming to the University of Texas.

If you have archival materials related to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Taliesin Fellowship, or any other organic architectural or design items that you're interested in donating for our growing collections, please let us know by contacting us at info@oadarchives.org.