Conversations with Samuel Wilson, Jr. : Dean of Architectural Preservation in New Orleans

A complement to Learning from Samuel Wilson, Jr. Samuel Wilson, Jr., was the founding president of the Louisiana Landmarks Society. This collection of interviews takes place during the early 1960s.

This collection is based on a series of oral histories drawn from a research project to reconstruct the history of the modern architectural preservation movement in New Orleans. Samuel Wilson, Jr. (1911-93) was a renowned architect and community leader who attracted intellectual peers, perused systemic research, and published extensively on the architectural history of New Orleans and the Gulf South.

From Friends of the Cabildo's oral history program, Abbye A. Gorin has brought to light Wilson's early life, which set the stage for his lifetime achievements. Conversations with Samuel Wilson, Jr. shows how Wilson guided change when change was bound to happen and singles out some of the most important buildings that he worked on such as the Cabildo, Ursuline Convent, and St. Patrick's Church. Included is a complete catalog of Wilson's projects, literary works, honors, and awards. The book is interspersed with Wilson's artwork, including drawings from his summer sketch book when he was a student at Tulane University School of Architecture in 1930.

Abbye A. Gorin is an architectural researcher, writer, and photographer. She earned her BFA from the University of Texas at Austin, her MS from the University of New Orleans, and her PhD from Virginia Tech. She is listed in Who's Who. Along with books and video scripts, she has done pioneering work in educational technologies.

Ann Masson is a New Orleans art historian who writes, teaches, and consults in the areas of architecture, antiques, and historic preservation. She has been the assistant director of the master's program in historic preservation at Tulane University since 2009 and served as the executive director of the Gallier House Museum for more than fifteen years. A graduate of Newcomb College, Masson holds an MA from Tulane University. She attended Attingham Park Summer School, a noted study course in the architecture and arts of English country houses, as well as Loyola University's Institute of Politics.