A Guide to the Robert James Sullivan Jr. Papers, circa 1930-2013 SC 0003

A Guide to the Robert James Sullivan Jr. Papers, circa 1930-2013 SC 0003


[logo]

James Madison University Libraries Special Collections

820 Madison Drive
MSC 1706
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Telephone: (540) 568-3612
library-special@jmu.edu
URL: https://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/

Kate Morris and Lindsey Wood

Repository
James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
Identification
SC 0003
Title
Robert James Sullivan Jr. papers circa 1930-2013
Quantity
8.53 cubic feet, 12 boxes, 4 flat files
Creator
Sullivan, Robert James, Jr., 1937-2013
source
Sullivan, Kathleen
Language
English .
Abstract
The Robert James Sullivan Jr. Papers consist of professional and personal records and reports, and document Sullivan's time as City Planner of Harrisonburg from 1965-1991, his career in the Political Science Department at James Madison University, and work as the "unofficial historian" of Harrisonburg. Materials include city planning reports, newspaper articles, photographs, scrapbooks, and maps.

Administrative Information

Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Other Formats Available

All slides within series 6: Photographs and Slides, have been digitized and are available within JMU Scholarly Commons (https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/rjs/).

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Robert James Sullivan Jr. Papers, circa 1930-2013, SC 0003, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated by Kathleen Sullivan, wife of Robert James Sullivan Jr., in two separate donations in April 2014 and August 2015.

Processing Information

When this collection was received from the donor, some materials had been wet and suffered from mold damage. Materials with excessive water damage or mold were photocopied and the originals discarded.

Bio/Historical Note

Robert "Bobby" James Sullivan Jr. was born on November 18, 1937 in Harrisonburg, Virginia and was the eldest son of the late Robert J. Sullivan Sr. and Goldie Liskey Sullivan. He passed away on February 4, 2013. Sullivan graduated from Harrisonburg High School in 1956 and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Mount St. Mary's College in 1960 and a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962. He married Kathleen Marie Donovan on June 27, 1964.

Sullivan was the City Planner for the city of Harrisonburg from 1965-1991 during the years that saw Urban Redevelopment for parts of the city as well as growth through annexation. He also taught as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Political Science for James Madison University from 1970-2006. See folder titled "Background Information, Robert J. Sullivan, Jr., August 1998" from the Personal Papers series for details of his life and career.

Known locally as the "unofficial historian" of Harrisonburg, Sullivan often spoke to groups about the history of Harrisonburg. He was responsible for creating walking tours of downtown Harrisonburg first with his JMU Political Science classes, and later with the larger community.

Sullivan was a life-long member of Blessed Sacrament parish and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He served on the Rockingham Public Library Board and the Salvation Army Advisory Board for over thirty years. He was especially fond of the Harrisonburg High School athletic teams and was recognized as the Harrisonburg Blue Streaks biggest fan when he was inducted into the Harrisonburg High School Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of 2008.

Scope and Content

The Robert James Sullivan Jr. Papers consist of materials that Sullivan created and collected relating mostly to the city of Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he served as the City Planner from 1965-1991. The collection contains documents related to city planning, the history and expansion of Harrisonburg, and urban renewal. Other materials document his time in the Political Science Department at James Madison University as well as the walking tours he led of downtown Harrisonburg. His personal papers include newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other documents relating to his life and career. Also contained in the collection are a large number of photographs and slides that Sullivan took that capture the growth and changes in Harrisonburg over time. Images of note include a panoramic view of Harrisonburg ca. 1930, photos and slides that document urban renewal projects, and images of downtown Harrisonburg, VA from the 1960s-2000s.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in six series. Series 1: Reports and Series 2: City of Harrisonburg are arranged further into subseries. All series and subseries arranged chronologically.

Reports, 1946-1992 City of Harrisonburg, 1958-2012 Personal Papers, 1952-2013 Scrapbooks and Newspaper, 1945-2012 Maps, 1958-2003 Photographs and Slides, circa 1930-2012

Related Material

SdArch 2-3 : Oral history interview [sound recording] / Bob Sullivan ; interviewed by Amy Accles, forms part of Court Square, Harrisonburg, Virginia, an oral history project. Transcript also available in Special Collections and the circulating collection: F234.H31 A29 1990.

The Harrisonburg, VA branch of the Massanutten Regional Library holds 36 scrapbooks created by Sullivan from the years 1965-2001. These scrapbooks are cataloged under the title "Harrisonburg Civic Scrapbook."

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

Back to Top

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

Back to Top

Container List

1
Reports
1946-1992
Scope and Content

Arranged into three subseries: City Planning Commission Annual Reports, 1966-1981, Urban Planning Grants, 1965-1966, and Miscellaneous Reports, 1946-1992. Arranged chronologically within each series.

Back to Top
2
City of Harrisonburg
1958-2012
Scope and Content

Arranged into two subseries: City Planning, 1960-2012, and Harrisonburg History, 1958-2008. Arranged chronologically within each series.

Back to Top
3
Personal Papers
1952-2013
Scope and Content

Arranged Chronologically. Materials in the Personal Papers series document Sullivan's professional activities as well as his time as an instructor in the Political Science Department at James Madison University. Please note that the folder titled "JMU Classes - Evaluations," do not contain student grades or performance evaluations, but rather contain evaluations completed by students about Sullivan's performance as an instructor. For details of Sullivan's life and career highlights please see the folder titled "Background Information Robert J. Sullivan Jr., August 1998."

Back to Top
4
Scrapbooks and Newspaper
1945-2012
Scope and Content

Arranged Chronologically. The Scrapbooks and Newspaper series consists of newspaper clippings collected by Sullivan, either loose in folders, or pasted into scrapbook pages, that document city planning activities primarily in Harrisonburg, VA. Most newspaper clippings come from the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. In addition to clippings that document city planning efforts, Sullivan also collected clippings that relate to historical aspects of Harrisonburg, particularly those that feature images of Harrisonburg from the past. The folder titled "Old Times" : News and photos from the Daily News-Record contains a copy of the front page of the Daily News-Record from 1945 that reports on the ending of World War II. Please note that the scrapbooks in box 5, folders 4-7 are photocopies of the original scrapbooks. The original scrapbooks suffered from mold damage and were not retained.

Back to Top
5
Maps
1958-1993
Scope and Content

The maps series contains maps produced or used by the Harrisonburg Housing and Redevelopment Authority that document homes and businesses in areas of Harrisonburg slated for demolition through urban renewal initiatives. Other city planning maps include hand-drawn maps created by Sullivan that show the growth of Harrisonburg over time and through annexation, as well as miscellaneous maps of Harrrisonburg and Rockingham County collected from various sources. Map identifier is located on the back of each item in the bottom right corner.

Back to Top
6
Photographs and Slides
circa 1930-2006
Arrangement

Arranged under two headings: Photographs, and Slides. Photographs are arranged chronologically, and Slides are arranged topically.

Scope and Content

This series comprises photographic prints and slides created or collected by Sullivan that primarily document neighborhoods, buildings, and other locations in and around Harrisonburg, Virginia from circa 1930 to 2006. Images document the areas of Harrisonburg targeted for urban renewal in the 1960s, street widening and other planning commission projects, as well as buildings and other features of downtown Harrisonburg from the 1960s-early 2000s. Images in this series were taken and used by Sullivan both in his professional capacity as City Planning Director, as well as for personal use. Other content found among this series includes images of Harrisonburg High School football games in the early 2000s as well as images of JMU students in classes taught by Sullivan and on walking tours conducted as part of his courses from 1990-2006. Items identified as photo albums in the inventory were removed from their original albums and foldered individually with corresponding captions as folder titles.

All slides have been digitized and are available within JMU Scholarly Commons (https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/rjs/). Slides are arranged topically from the original arrangement created by Sullivan, and are listed alphabetically. Descriptive titles for the topical groupings listed in the inventory were transcribed from Sullivan's own description, written onto slide reel boxes. Additionally, Sullivan wrote item level image description onto most slides in the collection. That descriptive information is listed as the image title when viewing the images within JMU Scholarly Commons.

Most slide images document Harrisonburg and the surrounding area from the 1960s-1980s. Other content includes images of Reston, VA, and Durham, NC that feature housing complexes and downtown areas. Note that images of Harrisonburg are found within the grouping labeled as "Durham, NC," as well as in the grouping titled "non-H'burg."

Back to Top