McRoberts, Brian, Collection of Virginia State Capitol Materials A Guide to the Brian McRoberts Collection of Virginia State
Capitol Materials M 386 A Collection in Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, M 386
The colleciton is open for research, however all student records in folder 20 are subject to the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA) restrictions and are not available for research.
Custodial History
The McRoberts family gave this collection to Dr. Charles Brownell in December 1995.
Preferred Citation
Brian McRoberts Collection of Virginia State Capitol Materials, Collection Number M 386, Special Collections and Archives,
James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by Dr. Charles Brownell in 2009.
Brian P. McRoberts (d. 1995) was an architectural history student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He studied early American
architecture with Dr. Charles Brownell and served as his undergraduate teaching assistant (1994-1995). In the fall of 1996,
he would have been the first recipient of the Bess T. Brownell Assistantship in Architectural History. However, he died unexpectedly
in the fall of 1995. In honor of McRoberts' memory, Dr. Brownell dedicated the Fourth Annual VCU Architectural Symposium in
the Fall of 1996 to him.
McRoberts' greatest scholarly contribution is the reconstruction of Thomas Jefferson's design for the great hall of the Virginia
State Capitol. McRoberts published his drawings in the first issue of The Classicist (1995). His drawings were used in several publications by Dr. Brownell, including a book titled, The Capital of Virginia—Landmark of American Architecture (2002).
From December 1994 to June 1995, McRoberts cataloged hundreds of drawings by the architectural firm of Carneal and Johnston.
However, both his written and computerized records have yet to be found. The only records that remain are several contact
sheets with images of the drawings.
The collection, dated 1994-2002, includes McRoberts's drawings, papers, and correspondence as a Virginia Commonwealth University
student. It also includes letters written by Dr. Charles Brownell and members of the McRoberts family. The papers in the collection
serve as a foundation for students to conduct further research in American architecture.
The Brian P. McRoberts Collection is organized into four categories. The first group consists of papers regarding his submission
to The Classicist. The papers, organized chronologically, include letters between McRoberts and the Director of the Institute
for Classical Architecture as well as ten different sets of drawings. A second group of papers are from McRoberts' academic
career, including a paper written as an undergraduate student as well as fliers created while serving as an assistant to Dr.
Brownell. The Johnston and Carneal images are also included in this section. The third group of papers are correspondence
between Dr. Brownell and the McRoberts family, which provide insight into McRoberts as a beloved individual. A fourth category
consists of a photocopied image and Dr. Brownell's initial guide for the McRoberts' Papers.
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