As part of the Architecture and Planning Library, the Alexander Architectural Archives joins the vast research collections and services found within the University of Texas Libraries. The Alexander Architectural Archives supports scholarship and education about the history of designed and built environments by acquiring and preserving research collections and by making them accessible.

Donald S. Nelson (1907-1992) spent the majority of his architectural career working in the Texas firm of Broad and Nelson, specializing in institutional and commercial works and planning. In 1935, George L. Dahl, chief architect of the Texas Centennial Fair, hired him. After the completion of Fair Park in 1937, Nelson remained in Dallas and established a private practice from 1937 to 1940. He was selected by the Federal Fine Arts Commission to be the architect for the federal memorials for the Texas Centennial. During World War II, he served as Chief of Planning and Design for the United States Army Air Force in Washington, D.C. from 1942 to 1946. Nelson was made a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1954.   Personal papers, financial records, office files, professional association material, job files; specifications, printed material; books, visual material, artifacts, and drawings (together dating from 1910 to 1975) document the activities of the architectural firm of Broad and Nelson, and related firms. Among buildings included are the following the Dallas Mercantile Bank Complex (1940-47), the Texas Memorial Grand Lodge Temple in Waco (1950), the Dallas County Government Center (1969), the Scottish Rite Library and Museum in Waco (1969), and the Experimental Science Building at The University of Texas (1951). For more information please see the finding aid to the Donald S. Nelson collection.