O’Toole, William G. (1898-1956) Architectural Drawings, 1909-1956
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: William G. O’Toole, 1898-1956
Title: Architectural drawings, 1909-1956
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for this collection, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 6 ovsz. flds. & 1 ovsz. box
Locator Number: Mss./AR/O88
Biographical Note
William G. O’Toole (1898-1956) was an architect in Louisville, Ky. during the early 20th century. A Louisville native, O’Toole was born on 11 August 1898 to Theodore and Martha M. O’Toole. He graduated from Saint Xavier High School (1914) and the University of Louisville (1918) and continued his studies at Harvard University where he earned a master’s degree at the Graduate School of Architecture in 1921. While studying at Harvard, O’Toole was awarded the Julia Amory Appleton fellowship, allowing him to spend two years (1921-1923) furthering his studies in Europe. After this post- graduate experience, O’Toole taught at the Georgia Institute of Technology for one year. He then returned to Louisville where he joined the architectural firm D. X. Murphy & Brothers as a draftsman, eventually becoming president in 1943, a position he held until his death in 1956.
O’Toole married Martha Gardiner and had six children: William Jr., Laurence T., Miriam, Thomas J., David P., and Martin M. He was president of the Kentucky chapter of the American Institute of Architects, served as chairman of the board of trustees of Strathmoor Manor, and was a member of Holy Name Society of St. Raphael Catholic Church. O’Toole died in 1956 at age 57.
Scope & Content Note
Collection includes architectural drawings created by O’Toole, mostly dating to ca. 1925-1956 when he worked for the Louisville, Kentucky architectural firm D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects. Architectural records include working drawings on blueprint, drafting linen, and pencil on trace paper representing surveys, plot plans, elevations, floor plans, details, and cross sections for residential, commercial, religious, medical, and educational buildings as well as a subdivision and sewer system. Except for four drawings in Spanish of the Juarez Jockey Club dated 1909 and two drawings for the Standard Oil Co. Service Station in Louisville dated 1919, all drawings in the collection are from O’Toole’s years (ca. 1925-1956) at D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects. The majority of the architectural projects are located in the Louisville, Kentucky area however there are projects located in Owensboro (Ky.), Mexico, Georgia, and Indiana. Projects include but are not limited to the John N. Norton Memorial Infirmary, Federal Land Bank, U.S. Marine Hospital, Nazareth College and Presentation Academy Gymnasium, Churchill Downs, and Waverley Hills Sanatorium. See project index for more information.
Folder List
Folder 1: American Tobacco Co., Warehouse “E” and “B”; Broadway & 17th Streets; Louisville, KY; 7/14/1947.
Church, unidentified; n.d.
Churchill Downs, ‘New’ Press Stairs, second floor to roof; Fourth & Central Ave.; Louisville, KY; 1/30/1956.
Dant, Sam, residence; Tyler & Lover’s Lane; Louisville, KY; n.d.
Folder 2: Juarez Jockey Club; Juarez, Mexico; 7/14/1909.
Louisville Trust Company, Branch Bank; 2450 Bardstown Road; Louisville, KY; 1/24/1956.
Nazareth College and Presentation Academy, Gymnasium; North side of Breckenridge Street between Third & Fourth Streets; Louisville, KY; 6/24/1938.
Folder 3: Our Lady of the Holy Ghost; Conyers, GA; 1944-1948.
Folder 4: St. Steven Cathedral, Bishop’s Throne; 610 Locust Street; Owensboro, KY; 5/12/1941
Security Bank; Preston & Market Streets; Louisville, KY; 1/3/1926
Standard Oil Co. Service Station; 10th & Market Streets; Louisville, KY; 8/28/1919.
Folder 5: Strathmoor Manor Sewer System; Boundaries: Bardstown Rd.; Emerson Ave.; Lakeside Dr.; Lowell Ave.; Louisville, KY; Jan. 1940.
T. P. Taylor Building; 644-646 So. Fourth Street; Louisville, KY; 15-Aug-27 & 17-Oct-27.
Folder 6: U.S. Marine Hospital, New Building; Louisville, KY; 10/29/1931.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Addition to Hospital for Negroes; Waverly Hills, KY; n.d.
Zoning District Maps; Louisville, KY; 1945.
Ovsz. Box
Project Roll 7: Churchill Downs seating; Fourth & Central Ave.; Louisville, KY; 1/1/1946.
Project Roll 8: City of Louisville, Ky., Topographical Map; Louisville, KY; 1930.
Project Roll 9: Federal Land Bank, A; 620 S. Third Street; Louisville, KY; 7/15/1925.
Project Roll 10: Federal Land Bank, B; 620 S. Third Street; Louisville, KY; 7/15/1925.
Project Roll 11: Norton, John N., Memorial Infirmary; Third & Oak Streets; Louisville, KY; 12/21/1928.
Project Roll 12: St. Anthony’s Hospital, additions and alterations; Michigan City, IN; 7/3/2024.
Project Roll 13: Sheffield Subdivision, Preliminary Survey; near Newburg Road & Norris Place; Louisville, KY; 5/29/1941.
This collection originally consisted of 23 rolled drawings. Due to the fragile condition of the blueprints, many of the drawings have been transferred into oversized folders.
Subject Headings
Architects – Kentucky – Louisville
Architecture – Designs and plans
Architecture, Domestic
Banks and banking – Kentucky – Louisville – Buildings, structures, etc.
Central business districts – Kentucky – Louisville
Church architecture – Kentucky – Louisville
Churchill Downs Racetrack (Louisville, Ky.)
Commercial buildings – Kentucky – Louisville
D. X. Murphy & Bro., Architects (Louisville, Ky.)
Farley, Jean D., 1927-
Hospital architecture – Designs and plans
Louisville (Ky.) – Buildings, structures, etc.
Luckett and Farley Inc.
Luckett, Thomas D., 1909-1996
Medical centers – Designs and plans
Nazareth College (Louisville, Ky.)
O’Toole, William G., 1898-1956
O’Toole, William G., 1898-1956
Presentation Academy (Louisville, Ky.)
Racetracks (Horse racing) – Mexico
Religious architecture – Kentucky – Louisville
Segregation – Kentucky – Louisville – Buildings, structures, etc.
Service stations – Designs and plans
Sewerage – Kentucky – Louisville
Strathmoor Manor (Louisville, Ky.)
U. S. Marine Hospital (Louisville, Ky.)
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Zoning – Kentucky – Louisville
Additional Authors:
Farley, Jean D., 1927-
Luckett, Thomas D., 1909-1996