Professor J. Raymond Brackett created an enduring legacy through his photographic hobby, for in these images, we see a remarkable record of the university’s early decades. In the 1950s, over 170 old glass plate negatives that Brackett took were donated to the university by one of his descendants. These negatives document the university’s expansion over the years, beginning in 1884 when Brackett first arrived in Boulder. Explore our Building the University: The First 30 Years gallery to view Brackett’s photographs and learn about the campus’s earliest buildings, many of which no longer exist.
