Next Week, New Artwork and Signage Will Honor San Antonio’s First Municipal Records Manager After Concerns Were Raised Over His Reduced Recognition at the Facility
The City of San Antonio will unveil a new sculpture honoring George Whitfield Jr. Tuesday at the Municipal Archives & Records Center, bringing renewed recognition to the longtime city employee months after questions were raised about the diminished display of his name outside the building that bears it.
The sculpture, created by local art collective Bridge Projects, features Whitfield’s signature and will stand near the entrance of the Municipal Archives & Records Center at 719 S. Santa Rosa. The city says the artwork will honor both Whitfield and generations of municipal employees responsible for safeguarding San Antonio’s recorded history.
The unveiling is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 15 and will include remarks from Whitfield and City Clerk Debbie Racca-Sittre.
Employees from the Office of the City Clerk are also expected to gather for a photograph in front of new signage installed on the building honoring Whitfield.
The ceremony comes after a months-long effort to restore greater visibility to Whitfield’s legacy at the records facility.
Whitfield’s Name Became Less Prominent After Renovation
As the San Antonio Observer reported in August, the building was formally named for Whitfield more than two decades ago following his retirement from the city.
Photographs from the 2002 dedication showed “GEORGE WHITFIELD, JR.” displayed in large letters across the brick facade above “Municipal Records Facility.”
That changed following renovations to what is now called the Municipal Archives & Records Center.
The original lettering disappeared, while Whitfield’s name was incorporated into a newer exterior sign in substantially smaller print. His name remained part of the facility’s official designation and his photograph remained displayed inside, but the difference in its exterior prominence drew concern.
Joseph Randle, a former city employee who worked under Whitfield and remained his longtime friend, began pressing the City Clerk’s Office for an explanation.
Randle said the new presentation had “greatly deprecated” Whitfield’s recognition and argued that the man whose work helped establish San Antonio’s modern records management system deserved “pride of place” at the facility named in his honor.
Related: Once Across the Building, San Antonio City Clerk’s Office Reduces George Whitfield’s Name
He later filed a public records request seeking documents concerning the removal of the original lettering, related work orders and costs, displays honoring Whitfield and records connected to the City Council action that renamed the facility.
Randle said those discussions eventually produced what he called a “compromise” to create additional recognition for Whitfield outside the building rather than restore the original facade lettering.
Tuesday’s unveiling puts that compromise into something better.
Whitfield Helped Build San Antonio’s Modern Records System
Whitfield, who was born and raised on San Antonio’s East Side, joined the City of San Antonio in 1960 and spent more than four decades in municipal service before retiring in 2002.
He became San Antonio’s first municipal records manager and helped move the city away from an outdated box-and-file system toward a centralized records operation that eventually incorporated computer technology.
The operation grew to manage tens of thousands of cubic feet of documents and millions of microfilmed records while developing records-retention schedules across city departments. His work helped preserve everything from police and fire records to official city documents and other materials documenting San Antonio’s institutional history.
The City Council formally honored Whitfield in 2002 by placing his name on the Municipal Records Facility.
More than 24 years later, the sculpture bearing his signature will add another permanent reminder of the man behind the records system and of the effort that followed when his name became harder to see.
The unveiling is open to the public and will take place Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. at the Municipal Archives & Records Center, 719 S. Santa Rosa, featuring a new sculpture honoring George Whitfield Jr. by local art collective Bridge Projects.
