The Associated General Contractors of America formed in 1918 as a trade organization representing the interests of the construction industry. Initially organized as a response to the demands placed on contractors during the First World War, today the Association has over 26,000 member firms. The records of the Associated General Contractors of America consist of annual convention and board meeting reports; minutes, digests of action, and resolutions of the executive committee; an unpublished history of the organization, and general and internal policy statements.

Augustus Smith (1868-1932) was a civil engineer and contractor. He held several patents for coaling machinery, such as hoists. These photographs show construction progress and completed buildings, bridges, and coaling stations. There are images of projects Smith worked on or contributed to either as a contractor or engineer. The materials are arranged by company name: Augustus Smith & Co., Bergen Point Iron Works, and Groton Bridge and Manufacturing Co.

John A. Bader II (1895-1961) was a Wilmington, Delaware, building contractor active during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The records are primarily Bader's business papers. The collection includes engineer's field books, diaries of trips, and job notes. Eight volumes contain profit and loss statements, cost accounting for jobs, records of checks paid, and files on individual construction jobs.

John McShain (1898-1989) was a Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.,-based building contractor, whose firm, John McShain, Inc., was by 1950 the fiftieth largest construction firm in the United States, with contracts in excess of $100,000,000. John McShain's personal and business papers document his business career, the construction industry, and his investments in hotels, car dealerships, parking garages, transit lines, and racehorses.

John McShain (1898-1989) was a Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.-based building contractor, whose firm, John McShain, Inc., was by 1950 the fifth largest construction firm in the United States. The collection contains graphic materials documenting John McShain's family life and personal interests, his career as a building contractor, and his involvement in horse racing.

Mark C. Walker & Son Co. was a general contractor firm in the early to mid-twentieth century. The company was founded as Callahan-Walker Construction Company in Omaha, Nebraska, by Mark Connell Walker (1889-1966) and his father-in-law, William F. Callahan (1856-1930), a railroad contractor. Upon Callahan's death, Walker took on his son, Mark Callahan Walker (1911-1999), as a partner. This album, compiled by Walker Jr., documents construction projects during World War II, as well as the post-war western United States. It highlights the impact of public works in the twentieth century. The album contains photographs, text, and newspaper clippings detailing several key construction projects: the Gary Armor Plate Steel Mill in 1942, the Harlan County Dam between 1946 and 1947, and the Orange County Sanitation Plant in 1953. The album also contains photographs and trade catalogs from the company's Polair Mobile Refrigerator Division, which designed and built refrigerated truck trailers for the U.S. Army.

John McShain (1898-1989) was a Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.-based building contractor, whose firm, John McShain, Inc., was by 1950 the fiftieth largest construction firm in the United States, with contracts in excess of $100,000,000. This collection consists of thirteen audiotapes of oral history interviews with John McShain's family and friends. People interviewed include Mary McShain, Polly McShain, Vincent and Jacqueline O'Brien, and Cardinal Krol.

The Johns Manville Corporation is an American insulation manufacturer. This film is a rare post-war era industrial film from Johns-Manville, Luther Reed productions about the importance of insulating your home.

The Masonite Corporation was a construction and interior design company established in 1925 by William H. Mason (1877-1940) as the Mason Fibre Co. This item is a sponsored public relations film by the Masonite Corporation about their advanced production of wood products that are "wood better than wood." The wood technology and creative industrial process of creating 'hardwood' siding, paneling, and a great range of products.

The Warren-Ehret Company was a Philadelphia roofing company founded in 1883. This collection consists of 259 images from three unbound albums which were used as sales portfolios to show the variety and extent of Warren-Ehret's roofing jobs on a variety of buildings.

The William Shinn & Co. installed stamped sheetmetal ceilings, cornices, skylights, roofing, and ductwork and employed about a dozen workers and apprentices. It was founded in 1907 in Wilmington, Delaware by William Shinn (1883-1947), a tinsmith and cornice worker, and his brother John A. Shinn (1886-1955). The records are a very small sample of accounting items documenting the operation of a handicraft contracting business.

The firm of William Shinn & Co. installed stamped sheet-metal ceilings, cornices, skylights, roofing, and ductwork and employed about a dozen workers and apprentices. The company was founded in 1907 in Wilmington, Delaware by William Shinn (1883-1947), a tinsmith and cornice worker, and his brother John A. Shinn (1885-1955). This collection contains mages of the William Shinn shop with attached office and another view of their rooftop sign on the Shinn warehouse. There are interior and exterior views of the house of customer.