The Friends of Terra Cotta, Inc. (FOTC) was founded in Lincoln California, on April 30, 1981 by a group of concerned preservationists including architects, historians, and archivists who were lunching, following a tour of the Gladding McBean & Co terra cotta plant. Gladding McBean & Co. was the last remaining original producers of architectural terra cotta. David W. Look, an architect in the National Park Service was the individual primarily responsible for this endeavor.

FOTC was formed to raise the awareness and appreciation of the public, particularly architects and owners of terra-cotta buildings through educational forums, walking tours, publications, exhibits, tours to Gladding McBean & Co, and campaigns to save threatened terra-cotta buildings. Publications included a semi-annual newsletter, pamphlets, and essays. It also created and collected research material including reprinting early terra cotta catalogues. The second meeting of FOTC was held a month later during National Preservation Week; and that October a meeting was held in Washington DC at the annual meeting of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT). That first year there were monthly meeting and lectures and tours. For the first four years, archivist Waverly Lowell served as the FOTC Newsletter editor.

The organization’s headquarters were in San Francisco. During the first year chapters were established in New York and Chicago. By 1983 there were 700 members in 50 states, Canada and Japan. Most activities had stopped by 1986.

Sources: Friends of Terra Cotta Newsletter and records