To mark RECORD's 125th anniversary, the two living former editors in chief joined me for a conversation about RECORD's past and present. Mildred Schmertz, FAIA, who has an MFA from Yale in graphic design as well as an architecture degree, came to the magazine’s art department in 1957, moved on to be a writer and editor and finally was made the first woman editor in chief, from 1985 to 1990. The late Stephen Kliment succeeded her, and then Robert Ivy, FAIA, arrived as the top editor in 1996. When he left to become CEO of the American Institute of Architects in 2011, I was hired to take the helm. Following are highlights from our talk about the magazine’s history under our collective watch, which stretches back 59 years.

Cathleen McGuigan: Mildred, you were at RECORD for 33 years and have the longest view of the magazine. What was its mission when you began, and how did you see it shift from the late 1950s to 1990?