Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 - October 29, 1998) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
, who was born in
Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, Illinois is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois directly north of the City of Chicago, east of Skokie, and south of Wilmette, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan. Evanston is concurrently a city...
in the
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
suburbs who had an important role in 20th century modernism and historic preservation. His brother,
Ben WeeseBenjamin Horace Weese is an American architect hailing from Chicago, and a member of the architects group , the Chicago Seven. Weese is the younger brother of fellow Chicago architect Harry Weese....
, is also a renowned architect.
Background
Harry Weese studied under Finnish architect,
Alvar AaltoHugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer, sometimes called the "Father of Modernism" in the nordic countries. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
at
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research...
, graduating in 1938, and went on to study city planning while on a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Weese was also influenced by Charles Eames and
Eero SaarinenEero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and product designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project : simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.- Biography :Eero Saarinen, who was born in Hvitträsk,...
, whom he met at Cranbrook. He built primarily in the modern architectural style, but integrated other styles as he felt appropriate for the project. Out of Cranbrook, Weese joined the major architectural and engineering firm,
Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is a Chicago-based architectural and engineering firm that was formed in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Weese served as an engineer on a
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
, and 1947, he started his own architectural firm. Weese is also well known for his firm advocacy of
historic preservationHistoric preservation or heritage conservation is a professional endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historic significance...
and was remembered as the architect who "shaped Chicago’s skyline and the way the city thought about everything from the lakefront to its treasure-trove of historical buildings." Weese also served as a judge for the
Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for....
design competition.
Works
Other well known works include:
- The United States Embassy Building in Accra
Accra is the capital and most populous city of Ghana, a nation on the coast of the western region of Africa. The city also doubles as the capital of the Greater Accra Region, and of the Accra Metropolis District with which it is coterminous. It is the administrative, communications, and economic...
, GhanaThe Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa which borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
- Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a theater production company in Southwest Washington, D.C. The theater company's home is on the DC waterfront, at 1101 Sixth Street, SW...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
.
- Time-Life Building
The Time-Life Building is a 404 foot tall, 30-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois designed by Harry Weese and completed in 1969. Located in the Near North Side, it was among the first in the U.S. to use double-decker elevators. The odd-numbered floors are accessible from the lower lobby with...
, Chicago, Illinois.
- First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church is one of six national historic landmarks in Columbus, Indiana. It was designed by distinguished architect Harry Weese; construction was completed in 1965. Since completion, few alterations have been made and the building has retained its integrity.- Location :The First...
, in Columbus, IndianaColumbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 39,059 at the 2000 census. The current mayor is Fred Armstrong. It is located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River. It is the state's 20th...
.
- Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist
Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, built in 1968, is an award-winning Modern style Christian Science church building located in The Loop at 55 E Wacker Drive, in Chicago, Illinois in the United States...
in Chicago, Illinois.
- The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It serves as the home of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Ballet, First Stage Children's Theater and other local arts organizations...
in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin and 23rd largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. Its estimated 2008 population was 604,477. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the...
.
- The Humanities Building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, widely considered one the Midwest's best examples of brutalist architecture but slated for demolition soon.
- The Chazen Museum of Art
The Chazen Museum of Art is an art museum located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. It was known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art until 2005...
at the University of Wisconsin–MadisonThe University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, formerly known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art.
- Mercantile Bank, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
.
- Westin Crown Center
Crown Center is a commercial complex and neighborhood located near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri located between Gillham Road and Grand Boulevard to the east and west, and between Pershing Boulevard and Union Hill to the north and south. It is anchored by Halls, a shopping and entertainment...
Hotel, Kansas City, MissouriKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
.
- The former U.S. Embassy to Ghana in Accra.
- Fulton House at 345 N. Canal Street in Chicago. Converted 19th century 16-story cold-storage warehouse building to condominium building.
- River Cottages at 357-365 N. Canal Street in Chicago. Sloped, structurally expressive facade responds to the angle and cross bracing of the railroad bridge directly across the river.
- William J. Campbell United States Courthouse Annex in downtown Chicago (formerly known as the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago is a federal remand center in the United States, located in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets. It has a triangular footprint, and has an exercise yard for the prisoners on its roof...
.) Federal temporary holding prison which has no window bars, instead each cell is provided with a vertical 5" slot window. Weese was mandated to follow then new federal prison architectural guidelines, like cells having no bars and by original design each prisoner had his own room.
- Middletown City Building, Middletown, Ohio
Middletown is an All-America City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886...
.
- Sterling Morton Library, The Morton Arboretum
The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 1,700 acres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of...
.
- O'Brian Hall at the State University of New York at Buffalo
- The Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on 177 acres on Columbia Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts...
Weese also led numerous restoration projects including:
- Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of modernism." He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an inspiration to the Chicago...
's Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois 1967.
- Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago...
, Chicago, Illinois
- Orchestra Hall
Symphony Center is a music complex in Chicago, Illinois and is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Symphony Center includes Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and performance space; a public multi-story rotunda; Rhapsody restaurant; and...
, Chicago, Illinois
- Union Station
Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, D.C., when it opened in 1908.It is one of the busiest and best-known places in Washington, D.C., visited by 32 million people each year. The terminal is served by Amtrak, MARC and VRE commuter railroads,...
, Washington, DC
Further reading
- "Biography of Harry Weese" - The Art Institute of Chicago
- Waldheim, Charles; Ray, Katerina Ruedi, "Chicago Architecture: histories, revisions, alternatives", Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2005. ISBN 0226870383
- Weese, Kitty Baldwin, Harry Weese Houses, Chicago Review Press, August 1987
External links