Wirt C. Rowland
| Wirt C. Rowland | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 1, 1878 Clinton, Michigan |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | George D. Mason Co. Designer (1902-09) Malcomson and Higginbotham Albert Kahn Associates Smith Hinchman & Grylls |
| Buildings | Bankers Trust Co Building (1925) Buhl Building (1925) Penobscot Building (1928) Guardian Building (1929) |
Wirt Clinton Rowland (December 1, 1878 - November 30, 1946) was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan.[1][2]
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Rowland Designed Structures
- 3 Designs for George D. Mason, 1902 to 1909
- 4 Designs for Malcomson & Higginbotham, 1912 to 1915
- 5 Designs for Albert Kahn Associates, 1915 to 1922
- 6 Designs for Smith Hinchman & Grylls,[12] 1922 to 1930
- 7 Designs for O'Dell and Rowland, 1931 to 1938
- 8 Notes
- 9 References and further reading
- 10 External links
Biography
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Rowland was born December 1, 1878 in Clinton, Michigan to Clinton Charles and Melissa Ruth Rowland.[3] In 1901, he landed a job as an office boy for the Detroit firm of Rogers and MacFarlane, quickly moving on to the prestigious George D. Mason firm. In 1909, he joined the office of Albert Kahn Associates, who had also apprenticed under Mason. In 1910, with the encouragement of both Mason and Kahn, Rowland attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, for a year.[1]
The combination of Rowland's natural design talent, Harvard education, and Detroit's healthy economy positioned him to make major contributions to the city's architecture. Rowland is a case study in design attribution. In 1911, in the office of Kahn, he and Ernest Wilby are said have been primarily responsible for the Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan. Through 1915 Rowland worked for the local firm of Malcomson & Higginbotham. He then returned to Kahn's office, contributing to the firm's classic projects, namely the Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, the Detroit News Building, the First National Building(1922), and the General Motors Building (1922) renamed Cadillac Place.[1]
Rowland's career peaked as Head Designer (1922–1930) of Smith Hinchman & Grylls (SmithGroup). There, he designed a dozen major structures in downtown Detroit; among these, are a number of the city's most accomplished and evocative buildings. To a large extent, Rowland helped define Detroit's architectural genre.[1][4] Of the Guardian building Rowland said, We no longer live in a leisurely age, . . What we see we must see quickly in passing, and the impression must be immediate, strong, and complete. Color has this vital power.[5] For the Guardian Building, he had assembled a multitude of artisans, mosaicists, sculptors, painters, and tile manufacturers including Corrado Parducci, muralist Ezra Winter, and tile from the Rookwood and Pewabic pottery companies.[1] He thus recreated the architectural synthesis of a medieval cathedral. Hence, Rowland had reached a climax, when his Union Trust/Guardian Building became known as the Cathedral of Finance.[6]
The Guardian Building opened in 1929. With the onset of the Great Depression, most of the employees of Smith Hinchman & Grylls were let go, including Rowland. In January 1931, he joined in a partnership with his long-time friend, Augustus (Gus) O'Dell. The firm secured a small number of important commissions supplemented with reconstruction necessitated by the widening of Woodward Avenue, and by insurance re-valuations of existing buildings.
Late in life, he returned to a purer, Gothic idiom for his last few projects, notably preliminary sketches for the Kirk in the Hills. The church was built after the war to a design by George D. Mason & Co., Rowland having died in 1946. He was a member of the Chandler Park Partnership, a group of nineteen architects and engineers that designed Parkside housing project (1935–38) in Detroit.During World War II, the Guardian Building would serve as headquarters for war time production.[6]
Rowland Designed Structures
- T. B. Rayl Company Building (1915) Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan; designed by Rowland for Baxter and O'Dell, featured an early use of colored terra-cotta[7]
Designs for George D. Mason, 1902 to 1909
- Pontchartrain Hotel (1907), Detroit, Michigan
Designs for Malcomson & Higginbotham, 1912 to 1915
- Northern High School (1915), Detroit, Michigan
- Southeastern High School (1915), Detroit, Michigan
- Isabell F. Thirkell Elementary School (1915), Virginia Park Historic District, Detroit, Michigan[8]
- Northeastern High School (1916), Detroit, Michigan[9]
- Anna M. Joyce School (1916), Detroit, Michigan[10]
Designs for Albert Kahn Associates, 1915 to 1922
- Hill Auditorium (with Ernest Wilby) (1913), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan[11]
- Harlan Hatcher University of Michigan Library (with Ernest Wilby) (1915 - 1920), Ann Arbor, Michigan[11]
- Langley Field Hangars and Executive Buildings, including the current Air Combat Command Headquarters Building (1917), Point Comfort, Virginia[11]
- General Motors Building (1919-1923), Detroit, Michigan, preliminary work and exterior design[11]
- First National Building (first unit-1922), Detroit, Michigan, preliminary work and exterior design[11]
Designs for Smith Hinchman & Grylls,[12] 1922 to 1930
- Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church (1926), Detroit, Michigan
- Bankers Trust Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
- Buhl Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
- Second National Bank Building (1925), Saginaw, Michigan
- Grand Rapids Trust Building (1926), Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Michigan Bell Building (1927), Detroit, Michigan, 12-story addition and commercial office updates to original 7-story, 1919 building
- David Mackenzie High School (1927) Detroit, Michigan
- Greater Penobscot Building (1928) Detroit, Michigan
- Pontchartrain Club Building/Town Apartments (begun 1929, not completed; later converted to Town Apartments), Detroit, Michigan
- Union Trust/Guardian Building (1929), Detroit, Michigan
- Denby High School (1930), Detroit, Michigan[13]
- Pershing High School (1930), Detroit, Michigan[13]
Designs for O'Dell and Rowland, 1931 to 1938
- L. Black Co. store (1932), 1420 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan
- Good Housekeeping Stran-Steel House (1933) for the 1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition at the Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Illinois[14]
- "Ideal Home" for Detroit Builders' Show of 1933, Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
- Lewis A. Maire Elementary School (1936), Grosse Pointe, Michigan
- Stevens Memorial Chapel - chancel section, including altar, reredos, and organ screen (1938), St. John's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan
- Victor C. Vaughn House dormitory, University of Michigan (1938), Ann Arbor, Michigan
-
Guardian Bldg Detroit.jpg
Interior; image from Historic American Buildings Survey- HABS Library of Congress archives
-
Guardian Building flying the American Flag over the Detroit Financial District.
-
Buhl Building, in the shadow of the Penobscot Building
-
Wirt Rowland
by Corrado Parducci -
Penboscot Building Indian by Corrado Parducci
-
Looking up from the Penobscot Building's entrance arch
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Historical Society of the Village of Clinton, Michigan. Wirt Rowland Architect (2004). Retrieved on June 17, 2012.
- ↑ AIA Detroit Urban Priorities Committee, (January 10, 2006).Top 10 Detroit Interiors.Model D Media. Retrieved on July 28, 2008.
- ↑ Mazzei, Rebecca (November 30, 2005).Still Standing. Metro Times. Retrieved on July 28, 2008.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Zacharias, Pat (March 10, 2001).Guardian Building has long been the crown jewel in the Detroit skyline. Michigan History, Detroit News. Retrieved on June 2, 2008.
- ↑ Text of obituary, retrieved from membership file at American Institute of Architects Archive at [1].
- ↑ The American Contractor, May 30, 1914, p. 62, col 3.
- ↑ The American Contractor, May 2, 1914, p. 100, col 2.
- ↑ Construction News, Dec. 5, 1914, p. 20, col 2.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Letter from Wirt C. Rowland to The Harvard Architectural School Alumni Association, dated March 24, 1932. Available online at: Wirt Rowland - A Short Biography. Retrieved on June 17, 2012.
- ↑ Smith, Hinchman & Grylls is now known as SmithGroupJJR
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Original Smith, Hinchman & Grylls building plans for Denby and Pershing high schools.
- ↑ Chicago Daily Tribune, June 4, 1933, p. E7.
References and further reading
- Ferry, W. Hawkins (1968). The Buildings of Detroit: A History. Wayne State University Press.
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External links
- Wirt Clinton Rowland from the Historical Society of Clinton
- Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church's Architectural Elements
