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{{Short description|American modernist architect}}
{{more footnotes|date=October 2013}}

{{Infobox architect
{{Infobox architect
|name = Harry Weese
|name = Harry Weese
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|image_size = 200
|image_size = 200
|caption =
|caption =
|nationality = American
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|6|30}}
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|6|30}}
|birth_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], [[United States|US]]
|birth_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], [[United States|US]]
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|significant_design =
|significant_design =
|awards =
|awards =
|alma_mater = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (1938)
|alma_mater = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (SB 1938)
}}
}}
'''Harry Mohr Weese''' (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an [[United States|American]] [[architect]], born in [[Evanston, Illinois]]<ref name="nytimes-obit">{{cite news|last1=Muschamp|first1=Herbert|title=Harry Weese, 83, Designer Of Metro System in Washington|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/03/arts/harry-weese-83-designer-of-metro-system-in-washington.html|accessdate=2016-02-15|work=New York Times|date=November 3, 1998}}</ref> in the [[Chicago]] suburbs, who had an important role in 20th century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, [[Ben Weese]], is also a renowned architect.
'''Harry Mohr Weese''' (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an [[Americans|American]] [[architect]]<ref name="nytimes-obit">{{cite news| last1=Muschamp| first1=Herbert| title=Harry Weese, 83, Designer Of Metro System in Washington| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/03/arts/harry-weese-83-designer-of-metro-system-in-washington.html| access-date=2016-02-15| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=November 3, 1998| url-access=subscription}}</ref> who had an important role in 20th century modernism and [[historic preservation]]. His brother, [[Ben Weese]], is also a renowned architect.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
[[File:141KenilworthAve.jpg|left|thumb|Harry Weese grew up in this house in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]].]]
[[File:141KenilworthAve.jpg|left|thumb|Weese grew up in this house in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]].]]
Harry Mohr Weese was born on June 30, 1915 in [[Evanston, Illinois]] as the first son of Harry E. and Marjorie Weese. His father was an [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]], and his mother was a [[United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterian]].<ref name="wbez">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/real-estate-and-religion-the-tale-of-seventeenth-church-of-christ-scientist/fa532a70-801f-4bf5-af1a-2fb2780cd698|title=Real Estate And Religion: The Tale Of Seventeenth Church Of Christ, Scientist {{!}} WBEZ|website=www.wbez.org|access-date=2016-04-24}}</ref> In 1919, the family moved to [[Charles N. Ramsey and Harry E. Weese House|a house]] in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]], where Harry would be raised. Weese was enrolled in the [[Progressive education|progressive]] Joseph Sears School in 1919. By 1925, Weese decided that he wanted to be either an artist or an architect.<ref name=chicagomag>{{cite news|last=Sharoff|first=Robert|title=On the Life and Work of Chicago Architect Harry Weese|url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2010/On-the-Life-and-Work-of-Chicago-Architect-Harry-Weese/|date=July 7, 2010|publisher=''[[Chicago Magazine]]''|accessdate=October 20, 2014}}</ref>
Weese was born on June 30, 1915, in [[Evanston, Illinois]], as the first son of Harry E. and Marjorie Weese. His father was an [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]], and his mother was a [[United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterian]].<ref name="wbez">{{cite web| url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/real-estate-and-religion-the-tale-of-seventeenth-church-of-christ-scientist/fa532a70-801f-4bf5-af1a-2fb2780cd698| title=Real Estate And Religion: The Tale Of Seventeenth Church Of Christ, Scientist| first=Ellen| last=Mayer| date=October 22, 2014| website=[[WBEZ]]| access-date=2023-02-24}}</ref> In 1919, the family moved to [[Charles N. Ramsey and Harry E. Weese House|a house]] in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]], where Harry was raised. Weese was enrolled in the [[Progressive education|progressive]] Joseph Sears School in 1919. By 1925, Weese decided that he wanted to be either an artist or an architect.<ref name=chicagomag>{{cite magazine| last=Sharoff| first=Robert| title=On the Life and Work of Chicago Architect Harry Weese| url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2010/On-the-Life-and-Work-of-Chicago-Architect-Harry-Weese/| date=July 7, 2010| magazine=[[Chicago Magazine]]| access-date=October 20, 2014}}</ref>


After graduating from [[New Trier High School]], Weese enrolled at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in 1933 to pursue a Bachelor in Architecture. Weese also took architecture classes at [[Yale University]] starting in 1936. Weese studied under [[Alvar Aalto]] at MIT and fraternized with classmates [[I.M. Pei]] and [[Eero Saarinen]]. As his schooling was at the height of the [[Great Depression]], Weese eschewed studying the expensive historical revivals in favor of more affordable modern styles. In the summer of 1937, Weese toured northern Europe on a bicycle, fostering his appreciation for the modernist movement.<ref name=chicagomag/>
After graduating from [[New Trier High School]], Weese enrolled at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in 1933 to earn a Bachelor in Architecture degree. Weese also took architecture classes at [[Yale University]] starting in 1936. Weese studied under [[Alvar Aalto]] at MIT, and fraternized with classmates [[I.M. Pei]] and [[Eero Saarinen]]. As his schooling was at the height of the [[Great Depression]], Weese avoided studying expensive historical revival styles in favor of more-affordable modern styles. In the summer of 1937, Weese toured northern Europe on a bicycle, fostering his appreciation for the modernist movement.<ref name=chicagomag/>


Upon his return to the United States, Weese was offered a fellowship at the [[Cranbrook Academy of Art]] (sometimes called the "Scandinavian Bauhaus"<ref name=chicagomag/>) through Eero Saarinen, whose father [[Eliel Saarinen|Eliel]] oversaw the school. There, he studied city planning, potter, and textiles while learning more about Modernist principles. He worked alongside other emerging Modernist designers such as [[Ralph Rapson]], [[Florence Knoll]], and [[Charles Eames]].<ref name=chicagomag/>
Upon his return to the United States, Weese was offered a fellowship at the [[Cranbrook Academy of Art]]<ref name=chicagomag/>) through Eero Saarinen, whose father [[Eliel Saarinen|Eliel]] oversaw the school. At Cranbrook Academy of Art, he studied city planning, pottery, and textiles while learning more about Modernist principles. He worked alongside other emerging Modernist designers such as [[Ralph Rapson]], [[Florence Knoll]], and [[Charles Eames]].<ref name=chicagomag/>


==Career==
==Career==
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In 1947, Weese started his independent design firm, Harry Weese Associates. His first commissions, such as the [[Robert and Suzanne Drucker House]] in [[Wilmette, Illinois]], were houses for family members and close associates. By the late 1950s, Weese began to receive major commissions. Although he continued to plan houses, Weese also built civic projects such as the [[Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago|Metropolitan Correctional Center]] in Chicago.
In 1947, Weese started his independent design firm, Harry Weese Associates. His first commissions, such as the [[Robert and Suzanne Drucker House]] in [[Wilmette, Illinois]], were houses for family members and close associates. By the late 1950s, Weese began to receive major commissions. Although he continued to plan houses, Weese also built civic projects such as the [[Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago|Metropolitan Correctional Center]] in Chicago.


The [[Washington Metro]] in the [[District of Columbia]] helped Weese become the foremost designer of rail systems during the peak of his career. He subsequently was commissioned to oversee rail projects in [[Miami]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Dallas]], and [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. He was named a [[Fellow of the American Institute of Architects]] in 1961 and received the [[Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize]] from the [[National Institute of Arts and Letters]] in 1964.
The [[Washington Metro]] in the [[District of Columbia]] helped Weese become the foremost designer of rail systems during the peak of his career. He subsequently was commissioned to oversee rail projects in [[Miami]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Dallas]], and [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]].{{cn|date=June 2020}} He was named a [[Fellow of the American Institute of Architects]] in 1961 and received the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from the [[National Institute of Arts and Letters]] in 1964.<ref>{{cite web| title=Awards: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize| url=https://artsandletters.org/awards/| website=National Institute of Arts and Letters| access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref>


Weese was also well known for his firm advocacy of [[historic preservation]] 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".<ref name="tribune-obit">{{cite news|title=Harry Weese, Visionary Architect Known as 'Chicago's Conscience' |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=November 1, 1998}}</ref> He led the restoration of [[Adler & Sullivan]]'s [[Auditorium Building]], and [[Daniel Burnham]]'s [[Field Museum of Natural History]] and [[Symphony Center|Orchestra Hall.]] Harry Weese & Associates received the [[Architecture Firm Award]] from the [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA) in 1978. Weese also served as a judge for the [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] design competition, and helped defend fledgling architect [[Maya Lin]]'s unconventional design against her critics.<ref name="nytimes-obit" />
Weese was also well known for his firm advocacy of [[historic preservation]], 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".<ref name="tribune-obit">{{cite news |title=Harry Weese, Visionary Architect Known as 'Chicago's Conscience' |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=November 1, 1998| url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-11-01/news/9811010367_1_harry-weese-buildings-firm| last=Kamin| first=Blair |access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref> He led the restoration of [[Adler & Sullivan]]'s [[Auditorium Building]], and [[Daniel Burnham]]'s [[Field Museum of Natural History]] and [[Symphony Center|Orchestra Hall.]] Harry Weese & Associates received the [[Architecture Firm Award]] from the [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA) in 1978. Weese also served as a judge for the [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] design competition, and helped defend fledgling architect [[Maya Lin]]'s unconventional design against her critics.<ref name="nytimes-obit" />


In the late 1970s, Weese was involved in the inception of the effort to host a [[Chicago 1992 World's Fair|1992 World's Fair in Chicago]]. During that same period, he was also the prime mover in the preservation, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of [[Printer's Row, Chicago|Chicago's Printer's Row neighborhood]], converting loft buildings that had once housed printing industry firms into apartments and offices, thus proving the economic viability of repurposing urban historic buildings.<ref name="EWPAB Landmark">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicago.gov/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/227_E_Walton_Place_Apt_Bldg.pdf|title=Landmark Designation Report|publisher=Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development|date=March 1, 2012|access-date=April 29, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121233436/https://www.chicago.gov/dam/city/depts/zlup/Historic_Preservation/Publications/227_E_Walton_Place_Apt_Bldg.pdf|archive-date=21 November 2022}}</ref>
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From the mid-1980s, Weese drank heavily and his reputation faded; he died after years of going in and out of [[alcohol rehabilitation]] and a series of disabling [[stroke]]s.<ref name="chicagomag" /><ref name="Baldwin">{{cite web|last1=Baldwin|first1=Ian|title=The Architecture of Harry Weese: Chicago modernist|url=https://placesjournal.org/article/the-architecture-of-harry-weese/|website=Places Journal|accessdate=2016-04-16|date=May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Kahn">{{cite web|last1=Kahn|first1=Eve M.|title=The Complexities of a Pioneering Architect|url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/the-complexities-of-a-pioneering-architect_o|website=Architect: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects|publisher=Hanley Wood Media, Inc.|accessdate=2016-08-27|date=3 January 2011}}</ref>

⚫
From the mid-1980s, Weese drank heavily and his reputation faded; he died after years of going in and out of [[alcohol rehabilitation]] and a series of disabling [[stroke]]s.<ref name="chicagomag" /><ref name="Baldwin">{{cite web |last1=Baldwin |first1=Ian |title=The Architecture of Harry Weese: Chicago modernist |url=https://placesjournal.org/article/the-architecture-of-harry-weese/ |website=Places Journal |access-date=2016-04-16 |date=May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Kahn">{{cite magazine |last1=Kahn |first1=Eve M. |title=The Complexities of a Pioneering Architect |url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/the-complexities-of-a-pioneering-architect_o |magazine=Architect: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects |access-date=2016-08-27 |date=3 January 2011}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
Weese's parents were [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christian]]s, but he himself was [[Irreligion|nonreligious]]. While being interviewed by the building committee of the [[Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago, Illinois)|Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist]] in [[Chicago]], when asked of his religious views, he said, "My father was Episcopalian, my mother Presbyterian, and I’m an architect".<ref name="wbez" />
Weese's parents were [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christians]], but he himself was [[Irreligion|non-religious]]. While being interviewed by the building committee of the [[Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago, Illinois)|Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist]] in Chicago, when asked of his religious views, he said, "My father was Episcopalian, my mother Presbyterian, and I’m an architect".<ref name="wbez" />


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
In a 1998 obituary, architectural critic [[Herbert Muschamp]] wrote that "Mr. Weese designed a systemwide network of stations that rank among the greatest public works of this century", referring to his design of the Washington Metro system. Muschamp noted that the vaulted ceilings at the crossings of subway lines "induce an almost religious sense of awe".<ref name="nytimes-obit" />
In a 1998 obituary, architectural critic [[Herbert Muschamp]] wrote that "Mr. Weese designed a systemwide network of stations that rank among the greatest public works of this century", referring to his design of the Washington Metro system. Muschamp noted that the vaulted ceilings at the crossings of subway lines "induce an almost religious sense of awe".<ref name="nytimes-obit" />


In 2007, the design of the Washington Metro's vaulted-ceiling stations was voted number 106 on the "[[America's Favorite Architecture]]" list compiled by the [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA), and was the only [[Brutalist architecture|brutalist]] design to win a place among the 150 selected by this public survey. In January 2014, the AIA announced that it would present its [[Twenty-five Year Award]] to the Washington Metro system for "an architectural design of enduring significance" that "has stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years". The announcement cited the key role of Harry Weese, who conceived and implemented a "common design kit-of-parts" which continues to guide the construction of new Metro stations over a quarter-century later.<ref name=AIA25>{{cite web|last=Mortice|first=Zach|title=2014 Twenty-five Year Award|url=http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2014/twenty-five-year-award/|work=American Institute of Architects|publisher=American Institute of Architects|accessdate=2014-02-11}}</ref>
In 2007, the design of the Washington Metro's vaulted-ceiling stations was voted number 106 on the "[[America's Favorite Architecture]]" list compiled by the [[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA), and was the only [[Brutalist architecture|brutalist]] design to win a place among the 150 selected by this public survey. In January 2014, the AIA announced that it would present its [[Twenty-five Year Award]] to the Washington Metro system for "an architectural design of enduring significance" that "has stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years". The announcement cited the key role of Harry Weese, who conceived and implemented a "common design kit-of-parts" which continues to guide the construction of new Metro stations over a quarter-century later.<ref name=AIA25>{{cite web |last=Mortice |first=Zach |title=2014 Twenty-five Year Award |url=http://www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2014/twenty-five-year-award/ |website=American Institute of Architects |access-date=2014-02-11}}</ref>


==Works==
==Works==
[[File:WallStreet Tower Kansas City Missouri.jpg|thumb|upright|Mercantile Bank in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], a 20-story office tower on a pedestal base of steel columns with striking exposed triangular trusses.]]
[[File:WallStreet Tower Kansas City Missouri.jpg|thumb|upright|Mercantile Bank in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], a 20-story office tower on a pedestal base of steel columns with striking exposed triangular trusses]]
[[File:Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago, Illinois).jpg|thumb|right|[[Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago)|Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist]], [[Chicago, Illinois]].]]
[[File:Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago, Illinois).jpg|thumb|right|[[Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago)|Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist]], [[Chicago, Illinois]]]]


Weese is best known as the designer and architect of the first group of stations in the [[Washington Metro]] system. Other well known works include:
Weese is best known as the designer and architect of the first group of stations in the [[Washington Metro]] system. Other well known works include:

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* [[Robert and Suzanne Drucker House]] in [[Wilmette, Illinois]]
* 1952 - Davis Clinic, Marion, Indiana - a new model for delivering healthcare.
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* [[Alpha Sigma Phi]], Alpha Xi Chapter House at [[Illinois Institute of Technology]] in [[Chicago, Illinois]]
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* 1954 - [[Robert and Suzanne Drucker House]] in [[Wilmette, Illinois]]
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* The United States Embassy Building in [[Accra]], [[Ghana]]
* 1956 - [[227 East Walton Place Apartment Building]] in Chicago, now a [[Chicago Landmark]] building
* [[Arena Stage]], [[Washington DC]]
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* [[Alpha Sigma Phi]], Alpha Xi Chapter House at [[Illinois Institute of Technology]] in Chicago
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* [[Time-Life Building (Chicago)|Time-Life Building]], [[Chicago, Illinois]]<ref name="tribune-obit"/>
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* The United States Embassy Building, [[Accra, Ghana]], closed in 1998 <!-- * The former US Embassy to Ghana in Accra??? -->
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* [[First Baptist Church, Columbus, Indiana|First Baptist Church]], in [[Columbus, Indiana]]
* 1960 - [[Arena Stage]], [[Washington DC]] (remodeled in 2010 by [[Bing Thom Architects]])
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* [[Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago)|Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist]] in Chicago, Illinois
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* 1960 - [[Pierce Tower]], undergraduate residence hall at the [[University of Chicago]] (demolished 2013)
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* The [[Marcus Center|Marcus Center for the Performing Arts]] in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
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* 1963 - [[St Thomas' Episcopal Church, (Menasha, Wisconsin)]] Similar to the First Baptist Church, Columbus, Indiana, but with a more sweeping roof design and towering steeple.
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* The [[411 East Wisconsin Center]], also in Milwaukee
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* 1963 - Sterling Morton Library, The [[Morton Arboretum]]
* The Humanities Building at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], widely considered one the Midwest's best examples of brutalist architecture but slated for demolition soon.

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* The [[Chazen Museum of Art]] at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], formerly known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art
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* 1965 - [[First Baptist Church, Columbus, Indiana|First Baptist Church]], in [[Columbus, Indiana]]
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* The Upper School (high school) building of [[The Latin School of Chicago]] in Chicago, Illinois
* 1966 - Fewkes Tower at 55 W. Chestnut Street (formerly 838 N. Dearborn Street), Chicago<ref name="fewkes-tower">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20141022/CRED03/141029940/chicago-teachers-union-selling-gold-coast-apartment-tower-to-chicago-landlord-robert-buford |title=Teachers union selling Gold Coast apartment tower |first=Alby |last=Gallun |newspaper=[[Crain's Chicago Business]] |date=October 22, 2014 |access-date=February 24, 2023}}</ref>
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* [[Pierce Tower]], an undergraduate residence hall at the [[University of Chicago]]
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* 1968 - [[Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist (Chicago)|Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist]], Chicago
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* Mercantile Bank, [[Kansas City, Missouri]]
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* 1969 - [[541 North Fairbanks Court|Time-Life Building]], Chicago<ref name="tribune-obit"/>
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* Westin [[Crown Center]] Hotel, [[Kansas City, Missouri]]
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* 1969 - [[Marcus Center|Marcus Center for the Performing Arts]], [[Milwaukee]]
* The former US Embassy to Ghana in Accra
* 1969 - Humanities Building at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], widely considered one the Midwest's best examples of brutalist architecture but slated for demolition by 2030.<ref>{{cite magazine| title=How the Humanities Building Went Wrong| url=https://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/features/how-the-humanities-building-went-wrong/| first=Preston| last=Schmitt| date=Spring 2021| magazine=On Wisconsin| access-date=24 February 2023}}</ref>
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* [[Fulton House (Chicago)|Fulton House]] at 345 N. Canal Street in Chicago. Converted 19th century 16-story cold-storage warehouse building to condominium building.
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* 1969 - The Upper School (high school) building of [[The Latin School of Chicago]], Chicago
* Fewkes Tower at 55 W. Chestnut Street (formerly 838 N. Dearborn Street) in Chicago<ref name="fewkes-tower">{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/3091/The-Fewkes-Tower.php |title=The Fewkes Tower |publisher=ChicagoArchitecture.info |date=October 27, 2010}}</ref>
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* 1970 - [[Formica Building]], [[Cincinnati]]
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* 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.
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* 1972 - [[The Given Institute]], Aspen Colorado (demolished 2011)
* William J. Campbell United States Courthouse Annex in downtown Chicago (formerly known as the [[Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago]].) 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.<ref>Cf. Waldheim, p.285</ref><ref>Cf. Art Institute of Chicago, transcript of oral history interview with Harry Weese. pp.179 and onwards.</ref>
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* 1973 - Westin [[Crown Center]] Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri
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* Middletown City Building, [[Middletown, Ohio]]
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* 1975 - Mercantile Bank, [[Kansas City, Missouri]]
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* [[Formica Building]], [[Cincinnati]]
* 1975 - [[Oak Park Village Hall]], Oak Park, Illinois
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* Sterling Morton Library, The [[Morton Arboretum]]
* 1975 - William J. Campbell United States Courthouse Annex in downtown Chicago (formerly known as the [[Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago]].) 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 was housed separately.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Waldheim| first1=Charles| last2=Ray| first2=Katerina Ruedi| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSAHIhePIxsC&dq=harry+weese+metropolitan+correction+center+in+chicago&pg=PA285| title=Chicago Architecture: histories, revisions, alternatives| location=Chicago| publisher=University of Chicago Press| year=2005| isbn=978-0-2268-7038-0| page=285}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/research/specialcollections/oralhistories/weeseh.html| title=Biography of Harry Weese| website=[[The Art Institute of Chicago]]| page=179-ff| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105182525/http://www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/research/specialcollections/oralhistories/weeseh.html| archive-date=2010-01-05}}</ref>
* O'Brian Hall at the [[University at Buffalo, The State University of New York|State University of New York at Buffalo]]
* The Healey Library at the [[University of Massachusetts Boston]]
* 1977 - O'Brian Hall at the [[University at Buffalo, The State University of New York|State University of New York at Buffalo]]
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* 1979 - Middletown City Building, [[Middletown, Ohio]]
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* [[The Given Institute]], Aspen Colorado
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* 1981 - [[Fulton House (Chicago)|Fulton House]], 345 N. Canal Street, Chicago. Converted 19th century 16-story cold-storage warehouse building to condominium building.
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* St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Menasha, WI. A striking building, similar to the aforementioned First Baptist Church in Columbus, IN, but with an even more sweeping roof design and towering steeple.
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* 1985 - [[411 East Wisconsin Center]], Milwaukee
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* [[Swissôtel Chicago]], [[Chicago]]. The cross-section is an equilateral triangle, so that two-thirds of the rooms have a view of the main stem of the [[Chicago River]].

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* [[Chazen Museum of Art]] at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, formerly known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art
⚫
* River Cottages at 357-365 N. Canal Street, Chicago. Sloped, structurally expressive facade responds to the angle and cross bracing of the railroad bridge directly across the river.
* The Healey Library, [[University of Massachusetts Boston]]
⚫
* Swissôtel, Chicago. The cross-section is an equilateral triangle, so that two-thirds of the rooms have a view of the main stem of the [[Chicago River]].


Weese also led numerous restoration projects including:
Weese also led numerous restoration projects including:
* [[Louis Sullivan]]'s [[Auditorium Building]] in Chicago, Illinois (1967)<ref name="tribune-obit"/>
* 1967 - [[Louis Sullivan]]'s [[Auditorium Building]] in Chicago (1967)<ref name="tribune-obit"/>
* [[Field Museum of Natural History]], Chicago, Illinois<ref name="nytimes-obit"/>
* [[Field Museum of Natural History]], Chicago<ref name="nytimes-obit"/>
* [[Symphony Center|Orchestra Hall]], Chicago, Illinois<ref name="nytimes-obit"/>
* [[Symphony Center|Orchestra Hall]], Chicago<ref name="nytimes-obit"/>
* [[Union Station (Washington, D.C.)|Union Station]], [[Washington DC]]<ref name="nytimes-obit"/>
* [[Union Station (Washington, D.C.)|Union Station]], [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="nytimes-obit"/>


And 80+ single home and residential buildings including:
Weese designed over 80 single home and residential buildings, including:
* His primary residence in Barrington, Illinois
* His primary residence in Barrington, Illinois
* "Shadowcliff", Ellison Bay, Wisconsin
* "Shadowcliff", Ellison Bay, Wisconsin
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* Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, Canada
* Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, Canada
* Red House, Barrington, Illinois
* Red House, Barrington, Illinois
* Tangeman House, Ontario, home of [[Clementine Tangeman]] and Robert Stone Tangeman<ref>{{cite book |date=2010 |last=Bruegmann |first=Robert |title=The Architecture of Harry Weese |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co. |location=New York, USA |page=111 |ISBN=9780393731934 }}</ref>
* Wayne, Illinois
* Wayne, Illinois


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== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book| last1=Weese| first1=Kitty Baldwin| last2=Weese| first2=Harry| title=Harry Weese Houses| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNpPAAAAMAAJ&q=harry+weese+houses| publisher=Chicago Review Press| date=August 1987| isbn=978-1-5565-2012-9}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100105182525/http://www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/research/specialcollections/oralhistories/weeseh.html "Biography of Harry Weese"] - The Art Institute of Chicago
* {{cite book| last1=Bruegmann| first1=Robert| first2=Kathleen Murphy| last2=Skolnik| title=The Architecture of Harry Weese| location=New York| publisher=W.W. Norton| year=2010| isbn=978-0-3937-3193-4}}
* Waldheim, Charles; Ray, Katerina Ruedi, [https://books.google.com/books?id=aSAHIhePIxsC&pg=PA285&lpg=PA285&dq=harry+weese+metropolitan+correction+center+in+chicago&source=bl&ots=HRv8XraclL&sig=mZDcf-tojsRs_Sv17F_i3UQ4Jo4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA285,M1 "Chicago Architecture: histories, revisions, alternatives"], Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-226-87038-3}}
* Weese, Kitty Baldwin, ''Harry Weese Houses'', Chicago Review Press, August 1987


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051230084832/http://www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/caohp/weeseh.html Oral history interview with Harry Weese] - Art Institute of Chicago.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051230084832/http://www.artic.edu/aic/libraries/caohp/weeseh.html Oral history interview with Harry Weese] - Art Institute of Chicago.
*{{Worldcat id|id=lccn-nr88-2664}}


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Revision as of 03:22, 20 June 2024

Harry Weese
Born(1915-06-30)June 30, 1915
Evanston, Illinois, US
DiedOctober 29, 1998(1998-10-29) (aged 83)
Manteno, Illinois
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (SB 1938)
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsArena Stage
Time-Life Building
The United States embassy in Accra, Ghana
ProjectsWashington Metro

Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an American architect[1] who had an important role in 20th century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, Ben Weese, is also a renowned architect.

Early life and education

Weese grew up in this house in Kenilworth, Illinois.

Weese was born on June 30, 1915, in Evanston, Illinois, as the first son of Harry E. and Marjorie Weese. His father was an Episcopalian, and his mother was a Presbyterian.[2] In 1919, the family moved to a house in Kenilworth, Illinois, where Harry was raised. Weese was enrolled in the progressive Joseph Sears School in 1919. By 1925, Weese decided that he wanted to be either an artist or an architect.[3]

After graduating from New Trier High School, Weese enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1933 to earn a Bachelor in Architecture degree. Weese also took architecture classes at Yale University starting in 1936. Weese studied under Alvar Aalto at MIT, and fraternized with classmates I.M. Pei and Eero Saarinen. As his schooling was at the height of the Great Depression, Weese avoided studying expensive historical revival styles in favor of more-affordable modern styles. In the summer of 1937, Weese toured northern Europe on a bicycle, fostering his appreciation for the modernist movement.[3]

Upon his return to the United States, Weese was offered a fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art[3]) through Eero Saarinen, whose father Eliel oversaw the school. At Cranbrook Academy of Art, he studied city planning, pottery, and textiles while learning more about Modernist principles. He worked alongside other emerging Modernist designers such as Ralph Rapson, Florence Knoll, and Charles Eames.[3]

Career

Pentagon City Station, a typical stop on the Washington Metro, considered one of the best examples of brutalist style architecture.

Weese formed an architectural partnership in Chicago with classmate Benjamin Baldwin upon their graduation in 1940.[3] He would later marry Baldwin's sister, Kitty.[3] Following the brief partnership, Weese joined the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM). Soon after joining, however, Weese enlisted as an engineering officer in the United States Navy for World War II. Weese moved back to Chicago after the war in 1945 and rejoined SOM.

In 1947, Weese started his independent design firm, Harry Weese Associates. His first commissions, such as the Robert and Suzanne Drucker House in Wilmette, Illinois, were houses for family members and close associates. By the late 1950s, Weese began to receive major commissions. Although he continued to plan houses, Weese also built civic projects such as the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

The Washington Metro in the District of Columbia helped Weese become the foremost designer of rail systems during the peak of his career. He subsequently was commissioned to oversee rail projects in Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Buffalo.[citation needed] He was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1961 and received the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1964.[4]

Weese was also well known for his firm advocacy of historic preservation, 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".[5] He led the restoration of Adler & Sullivan's Auditorium Building, and Daniel Burnham's Field Museum of Natural History and Orchestra Hall. Harry Weese & Associates received the Architecture Firm Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1978. Weese also served as a judge for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial design competition, and helped defend fledgling architect Maya Lin's unconventional design against her critics.[1]

In the late 1970s, Weese was involved in the inception of the effort to host a 1992 World's Fair in Chicago. During that same period, he was also the prime mover in the preservation, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Chicago's Printer's Row neighborhood, converting loft buildings that had once housed printing industry firms into apartments and offices, thus proving the economic viability of repurposing urban historic buildings.[6]

From the mid-1980s, Weese drank heavily and his reputation faded; he died after years of going in and out of alcohol rehabilitation and a series of disabling strokes.[3][7][8]

Personal life

Weese's parents were Protestant Christians, but he himself was non-religious. While being interviewed by the building committee of the Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist in Chicago, when asked of his religious views, he said, "My father was Episcopalian, my mother Presbyterian, and I’m an architect".[2]

Legacy

In a 1998 obituary, architectural critic Herbert Muschamp wrote that "Mr. Weese designed a systemwide network of stations that rank among the greatest public works of this century", referring to his design of the Washington Metro system. Muschamp noted that the vaulted ceilings at the crossings of subway lines "induce an almost religious sense of awe".[1]

In 2007, the design of the Washington Metro's vaulted-ceiling stations was voted number 106 on the "America's Favorite Architecture" list compiled by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and was the only brutalist design to win a place among the 150 selected by this public survey. In January 2014, the AIA announced that it would present its Twenty-five Year Award to the Washington Metro system for "an architectural design of enduring significance" that "has stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years". The announcement cited the key role of Harry Weese, who conceived and implemented a "common design kit-of-parts" which continues to guide the construction of new Metro stations over a quarter-century later.[9]

Works

Mercantile Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, a 20-story office tower on a pedestal base of steel columns with striking exposed triangular trusses
Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, Illinois

Weese is best known as the designer and architect of the first group of stations in the Washington Metro system. Other well known works include:

  • Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, formerly known as the Elvehjem Museum of Art
  • River Cottages at 357-365 N. Canal Street, Chicago. Sloped, structurally expressive facade responds to the angle and cross bracing of the railroad bridge directly across the river.
  • The Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston
  • Swissôtel, Chicago. The cross-section is an equilateral triangle, so that two-thirds of the rooms have a view of the main stem of the Chicago River.

Weese also led numerous restoration projects including:

Weese designed over 80 single home and residential buildings, including:

  • His primary residence in Barrington, Illinois
  • "Shadowcliff", Ellison Bay, Wisconsin
  • Evanston, Illinois
  • Glen Lake, Michigan
  • Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, Canada
  • Red House, Barrington, Illinois
  • Tangeman House, Ontario, home of Clementine Tangeman and Robert Stone Tangeman[14]
  • Wayne, Illinois

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Muschamp, Herbert (November 3, 1998). "Harry Weese, 83, Designer Of Metro System in Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  2. ^ a b Mayer, Ellen (October 22, 2014). "Real Estate And Religion: The Tale Of Seventeenth Church Of Christ, Scientist". WBEZ. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Sharoff, Robert (July 7, 2010). "On the Life and Work of Chicago Architect Harry Weese". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "Awards: Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize". National Institute of Arts and Letters. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Kamin, Blair (November 1, 1998). "Harry Weese, Visionary Architect Known as 'Chicago's Conscience'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Landmark Designation Report" (PDF). Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development. March 1, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Baldwin, Ian (May 2011). "The Architecture of Harry Weese: Chicago modernist". Places Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  8. ^ Kahn, Eve M. (3 January 2011). "The Complexities of a Pioneering Architect". Architect: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  9. ^ Mortice, Zach. "2014 Twenty-five Year Award". American Institute of Architects. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  10. ^ Gallun, Alby (October 22, 2014). "Teachers union selling Gold Coast apartment tower". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Schmitt, Preston (Spring 2021). "How the Humanities Building Went Wrong". On Wisconsin. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. ^ Waldheim, Charles; Ray, Katerina Ruedi (2005). Chicago Architecture: histories, revisions, alternatives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-2268-7038-0.
  13. ^ "Biography of Harry Weese". The Art Institute of Chicago. p. 179-ff. Archived from the original on 2010-01-05.
  14. ^ Bruegmann, Robert (2010). The Architecture of Harry Weese. New York, USA: W.W. Norton & Co. p. 111. ISBN 9780393731934.

Further reading

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