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Benjamin F. McAdoo
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Benjamin F. McAdoo
Benjamin Franklin McAdoo Jr. (October 29, 1920 – June 18, 1981) was an American architect. He designed several residential, civic, and commercial structures in the Seattle area in a modernist aesthetic influenced by the Northwest Regional style.
Born in Pasadena, California, McAdoo attended school in southern California, where he was inspired by the work of Paul R. Williams and began to pursue architectural training. After working as a draftsman for local architectural firms and the Army Corps of Engineers, he pursued his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating in 1946. He became the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Washington, and after a brief period designing remodels and alterations, he began to receive commissions to design private residences.
Favorable coverage in The Seattle Times by architecture journalist Margery Phillips boosted McAdoo's career. A residence designed by him in Burien was declared the "Home of the Year" by The Seattle Times in association with the American Institute of Architects. After designing a number of low-income houses and apartments throughout the 1950s, including around eighty single-family "Houses of Merit", he was hired by the Agency for International Development to design modular houses in Jamaica. He returned to the United States after eighteen months in Jamaica and briefly worked for the Department of State and the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., where he aided Edward Durell Stone in designing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He returned to Seattle in 1964, where he pursued public and civic architectural commissions. In addition to his architectural work, he participated in the NAACP, hosted a weekly radio show on racial issues for several years, and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Washington House of Representatives.
On October 29, 1920, Benjamin Franklin McAdoo Jr. was born in Pasadena, California, to Alferetta Deroussel and Benjamin F. McAdoo Sr. He was the eldest of their four children. Benjamin McAdoo Sr. worked a variety of jobs, including as a hardwood floor contractor, while Alfaretta worked as a music instructor. McAdoo Jr. grew up in a racially diverse neighborhood of Pasadena, one of a few neighborhoods tolerating black renters when redlining practices excluded them from much of the city. He attended Pasadena High School while working part-time with his father on flooring installation and tree hauling. He took an interest in architecture after taking a mechanical drawing class in ninth grade. He frequently clipped newspaper articles about projects and architects, and became particularly inspired by the California African-American architect Paul R. Williams.
After graduating in 1938, McAdoo attended Pasadena Junior College. By 1940, he was living alongside his parents and siblings with his paternal grandmother, who ran a grocery store in the area. He was active in the local Seventh-day Adventist Church, giving speeches and sermons at church events. In 1941, he transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to study architecture. He worked nights and attended classes during the day, but was forced to withdraw from the university for financial reasons. He then began work at a number of private architectural firms in Los Angeles.
In July 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II, McAdoo joined the Army Corps of Engineers at Camp Roberts, California, where he continued to work as a draftsman. Soon afterwards, he married Alice Thelma Dent. In October 1943, the couple relocated with their newborn daughter to Portland, Oregon, for McAdoo to pursue a job at the Kaiser Shipyards designing pipe systems for oil tankers. He sent inquiries to the architecture departments of the University of Oregon and the University of Washington (UW), both of which approved his request to transfer credits from his previous colleges. He chose to enroll in UW, due to a more receptive response to his letters and his belief that Seattle would be a more racially tolerant environment for him and his family than Oregon. While at UW, he published a junior project entitled "An Automobile Salesroom and Shop for Maintenance and Repair" in the university's architectural year book. While in college, he entered employment at a firm owned by James J. Chiarelli and Paul Hayden Kirk, prolific designers of Seattle homes who helped create the Northwest Regional style.
McAdoo graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree on June 22, 1946. In October 1946, he became the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Washington. In the April of the following year, he left Chiarelli & Kirk to found his own practice, working from his apartment in Seattle's University District. Business was favorable for architects at this time due to a post-war housing boom. The housing market in Seattle had been limited since the Great Depression, with the last major expansion in the late 1920s. This period corresponded with the rise of modernist architecture in the United States. He was initially hired for remodels and alterations, undertaking seventeen such commissions during his first year of business.
In June 1947, he received his first full commission for the Madrona residence of local dentist and Black community activist John P. Browning. After living in various homes to the south of Seattle, McAdoo moved into the city proper in 1949, living in a renovated house across the street from the Browning residence. He participated in a small homes design competition in 1947, designing an 887 sq ft (80 m2) ranch house featuring a butterfly roof. Although the design did not receive the prize, it was reviewed favorably in a column in The Seattle Times. His 1948–1949 Moorhouse residence in Magnolia, Seattle, was also praised by the paper. His work received consistently favorable coverage by The Seattle Times architecture columnist Margery Phillips, with her coverage becoming a major source of publicity across his early career. Beginning in 1954, Phillips launched a Seattle "Home-of-the-Month" column in association with the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects. One of McAdoo's works was chosen as one of the first winners, and his houses would ultimately be featured ten times in Phillips' columns. In 1956, a home McAdoo designed for George Hage was selected as "Home of the Year".
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Benjamin F. McAdoo
Benjamin Franklin McAdoo Jr. (October 29, 1920 – June 18, 1981) was an American architect. He designed several residential, civic, and commercial structures in the Seattle area in a modernist aesthetic influenced by the Northwest Regional style.
Born in Pasadena, California, McAdoo attended school in southern California, where he was inspired by the work of Paul R. Williams and began to pursue architectural training. After working as a draftsman for local architectural firms and the Army Corps of Engineers, he pursued his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating in 1946. He became the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Washington, and after a brief period designing remodels and alterations, he began to receive commissions to design private residences.
Favorable coverage in The Seattle Times by architecture journalist Margery Phillips boosted McAdoo's career. A residence designed by him in Burien was declared the "Home of the Year" by The Seattle Times in association with the American Institute of Architects. After designing a number of low-income houses and apartments throughout the 1950s, including around eighty single-family "Houses of Merit", he was hired by the Agency for International Development to design modular houses in Jamaica. He returned to the United States after eighteen months in Jamaica and briefly worked for the Department of State and the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., where he aided Edward Durell Stone in designing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He returned to Seattle in 1964, where he pursued public and civic architectural commissions. In addition to his architectural work, he participated in the NAACP, hosted a weekly radio show on racial issues for several years, and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Washington House of Representatives.
On October 29, 1920, Benjamin Franklin McAdoo Jr. was born in Pasadena, California, to Alferetta Deroussel and Benjamin F. McAdoo Sr. He was the eldest of their four children. Benjamin McAdoo Sr. worked a variety of jobs, including as a hardwood floor contractor, while Alfaretta worked as a music instructor. McAdoo Jr. grew up in a racially diverse neighborhood of Pasadena, one of a few neighborhoods tolerating black renters when redlining practices excluded them from much of the city. He attended Pasadena High School while working part-time with his father on flooring installation and tree hauling. He took an interest in architecture after taking a mechanical drawing class in ninth grade. He frequently clipped newspaper articles about projects and architects, and became particularly inspired by the California African-American architect Paul R. Williams.
After graduating in 1938, McAdoo attended Pasadena Junior College. By 1940, he was living alongside his parents and siblings with his paternal grandmother, who ran a grocery store in the area. He was active in the local Seventh-day Adventist Church, giving speeches and sermons at church events. In 1941, he transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to study architecture. He worked nights and attended classes during the day, but was forced to withdraw from the university for financial reasons. He then began work at a number of private architectural firms in Los Angeles.
In July 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II, McAdoo joined the Army Corps of Engineers at Camp Roberts, California, where he continued to work as a draftsman. Soon afterwards, he married Alice Thelma Dent. In October 1943, the couple relocated with their newborn daughter to Portland, Oregon, for McAdoo to pursue a job at the Kaiser Shipyards designing pipe systems for oil tankers. He sent inquiries to the architecture departments of the University of Oregon and the University of Washington (UW), both of which approved his request to transfer credits from his previous colleges. He chose to enroll in UW, due to a more receptive response to his letters and his belief that Seattle would be a more racially tolerant environment for him and his family than Oregon. While at UW, he published a junior project entitled "An Automobile Salesroom and Shop for Maintenance and Repair" in the university's architectural year book. While in college, he entered employment at a firm owned by James J. Chiarelli and Paul Hayden Kirk, prolific designers of Seattle homes who helped create the Northwest Regional style.
McAdoo graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree on June 22, 1946. In October 1946, he became the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Washington. In the April of the following year, he left Chiarelli & Kirk to found his own practice, working from his apartment in Seattle's University District. Business was favorable for architects at this time due to a post-war housing boom. The housing market in Seattle had been limited since the Great Depression, with the last major expansion in the late 1920s. This period corresponded with the rise of modernist architecture in the United States. He was initially hired for remodels and alterations, undertaking seventeen such commissions during his first year of business.
In June 1947, he received his first full commission for the Madrona residence of local dentist and Black community activist John P. Browning. After living in various homes to the south of Seattle, McAdoo moved into the city proper in 1949, living in a renovated house across the street from the Browning residence. He participated in a small homes design competition in 1947, designing an 887 sq ft (80 m2) ranch house featuring a butterfly roof. Although the design did not receive the prize, it was reviewed favorably in a column in The Seattle Times. His 1948–1949 Moorhouse residence in Magnolia, Seattle, was also praised by the paper. His work received consistently favorable coverage by The Seattle Times architecture columnist Margery Phillips, with her coverage becoming a major source of publicity across his early career. Beginning in 1954, Phillips launched a Seattle "Home-of-the-Month" column in association with the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects. One of McAdoo's works was chosen as one of the first winners, and his houses would ultimately be featured ten times in Phillips' columns. In 1956, a home McAdoo designed for George Hage was selected as "Home of the Year".
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