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Russell Pancoast
Russell Pancoast (February 13, 1899 – November 28, 1972) was an American architect and city planner who designed hundreds of buildings throughout Florida and the city master plan for Plantation, Florida. He and his father, Thomas J. Pancoast drew the city master plan for Miami Beach, Florida.
Born in 1899 and raised in Camden, New Jersey, Pancoast was second of three boys of Katharine and Thomas J. Pancoast, a hardware merchant. His family was Quaker and he graduated from the George School in 1918,[citation needed] then his family moved to Miami Beach, where his father joined his wife's father developing real estate.
Pancoast attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, followed by Cornell University where he was a member of the New York Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1922. After finishing his education, he married Katherine French in 1923. The couple had two children, Martha French in 1927 and Lester Collins in 1931.[citation needed]
John S. Collins, Pancoast's maternal grandfather, was a Miami Beach developer during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. When Pancoast and his extended family moved to Miami Beach, he worked at the firm Kiehnel and Elliott before opening his own architectural design practice with Cornell fraternity brother Edward Sibbert in 1927. Pancoast and Sibbert was short lived however; following the 1926 Miami hurricane Sibbert and his wife packed up and left Florida, returning to Brooklyn.
In addition to his significant buildings, Pancoast also designed scores of architecturally significant residences. Some realtors in south Florida specialize in homes designed by notable architects of the era. His buildings range in style from Mediterranean Revival to Postwar Modern. He helped shape the use of Art Deco in Miami Beach.
His first major project was for industrialist Harvey S. Firestone, who wanted a place where he and his friends could socialize away from the public spotlight during Prohibition. Pancoast was becoming known as an architect who defined the era's aesthetics. The Surf Club opened in 1930 on New Year's Eve and became the place in Surfside, Florida where aristocrats, celebrities and statesmen gathered for fashion shows, boxing, parties and gala dinners.
Following his grandfather's donation of land that eventually became Collins Park, Pancoast designed a library and center of culture with an exterior covered in tiles of Florida keystone. The building was converted in 1964 into Miami-Dade's first permanent museum, the Bass Museum of Art. During the early 1930s, he worked with his father on city planning for Miami Beach.
Other structures Pancoast designed include the Mead Building in the art deco style on Lincoln Road which originally housed upscale stores such as Bonwit Teller; the Miami Beach Woman's Club in 1933 using the Miami Mediterranean style; the Peter Miller Hotel, constructed in 1936 as an intimate, boutique hotel with fewer than 100 rooms. The Lennox Hotel group renovated the building in 2019 at a cost of $71 million.
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Russell Pancoast
Russell Pancoast (February 13, 1899 – November 28, 1972) was an American architect and city planner who designed hundreds of buildings throughout Florida and the city master plan for Plantation, Florida. He and his father, Thomas J. Pancoast drew the city master plan for Miami Beach, Florida.
Born in 1899 and raised in Camden, New Jersey, Pancoast was second of three boys of Katharine and Thomas J. Pancoast, a hardware merchant. His family was Quaker and he graduated from the George School in 1918,[citation needed] then his family moved to Miami Beach, where his father joined his wife's father developing real estate.
Pancoast attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, followed by Cornell University where he was a member of the New York Alpha chapter of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1922. After finishing his education, he married Katherine French in 1923. The couple had two children, Martha French in 1927 and Lester Collins in 1931.[citation needed]
John S. Collins, Pancoast's maternal grandfather, was a Miami Beach developer during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. When Pancoast and his extended family moved to Miami Beach, he worked at the firm Kiehnel and Elliott before opening his own architectural design practice with Cornell fraternity brother Edward Sibbert in 1927. Pancoast and Sibbert was short lived however; following the 1926 Miami hurricane Sibbert and his wife packed up and left Florida, returning to Brooklyn.
In addition to his significant buildings, Pancoast also designed scores of architecturally significant residences. Some realtors in south Florida specialize in homes designed by notable architects of the era. His buildings range in style from Mediterranean Revival to Postwar Modern. He helped shape the use of Art Deco in Miami Beach.
His first major project was for industrialist Harvey S. Firestone, who wanted a place where he and his friends could socialize away from the public spotlight during Prohibition. Pancoast was becoming known as an architect who defined the era's aesthetics. The Surf Club opened in 1930 on New Year's Eve and became the place in Surfside, Florida where aristocrats, celebrities and statesmen gathered for fashion shows, boxing, parties and gala dinners.
Following his grandfather's donation of land that eventually became Collins Park, Pancoast designed a library and center of culture with an exterior covered in tiles of Florida keystone. The building was converted in 1964 into Miami-Dade's first permanent museum, the Bass Museum of Art. During the early 1930s, he worked with his father on city planning for Miami Beach.
Other structures Pancoast designed include the Mead Building in the art deco style on Lincoln Road which originally housed upscale stores such as Bonwit Teller; the Miami Beach Woman's Club in 1933 using the Miami Mediterranean style; the Peter Miller Hotel, constructed in 1936 as an intimate, boutique hotel with fewer than 100 rooms. The Lennox Hotel group renovated the building in 2019 at a cost of $71 million.