| Louis Skidmore | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 8, 1897 Lawrenceburg, Indiana |
| Died | September 27, 1962 (aged 65) Winter Haven, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Awards | AIA Gold Medal (1957) |
| Work | |
| Practice | Skidmore, Owings and Merrill |
Louis Skidmore (April 8, 1897 – September 27, 1962) was an American architect, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.
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Louis Skidmore was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He served in the United States Army during World War I as a Sergeant. On June 14, 1930, he married Eloise Owings, the sister of Nathaniel A. Owings his future business partner. Louis and Eloise were married for over 32 years until his death in 1962. They had two sons Louis, Jr. and Philip Murray.[1]
Louis Skidmore studied at Bradley Polytechnic Institute, finishing in (1917).[2]
Louis Skidmore trained with Cram and Ferguson, an established and large firm in Boston that designed Gothic style buildings.[3] At night he would go to the Boston Architectural Club for additional design problems that were critiqued by Harvard and MIT professors. Winning a prize at the BAC opened the door for Skidmore to attend MIT.[3] Louis Skidmore studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology until 1924.[2]
After about eight years of practicing architecture, Skidmore won the Rotch Traveling Fellowship. This fellowship allowed him to travel to Europe where he spent his time primarily in Rome and Paris.
It was during his time in Paris that he met Raymond Hood. And it was Hood that convinced Skidmore to be involved in the Chicago's World's Fair. Hood was head of The Board of Design of the Chicago World's Fair. Also, while in Europe, skidmore met Eloise Owings.[3] They returned to the United States together where Eloise introduced Skidmore to her brother Nathaniel "Nat" Owings.[3]
Louis Skidmore began working with Hood and even got Hood to hire Nat Owings. Skidmore joined Raymond Hood on the board of design as the design draftsman or junior designer. And when General Rufus Dawes, head of the Fair, fired all the other architects on the board, Skidmore, being the only one left, reviewed all the designs that were presented by the various companies for the Chicago's World Fair. As a result, Skidmore became acquainted with a lot of commercial companies. And after the fair, the Museum of Science and Industry to be created. Skidmore was hired to study the one in Munich.[3]
Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings co-founded the firm in 1936. And (John O. Merrill became the third partner in 1939. During the war years the firm built a number of large housing projects, most notably the initially secret town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In New York a major wartime project was the Abraham Lincoln Houses, a 14-building complex in Harlem (completed in 1948).[4] Another major government-appointed project was the United States Air Force Academy. His firm developed its reputation for reliability in large developments, and became one of the largest and most talked-about skyscraper builders in the 1950s.[2] SOM's most famous building was the Lever House, built in 1952.
"Skid was a very easy-going guy, very bright and tricky enough to get work, but a very pleasant guy and if he had a few drinks, he was very cordial. He was never mean. He couldn't have been nicer to me and the four partners who grew up with him. Skid was the man who had the insight in finding people. Skid picked the first four partners." - Gordon Bunshaft[3]
Louis Skidmore served as president of the New York Building Congress for 1949 and was vice-president of the Architectural League of New York in 1952.[5] He received the highest individual honor for architecture from the American Institute of Architects, the Gold Medal in 1957.[6]
Louis Skidmore Jr. retired as an associate partner in Skidmore Owings & Merrill and currently resides in Houston, Tx.[7] Philip M. Skidmore lives and works in Greenwich, CT where he is Chairman of the wealth management firm Belray Asset Management.[8]