Zantzinger, Borie & Medary
Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an early to mid-twentieth-century American architecture firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania specializing in institutional and civic projects, and active under that name from 1910 through 1929, and continuing until 1950. The partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger[1], Charles Louis Borie Jr.[2] and Milton Bennett Medary[3], all Philadelphians.
Apart from its work, the firm is noteworthy as having employed numerous architects who went on to significant careers, such as Dominique Berninger (1898 – 1949) and Louis Isadore Kahn (1901/2 – 1974).
History
The firm was functioning from 1950 to 1950, established by the original two partners and practicing under their names: Zantzinger & Borie. The association with Medary lasted from 1910 until his death in 1929, during which the firm was titled Zantzinger, Borie & Medary. Thereafter until 1950, the firm name reverted back to Zantzinger & Borie.
Zantzinger and Borie (but not Medary) were involved in years of preliminary design work on the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The 1911 commission was shared between Z&B and Horace Trumbauer. Architects Julian Abele and Howell Lewis Shay, from Trumbauer's firm, are usually given most of the credit for the final building, completed in 1928.[4]
Collaborations and notable employees
The firm collaborated with Paul Philippe Cret for the completed buildings listed below, and on proposals for the Nebraska State Capitol and the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. As a young man in 1930 through 1932, Louis Kahn worked for both Cret and for Z&B. The firm also worked with former Bertram Goodhue collaborators sculptor Lee Lawrie and iconographer Hartley Burr Alexander, among others.
The firm was the first recorded American employer of French-born American architect, who worked there from 1925 to 1932.[5] During this time he served as job captain for their design project of the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, a project that cost around $1,250,000.[5] Kahn and Berninger had met while working at the firm and went on to form the Architectural Research Group (ARG) in Philadelphia, a short-lived collaborative society from 1932 to 1933 before Kahn took a job with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, while Berninger commenced his own practice in 1933 and later formed the partnership of Berlinger & Bower (fl.1935 – 1945), which was the predecessor firm of Haag & d'Entremont (fl.1946 – 1988).[5]
Works
- 1912: Chanticleer, an estate (now public garden) in Wayne, Pennsylvania
- 1916: Indianapolis Central Public Library, with Paul Philippe Cret, completed 1916 [6]
- 1917: Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge National Historical Park, completed 1917
- 1918: Federal Ordinance Plant Housing, 15,000 homes (to house 20-25,000 workers) on Neville Island, Ohio River, Pennsylvania (cost $50,000,000)[7]
- 1928: Detroit Institute of Arts, with Paul Philippe Cret, 1927 [8]
- 1927: Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company Building in Philadelphia, 1927 (now part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art) [9]
- 1927-1929: Bok Singing Tower in Florida, 1929 [10]
- 1931: Strathcona Hall at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, 1931 [11] (probably refers to this: Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, a project that cost around $1,250,000, on which Berninger served as job captain)[5]
- 1932-1935: Department of Justice Building, Washington, D.C., completed 1935 (on which Kahn worked)[12]
See also
Gallery
External links
References
- ^ Zantzinger biography at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- ^ Borie biography at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- ^ Medary biography at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- ^ David B. Brownlee, Making a Modern Classic: The Architecture of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1997), pp. 60-77.
- ^ a b c d "Questionair for Architects’ Roster and/or Register of Architects Qualified for Federal Public Works "Dominique Berninger - G. Harold W. Haag - Paul d/Entremont (firm)" June 25, 1946.
- ^ Indianapolis Architecture, Indiana Architectural Foundation, 1975
- ^ "Among the Plumbing and Heating Contractors: Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh & Vicinity" Domestic Engineering, October 12, 1918, p.65-65 (Collected in Volume 85, October 5 – December 28, 1918). Excerpt: "...Anouncement has just been made by the Government that Zantzinger, Borie & Medery, architects of Philadelphia, have been selected to design and supervise the...."
- ^ "The Detroit Institute of Arts: The Architecture, Published for The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1928
- ^ Fairmont Park Association, Sculpture of a City – Philadelphia’s Treasures in Bronze and Stone, Fairmont Park Association, Walker Publishing Co., Inc, NY. NY 1974
- ^ Bok, Edward W., America's Taj Mahal; The Singing Tower of Florida, The Georgia Marble Company, Tate, Georgia, 1929
- ^ Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design, (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1976).
- ^ George Gurney, Sculpture and the Federal Triangle, (Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985)