Ellis F. Lawrence Explained
Ellis Fuller Lawrence (November 13, 1879 – February 27, 1946) was an American architect who worked primarily in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 1914, he became the co-founder and first dean of the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts, a position he held until his death.
Lawrence concurrently served as campus architect for the University of Oregon and designed many campus buildings, including Knight Library and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Lawrence Hall on the university campus (which replaced his Architecture and Art Building of 1923) was named in his honor in 1956.[1] His body of over 500 projects includes churches, residences, commercial and industrial buildings, funerary buildings, multi-family residences, and public buildings.
In 1988, the private residence he designed for Thomas A. Livesley, a prominent Salem, Oregon businessman and civic leader, was purchased through private donations and donated to the state and now serves as the Governor's official residence (Mahonia Hall).[2]
Biography
Ellis F. Lawrence was born in Malden, Massachusetts and received his secondary education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts graduating in 1897. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the first school of architecture in the United States. After graduation in 1902, Lawrence worked for the Boston architectural firms Peabody & Stearns and Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul as well as for architects John Calvin Stevens and Constant-Désiré Despradelle before he left to travel in Europe.[3] He was employed by the Boston architectural firm Codman & Despradelle in 1905.
In 1906, Codman & Despradelle (Boston), sent Lawrence to San Francisco to commence work there, but the 1906 San Francisco earthquake convinced him to stay in Portland, Oregon where he had stopped on the way. He lived in Portland the rest of his life and commuted to his work as dean and campus architect in Eugene.[4]
He was associated with several Oregon-based architecture firms: MacNaughton, Raymond & Lawrence (1906–1910); Lawrence & Holford (1913–1928); Lawrence, Holford, Allyn & Bean (1928–1933); and Lawrence, Holford, & Allyn (1933–1941). Lawrence's final partnership, Lawrence & Lawrence (1944–1946), was with his son, Henry Abbott Lawrence.
Buildings designed by Lawrence
On the National Register of Historic Places
Eugene, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Other Oregon NRHP structures
Other buildings
- Baker Middle School, Baker City[6]
- Cooley House, Lewis and Clark College, Portland
- Franklin Building, Salem, contributing structure to the Salem Downtown Historic District
- Martin House, Eugene [7]
- McArthur Court, University of Oregon, Eugene
- Mount Crest Abbey Mausoleum, Salem[8]
- Ocean View Abbey Mausoleum, Astoria[8]
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house, Eugene
- Donald R. Newberry House, Medford, Oregon[9]
- John Hughes house, Salem Oregon
- Prentiss Hall, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington
- Hunter Conservatory, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington
See also
References
- Harmony in Diversity : The Architecture and Teaching of Ellis F. Lawrence. Edited by Michael Shellenbarger ; essays by Kimberly K. Lakin, Leland M. Roth, Michael Shellenbarger. Eugene, Or.: Museum of Art and the Historic Preservation Program, School of Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, 1989.
- Ritz, Richard Ellison. "Lawrence, Ellis Fuller," Architects of Oregon; A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased—19th and 20th Centuries. Portland, OR: Lair Hill Publishing, 2002.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: The Architecture of the University of Oregon:Lawrence Hall . . 2008-01-10 . 2012-06-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120616062228/https://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/architecture/oregon/lawrence.html . dead .
- Web site: Highway: Geo-Environmental Section Architecture . 2008-01-10 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070506053249/http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/GEOENVIRONMENTAL/architecture1.shtml . 2007-05-06 .
- T. A. Livesley House National Register of Historic Places Registration Form . 1990 . United States Department of the Interior—National Park Service.
- http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv35243 Guide to the Ellis Lawrence papers at the University of Oregon
- Web site: Teague, Ed . 2004 . Architecture of the University of Oregon: Gerlinger Hall . 2008-01-10 . University of Oregon Libraries.
- Web site: Most Endangered Places 2011 - Baker City Middle School. 2011. Historic Preservation League of Oregon. 5 June 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120320205636/http://www.historicpreservationleague.org/mep_BakerMiddle.php. 20 March 2012.
- Book: Ellis Lawrence Building Survey, University of Oregon. 1989. State Historic Preservation Office.
- News: Goodenberger, John . November 28, 2005 . From slippery slopes to disrepair, Astorians face tough burial decisions . . 2008-01-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160313025829/http://dailyastorian.info/main.asp?articleid=28713§ionid=23&subsectionid=783&tm=53673.26 . 2016-03-13 .
- Book: Shellenbarger . Michael . Harmony in Diversity: The Architecture and Teaching of Ellis H Lawrence . 1989 . University of Oregon . 0871142538 . 80 . 1794/12298 .
