Lorimer Rich Explained

Lorimer Rich (December 24, 1891 – June 2, 1978) was an American architect, born in Camden, New York. He is now best remembered for collaborating with sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones on the winning entry in a nationwide competition to create a design for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.Rich graduated from Syracuse University in 1914. This was followed by further studies in Europe, a standard move for many young American architects of that era. Shortly thereafter he joined the US Army and served in World War I. Upon returning to the United States he worked for the prestigious architectural firm McKim, Mead and White. In 1928 he established his own New York City firm.

There he gained a reputation as a designer of post offices.^[1]

Rich returned to Camden after retiring from practice and died there in 1978. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his wife Martha Ross Leigh (1894–1987) not far from the Tomb of the Unknown.^[2]

Commissions

• Second Corps Area Headquarters – Pershing Hall, Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York, 1934.
• Great Barrington Main Post Office, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, 1935
• Flatbush Sub-station of the Brooklyn Post Office, 1935
• Station "A", Brooklyn Post Office 1935
• Kensington Post Office, 1935
• Morris Heights Post Office, Bronx, New York
• Madison Square Branch, Post Office 1937
• Forest Hills Post Office, 1937
• Johnstown Post Office – Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1938^[3]
• Joe and Emily Lowe Gallery, Syracuse University, 1952
• Archibold Gymnasium, additions to, Syracuse University, 1952
• Women's Building, Syracuse University, 1953
• Ernest I White Law College, Syracuse, university, 1954
• "and various dormitories" at Syracuse University ^[4]
• New York State Insurance Fund Building, 199 Church Street, New York City, 1955
• Rich Hall of the State University of New York at Oswego named after Grace Ellingwood Rich, the sister of Lorimer Rich
• Camden United Methodist Church, 132 Main Street, Camden New York 1969
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers of the American Revolution, 201 North James Street, Rome New York 1976

Notes and References

1. 107.
2. https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgRyaWNoEgdsb3JpbWVy/ Burial Detail: Rich, Lorimer (Section 48, Grave 288)
3. Web site: A Walking Tour of Downtown Johnstown. www.jaha.org. 2016-04-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160331232228/http://jaha.org/VisitorResources/downtown.html. 2016-03-31. dead.
4. Hardin, Evamaria, Syracuse Landmarks: An AIA Guide to downtown and Historic Neighborhoods, Onondaga Historical Society Association, Syracuse University Press, 1993 pp. 228, 231, 232