Vivian B. Smith Explained

Vivian B. Smith
Nationality:	American
Birth Date:	8 July 1886
Birth Place:	Ocean City, New Jersey, U.S.
Death Place:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Vivian B. Smith (1886–1952) was an American architect from Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Life and career

Smith was born July 8, 1886, in Ocean City, New Jersey, to Lewis S. Smith and Hannah (Holmes) Smith. After his schooling, he went to Philadelphia, where he worked for Charles L. Hoffman and other architects.^[1]

In 1907, he returned to the coast to work for architect Harvey J. Shumway, an architect who had practiced in Atlantic City since 1895.^[2] After Shumway's death in December 1909, Smith opened his own office in Atlantic City in January.

In 1913 he, in association with Ocean City architect Earle M. Henderer, submitted an entry in the competition to design the new Ocean City City Hall, which they won. When construction began in 1914 they formed a formal partnership, Smith & Henderer, which lasted until at least 1916. The Beaux-Arts city hall would garner Smith early acclaim, and he would use images of the building in his later advertisements.^[3] Though best known for his hotels and public buildings, Smith's largest work was the designing and supervision of Belcoville in Weymouth Township in 1918. This was a planned community of five thousand people for workers of the Bethlehem Loading Company, a World War I-era munitions plant operated by Bethlehem Steel. Smith practiced in Atlantic City for over twenty-five years, well into the Great Depression.

Smith joined the American Institute of Architects in 1921.^[4] He was the first Atlantic City architect to be a member of the organization.^[1]

Personal life

Smith was married twice, first to Ella Dawson, who died in 1919,^[5] and second to Josephine Cross. He had a son with his first wife, and two daughters with his second.^[1] Smith and his family lived in Ventnor City, New Jersey.

Death

Smith died December 5, 1952, in a hospital in Philadelphia, at the age of 66.^[6]

Legacy

Smith's buildings were designed in the popular revival styles of the day, including the Beaux-Arts, Colonial Revival, and Gothic Revival styles. He also adopted more eclectic styles for some buildings, like the Spanish Colonial Revival for the Flanders Hotel and Music Pier in Ocean City or the Venetian Gothic for the Freeman Building in Atlantic City. These were uncommon in the northeast, where they usually appeared at resorts.

At least five buildings designed by Smith have been listed in the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural works

• Ocean City City Hall, 861 Asbury Ave, Ocean City, New Jersey (1914–15, NRHP 1997)^[7]
• Breakers Hotel, S New Jersey Ave, and Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1915–16, demolished 1974)^[8]
• Belcoville Fire Station, 1201 Loretta Ave, Belcoville, New Jersey (1918)
• Belcoville Post Office, 1201 Madden Ave, Belcoville, New Jersey (1918, NRHP 2008)^[9]
• Segal Building, 1200 Atlantic Ave, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1920, NRHP 1984)^[10]
• Flanders Hotel, 719 E 11th St, Ocean City, New Jersey (1922–23, NRHP 2009)^[11]
• Freeman Building, 1516 Atlantic Ave, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1922)^[1]
• Ventnor Community Church, 5300 Ventnor Ave, Ventnor City, New Jersey (1922)^[1]
• Elks Building, 124 S Virginia Ave, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1924, demolished)^[12]
• Ocean City High School, 550 Atlantic Ave, Ocean City, New Jersey (1924, demolished 2005)^[11]
• Ventnor City Hall, 6201 Atlantic Ave, Ventnor City, New Jersey (1928, NRHP 1996)^[13]
• Ocean City Music Pier, 825 Boardwalk, Ocean City, New Jersey (1929)^[11]
• The Senator, 166 S Carolina Ave, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1930, demolished 1998)^[6]
• Stanley Holmes Village, Adriatic Ave, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1936–37)^[14]

Notes and References

1. "Vivian B. Smith" in South Jersey: A History, 1664-1924 3, ed. Alfred M. Heston (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1924): 220-221.
2. John F. Hall, The Daily Union History of Atlantic City and County (Atlantic City: Daily Union, 1900): 502.
3. American Catholic Quarterly Review 43, no. 169 (January 1918)
4. https://aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AHDAA/pages/37069463/ahd1042013 Vivian B. Smith
5. "Mrs. Ella Dawson Smith" in Musical America 29, no. 21 (March 22, 1919): 51.
6. "Vivian B. Smith" in New York Times, December 6, 1952, 21.
7. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/97000565 Ocean City City Hall NRHP Registration Form
8. "Splendid Hotel Planned" in New York Hotel Record 13, no. 25 (August 31, 1915): 9.
9. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/08000174 Belcoville Post Office NRHP Registration Form
10. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/84002517 Segal Building NRHP Registration Form
11. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/09000939 Flanders Hotel NRHP Registration Form
12. "Elks Lodge, No. 276, Atlantic City, N. J." in Architecture and Building 57, no. 11 (November 1925): 102.
13. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/96001088 Ventnor City Hall NRHP Registration Form
14. https://livingnewdeal.org/projects/stanley-holmes-village-atlantic-city-nj/ Stanley Holmes Village