Architects To The Nation

This book traces the evolution and accomplishments of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States, which from 1852 until 1939 held a virtual monopoly over federal building design. Among its more memorable buildings are the Italianate U.S. Mint in Carson City, the huge granite pile of the State, War, and Navy Building in Washington, D.C., the towering U.S. Post Office in Nashville, New York City's neo-Renaissance customhouse, and such restorations as the ancient adobe Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. In tracing the evolution of the Office and its creative output, Antoinette J. Lee evokes the nation's considerable efforts to achieve an appropriate civic architecture.

This unique and carefully researched study traces the evolution and accomplishments of the Office of the Supervising Architect of the United States - the office that from 1852 until 1939 held a virtual monopoly over federal building design. Among its more memorable buildings are the Italianate U.S. Mint in Carson City, the huge granite pile of the State, War, and Navy Building in Washington, D.C., the towering U.S. Post Office in Nashville, New York City's neo-Renaissance customhouse, and such restorations as the ancient adobe Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. In tracing the evolution of the Office and its creative output, Antoinette J. Lee evokes the nation's considerable efforts to achieve an appropriate civic architecture. Review: By writing this valuable book, Lee not only encourages inquiry into the realms of practice and patronage, she gives us a sense of the rich legacy of public buildings that still beg for scholarly attention. JSAH, vol. 60, no.2 Lee has created an unusual and important volume that both adds a new perspective to the practice of architecture and underscores the vagarious dimensions that practice can acquire in service to the state. JSAH, vol. 60, no.2 The contents bring to the fore a rich and engaging story of public works about which only a handful of specialists have known more than a few basic attributes. Drawing from federal archives, agency and congressional reports, and architectural journals of the period, she develops a detailed and definitive history. JSAH, vol. 60, no.2 meticulously researched JSAH, vol. 60, no.2