Charles M. Goodman,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

(November 26, 1906 – October 29, 1992) was an American architect who made a name for his modern designs in suburban Washington, D.C. after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. While his work has a regional feel, he ignored the

colonial revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

look so popular in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Goodman was quoted in the 1968 survey book ''Architecture in Virginia'' as saying that he aimed to "get away from straight historical reproduction." Goodman, who developed preliminary designs for

Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

and served as main architect of the Hollin Hills neighborhood in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, attended the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

. He came to D.C. in 1934 to work as the designing architect in the Public Buildings Administration. He later served as head architect at the

United States Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

and the Air Transport Command. After World War II he worked closely with Robert C. Davenport designing and

site planning A site plan or a plot plan is a type of drawing used by architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and engineers which shows existing and proposed conditions for a given area, typically a parcel of land which is to be modified. Sites plan ...

most of the Hollin Hills, where his firm, Charles M. Goodman Associates, designed over 14 models of house. During the 1950s and 1960s, Goodman designed prefabricated homes for the National Homes Corporation of Lafayette, Indiana. It is estimated more than 325,000 homes throughout the United States were built using his National Homes’ designs. Such as “The Ranger”, “The Main Line”, “The Custom Line”, and “The Cadet”.

Personal life

He attended the University of Illinois from 1925 to 1928. At the Armour Institute, he was awarded the

Dankmar Adler Dankmar Adler (July 3, 1844 – April 16, 1900) was a German-born American architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his fifteen-year partnership with Louis Sullivan, during which they designed influential skyscrapers that boldly addr ...

Prize as an outstanding freshman, and the Hutchinson medal as the leading senior in architecture, and a fellowship at Lake Forest foundation. He graduated in 1934 from Amour Institute’s School of Architecture. In June 1934, he married Charlotte Kathleen Dodge and they had one daughter together. After her passing and 45 years of marriage in 1979, he then married Dorothy Mae Sopchick on October 30, 1980, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Projects

Other projects included the 1964 Unitarian Church in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

at 4444 Arlington Blvd. His residence, Goodman House, was built in 1954 at 514 Quaker Lane in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. In Reston, he designed a "cluster" of townhouses in the woods above Lake Anne known as Hickory Cluster. In the Southwest Waterfront Community of Washington, D.C. and just north of Fort McNair between N and O Streets and Delaware Avenue and 4th Street, SW, Goodman designed the glass and aluminum clad River Park Mutual Homes, which consists of two conjoined high-rise buildings and several clusters of flat and barrel-roof top townhouses. Reynolds Aluminum sponsored the development of River Park which explains the prominent use of aluminum in both its design and structure. His 1949-51 development at

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ce ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2004 as the Hammond Wood Historic District. His 1951 development at

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...

was listed on the

in 2004 as the Takoma Avenue Historic District. His 1958-61 development at

was listed on the

, and is known as the

Rock Creek Woods Historic District The Rock Creek Woods Historic District is a national historic district located north of Kensington, Montgomery County, Maryland (although the postal address is Silver Spring). This suburban development, consisting of 74 Contemporary houses, i ...

. In 1957 he designed the

Alcoa Care-free Home Alcoa Care-free Home is a historic home located at Brighton in Monroe County, New York. It was designed by Charles M. Goodman (1906 – 1992) and is one of 24 Alcoa Care-free Homes listed in their sales brochure of 1957 that were built for a de ...

at Brighton, New York added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. He also designed 21 twin dwellings in the High Point section of the

Virginia Heights Historic District The Virginia Heights Historic District is a national historic district located at Arlington County, Virginia. It is directly west of the Columbia Forest Historic District. It contains 117 contributing buildings in a residential neighborhood in ...

. Goodman designed the

for Alcoa in 1957. Locations receiving National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designation and time of significance include: * Nationwide significance: ** Hollin Hills Historic District (1949–1971), Alexandria, Virginia (2013) * Statewide significance: ** Charles M. Goodman House (1954), Alexandria, Virginia (2013) ** Tauxemont Historic District (1954), Alexandria, Virginia (2006) ** Subdivisions and Architecture Planned and Designed by Charles M. Goodman Associates in Montgomery County, Maryland (Multiple Property Document) * Local significance: **

(1946–47, 1950), Arlington, Virginia ** Hammond Wood Historic District (1949), Silver Spring, Maryland **

(1958–61), Silver Spring, Maryland ** Takoma Avenue Historic District (1951–52), Tacoma Park, Maryland **

Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA), historically known as the Unitarian Church of Arlington, is a Unitarian Universalist church located at 4444 Arlington Boulevard (U.S. 50) in Arlington County, Virginia. Founded in 1948, UUCA wa ...

(1964), Arlington, Virginia **

(1958), Brighton, New York * Under review as future NRHP historic district ** Hickory Cluster (90 townhouses) (1965), Reston, Virginia

Awards and honors

Beyond the numerous awards and recognition of his residential neighborhoods reaching National Register of Historic Places status, Goodman has been recognized as one of the most significant architects of the 20th century. In 1951, he was awarded Architect of the Year from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for Hollin Hills, one of many awards the community and his home designs would garner over the years. In 1959, he was made a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

(FAIA). One year later, Goodman was awarded the 1960 Gold Medal from the Art Directors Club of Washington. Goodman was one of eight architects honored as ‘’The People’s Architect’’ by

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

to commemorate its semi-centennial, 1912–62. Other awardees include: John Lyon Reid,

O'Neil Ford O'Neil Ford (December 3, 1905 – July 20, 1982) was an American architect of the mid-20th century in Texas, and a leading architect of the American Southwest. He is considered one of the nation's best unknown architects, and his designs merged ...

Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

Vernon DeMars Vernon Armond DeMars (February 26, 1908 – April 29, 2005) was an American architect and professor at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. He specialized in Modernist housing projects and public housing complexes. Biography Vernon ...

Pietro Belluschi Pietro Belluschi (August 18, 1899 – February 14, 1994) was an Italian-American architect. A leading figure in modern architecture, he was responsible for the design of over 1,000 buildings.Belluschi, Pietro. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannic ...

, and Marshall Shaffer. In 1986, he received the Professional Achievement Award of the IIT Alumni Association.

Gallery

File:CHARLES M. GOODMAN HOUSE, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA.jpg, Charles M. Goodman House, listed on the

(NRHP) File:6519 Lakeview Dr.jpg, Charles M. Goodman House File:Reagan terminal A entrance 2013.jpg, National Airport, now known as

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...

File:Takoma Ave HD.jpg, Houses in the Takoma Avenue Historic District File:Charles M. Goodman houses in Washington, D.C.jpg, Barrel-roof townhouses in the

Southwest Waterfront The Southwest Waterfront is a mostly residential neighborhood in Southwest Washington, D.C. The Southwest quadrant is the smallest of Washington's four quadrants, and the Southwest Waterfront is one of only two residential neighborhoods in the ...

neighborhood of Washington, D.C. File:Unitarian Universalist Church, Arlington, Virginia - 11.jpeg,

is listed on the NRHP

References

External links

*
Houston House Apartments, Houston, 1966Photos of River Park
* ttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=Goodman%2C%20Charles%20M.%2C%201906-1992 Library of Congress holdings of Goodman drawingsbr> Rock Creek Woods, a suburban development located in Montgomery County, Maryland just outside Washington, D.C., consists of 76 Contemporary houses nestled in a wooded valley between two creeks.An Uncommon Architect: Charles M. Goodman and his legacy at The Commons of McLean

Hickory Cluster (1964)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Charles M. Modernist architects People from Alexandria, Virginia 1906 births 1992 deaths Illinois Institute of Technology alumni Architects from Virginia 20th-century American architects Architects from New York City