Abraham Horace Albertson (April 14, 1872 – April 18, 1964) was an American architect who was one of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

's most prominent architects of the first half of the 20th century. He was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and educated at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York. Early in his career, he moved to Seattle in the employ of a well-known New York architectural firm with that was developing a large area in downtown. He worked on many projects in Seattle from around 1910 through the 20s and early 30s. Some of his designs are

Seattle landmarks Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and/or 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 v ...

Early life

Albertson was born April 14, 1872, in

Hope Township, New Jersey Hope Township is a township in Warren County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,835, a decrease of 117 (−6.0%) from the 2010 census count of 1,952, which in turn reflected an ...

, to New Jersey natives Edward H. Albertson, a grocer, and Victoria ee NewmanAlbertson. In 1880, he was living in Hackettstown and subsequently lived in New York City for more than a decade, including time attending

, were he graduated, with scholarship assistance, from the

Columbia School of Architecture Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) is the architecture school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. It is regarded as an important and highly prestigious architecture school.

with a Ph.B in 1895. He served in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

as a corporal in the U.S. Army and

New York State National Guard The New York (state), New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutan ...

. He served with Col. Theodore Roosevelt at the

Battle of San Juan Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Spanish fo ...

and the

Siege of Santiago The siege of Santiago, also known as the siege of Santiago de Cuba, was the last major operation of the Spanish–American War on the island of Cuba. Santiago campaign The primary objective of the American Fifth Army Corps' invasion of Cuba ...

. After the war, he returned to New York.

Career

Albertson worked in New York City for the architectural firm

Clinton and Russell Clinton and Russell was a well-known architectural firm founded in 1894 in New York City, United States. The firm was responsible for several New York City buildings, including some in Lower Manhattan. Biography Charles W. Clinton (1838– ...

. He was one of its earliest employees after it opened in 1894 when he started as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

. Albertson moved to

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, in 1905, and then to Seattle in 1907 as the local representative of the New York City architectural firm Howells and Stokes. He was joined in the Seattle office by Joseph W. Wilson and Paul D. Richardson, who became his future partners. Albertson remained in Seattle after Howells and Stokes dissolved in 1917, and was the principal in several firms—Howells and Albertson (1920–28) (which succeeded the local office of Howells and Stokes after that firm closed); Albertson and Associates (1920–1933); and Albertson, Wilson, and Richardson (1935–1937) which reflected his associates becoming full partners. The latter firm, however, had little work due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. His final position was with the federal government, as chief architect of the Washington State office of the

Federal Housing Authority The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a United States government agency founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, created in part by ...

from 1939 until his retirement in 1949.

Projects

Alberston was the local representative of Howells and Stokes planning the redevelopment of the original downtown Seattle site of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. The

Metropolitan Tract The Metropolitan Tract is an area of land in downtown Seattle owned by the University of Washington.Royal Insurance Building. After the demise of Howells and Stokes, Albertson (with Wilson and Richardson) continued on to complete most of the remaining buildings in the Metropolitan Tract. Albertson designed a significant modification to the waterfront for a new Seattle Railroad and Marine Terminal, but the project was abandoned due to the more pressing needs of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The war brought him other government work including the Navy Yard Hotel in

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

, and various apartments, houses, and schools. Seattle - 619 W Comstock 05

Albertson supervised the construction of the White-Henry-Stuart Building (1923),

Cobb Building Cobb Building may refer to: * Cobb Building (Wagoner, Oklahoma) The Cobb Building (also known as American Bank) is an American historic commercial building located at 203 East Cherokee Street in downtown Wagoner, Oklahoma. Description and histor ...

(1910), Stimson Building (1925) and the Metropolitan Theatre. Some of his best known designs include the Northern Life Tower built in (1927–29), the downtown YMCA (1929–31), St. Joseph’s Church and Cornish School (1920-21), the Mrs. Grant Smith residence at 619 W. Comstock Street (a designated Seattle landmark, now the Stuart/Balcom House), St. Anne’s Convent (1930), and an addition to the former Children’s Orthopedic Hospital. The architectural styles produced by Albertson varied greatly, including

Spanish Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

, and

Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...

Affiliations and legacy

Albertson became a member of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

in 1910 and was once the national director. He was a chairman Seattle's building code committee, wrote the Seattle Tenement House Law, and was a director of the Seattle Social Welfare League, chairman of the Bi-state Federal Historical Monuments Survey, vice-chairman of the Washington State Emergency Public Works Board among other public positions. Seattle's

University Street station University Street station is a light rail station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is located under 3rd Avenue at University Street, near Benaroya Hall, and is served by ...

, built in 1990, contains a staircase with quotations inscribed on the risers from Albertson describing the Cobb Building, served by the station and located just across University Street. In addition to sentence-long quotations, the public art installation includes a

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

of Albertson.

Personal

In 1915, Albertson married Claire D. Fox, who was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in

Kitsap County, Washington Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on ...

. After her death in 1946, Albertson married Elizabeth G. Henry in Seattle. Albertson died April 18, 1964, in Seattle after a short illness.

Projects

National Register

The following buildings he designed are listed on the

: *

Everett City Hall Everett City Hall is the name given to a building located in Everett, Washington listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building originally served as the city hall when it was built in 1929; it was extensively renovated from 1977 ...

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

* Stuart/Balcom House, Seattle * Vancouver Telephone Building,

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

* Women's University Club of Seattle, Seattle * Medical Dental Building, Seattle * Northern Life Tower, Seattle * St. Joseph’s Church and Cornish School, Seattle * Monte Cristo Hotel, Everett, Washington (consulting architect) *

, Seattle (supervised construction) * Hotel Morck,

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...

San Francisco

The following building is a

San Francisco Designated Landmark This is a list of San Francisco Designated Landmarks. In 1967, the city of San Francisco, California adopted Article 10 of the Planning Code, providing the city with the authority to designate and protect landmarks from inappropriate alterations. ...

: * Royal Insurance Building, San Francisco (supervised construction)

References

External links

Projects and publications
at ''Pacific Coast Architecture Database'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Albertson, Abraham H. 1872 births 1964 deaths Architects from Seattle 20th-century American architects Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Architects from New Jersey Architects from New York City People from Hackettstown, New Jersey People from Hope Township, New Jersey New York National Guard personnel