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Antonin Nechodoma (1877–1928), was a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
-American
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
who practiced in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
and
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
from 1905 to 1928. He is known for the introduction of the Prairie Style to the Caribbean and the integration of Arts and Crafts elements to his architecture. Nechodoma designed in such style at the historical district of Miramar, Puerto Rico where the town preserves his creation.


Biography

Antonin Nechodoma was born in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
in 1877. In 1887, Nechodoma's family emigrated to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
where he worked as a contractor. In 1905, Nechodoma, already an architect, arrived in Puerto Rico after working for a short period in Florida. In Puerto Rico (1905–1928), Nechodoma became one of the most prominent architects in the Caribbean. His work included private and public buildings: banks, schools, markets, churches and houses. His practice extended to the Dominican Republic where he built the main 'glorieta' in the Parque Independencia in Santo Domingo and the Market in San Pedro de Macoris. Nechodoma's work has been surrounded by controversy. His architectural style varied widely, from
Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...
for public school buildings, Gothic and Mission Style for his churches and Prairie Style in his houses. The most controversial aspect of Nechodoma's work has been his plagiarism of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
's residential work. Architectural historians Jorge Rigau, Enrique Vivoni Farage, and Nechodoma's biographer, Thomas Marvel have discussed extensively Nechodoma's direct use of Wright's Wasmuth Portfolio as a reference for his residential work in Puerto Rico. Despite the controversy, Nechodoma made significant contributions to the architecture of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. His integration of arts and crafts motifs to his architecture, ranging from furniture design, ironwork, stained glass, and mosaics, had an enormous influence in the Caribbean architecture of the early 20th century. His prolific production left a wealth of first class public buildings in both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, notable because of their technical innovations and their contribution toward forming a language of tropical architecture in the Caribbean. Nechodoma's work was published extensively during his lifetime. He also published in 1927 an important article on architecture in Puerto Rico entitled "Concerning Architecture in Puerto Rico". Nechodoma died in a
car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...
in 1928.Aida Belen Rivera Ruiz, Certifying Official, and Juan Llanes Santos, Preparer, Puerto Rico Historic Preservation Office. (San Juan, Puerto Rico) February 26, 2008. In ''National Register of Historic Places Registration Form''. United States Department of the Inferior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 11. Listing Reference Number 08000283. April 11, 2008.


Notable works

*
Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel Our Lady of Lourdes Church may refer to: Asia * Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes (Poondi), Tamil Nadu, India * Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Kanajar, Karnataka, India * Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India * Our Lady of L ...
(1908) Santurce, Puerto Rico * Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1907) Ponce, Puerto Rico *Casa Korber (1917) Miramar, Puerto Rico * Casa Roig (1919)
Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...
, Puerto Rico *Georgetti Mansion (1923) Santurce, Puerto Rico *Casa Dr. Eugenio Fernández Garcia (Same period) Miramar, Puerto Rico * Baluarte del Conde, redesigned in 1912,
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
, Dominican Republic * Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís, In 1902 started with plans and execution of prominent French engineer Monsieur Eduardo Garcia. In 1910 was initiated by the Engineer Nechodoma, after the death of French Eduardo Garcia, changing the original plans to make it in concrete and masonry not as first thought. *
McCabe Memorial Church McCabe Memorial Church, also known as Iglesia Metodista Unida de la Playa de Ponce, is a historic church building in Barrio Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It dates from 1908, and was designed by Antonin Nechodoma. It was listed on the U.S. Nati ...
(1908),
Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...


Antonin Nechodoma's Papers

The Architecture and Construction Archives at the University of Puerto Rico (AACUPR) holds the Antonin Nechodoma Collection (1906-1992). Approximately four cubic feet in size, the collection contains architectural drawings, photographs, artifacts, and textual documents. The Architectural Drawings Series holds 20 projects organized chronologically. The documents were transferred to the School of Architecture’s Library in 1986.


References


External links

The Antonin Nechodoma Collection electronic finding aid may be consulted throug
www.hip.upr.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nechodoma, Antonin Miramar (Santurce) 1877 births 1928 deaths Puerto Rican architects Czech architects People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Road incident deaths in Puerto Rico Prairie School architecture Arts and Crafts movement Ponce Creole architects Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States