Arthur B. Heaton (November 12, 1875–December 6, 1951) was an American architect from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

During his 50-year career Heaton designed over 1,000 commissions, including many notable buildings listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP). He was the first supervising architect of the

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Wa ...

and one of several local architects responsible for designing many of the buildings in the

Burleith Burleith is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., United States. It is bordered by 35th Street NW to the east, Reservoir Road NW and the historic Georgetown district to the south, Whitehaven Park to the north, and Glover Archbold Park to the west ...

Cleveland Park Cleveland Park is a residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is located at and bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin and Idaho Avenues to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the sou ...

, Kalorama Triangle, and

Woodley Park Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Primarily residential, Woodley Park hosts a commercial corridor of restaurants and shops located along Connecticut Avenue. The neighborhood is noted as the home of the ...

neighborhoods.

Early life

Arthur Berthrong Heaton was born on November 12, 1875, in Washington, D.C., to Frank and Mabel (''née'' Berthrong) Heaton. After graduating from Central High School in 1892, Heaton apprenticed for architectural firms owned by Marsh and Peter (William J. Marsh and Walter G. Peter), Paul J. Pelz, and Frederick B. Pyle. He later traveled to Europe and visited grand buildings while studying at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. In 1897, following his return to Washington, D.C., Heaton and architect George A. Dessez designed 1712–1720 22nd Street NW in

Sheridan-Kalorama The Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District is a neighborhood and historic district located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The boundaries of the historic district include Rock Creek Park to the north and west, P Street to the south, and ...

and two homes on Decatur Street NW. The following year he opened his own architectural office.

Career

Heaton's practice was very successful and within a few years he had already designed four apartment buildings, including The Augusta and The Highlands (now the Churchill Hotel). He would eventually design 28 apartment buildings between 1900 and 1940. The Altamont, located at 1901 Wyoming Avenue NW, is one of Heaton's prominent apartment designs and a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the

Kalorama Triangle Historic District The Kalorama Triangle Historic District is a mostly residential neighborhood and a Historic districts in the United States, historic district in the Northwest (Washington, D.C.), northwest Quadrants of Washington, D.C., quadrant of Washington, D.C ...

. Most of the residential buildings he designed were private residences. Heaton is one of the local architects who was responsible for designing many of the homes during Woodley Park's housing boom from 1905–1929. He was one of the prominent architects who designed buildings in Kalorama Triangle during that neighborhood's development, and from 1917 to 1932, he provided plans for hundreds of homes in the Burleith neighborhood for the Shannon and Luchs development company. Heaton designed homes for many of Washington's prominent citizens, including

Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor ( ; October 28, 1875 – February 4, 1966) was an American magazine editor who was the first full-time editor of the ''National Geographic'' magazine from 1899 to 1954, and is credited with having consolidated the nascent ...

, the first president of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

, and the widow of Representative Joseph W. Babcock, whose house now serves as the Embassy of Cape Verde. His work was not limited to residential architecture. From 1908 to 1928, Heaton served as the supervising architect on the construction of the Washington National Cathedral. Educational buildings designed by Heaton include

Corcoran Hall Corcoran Hall is an academic building on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. It was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1987 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. History C ...

and

Stockton Hall Stockton Hall is a building on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. It was listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites in 1987 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. History The bu ...

(both with architect

Albert L. Harris Albert L. Harris (1869 – February 24, 1933) was an American architect who worked primarily in Washington, D.C. He was born in Wales and emigrated to the United States as a young child. He worked for architectural firms in Chicago and Baltimore ...

) on the campus of

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

and Bunker Hill Elementary School (now called the Brookland Education Campus @ Bunker Hill). His surviving commercial designs include the Equitable Bank Building (with architect Frederick B. Pyle), the National Geographic Society's Administration Building, the

Riggs National Bank, Washington Loan and Trust Company Branch The Riggs National Bank, Washington Loan And Trust Company Branch, also known as Washington Loan and Trust, is an historic building in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It currently serves as a hotel. History It was built in 189 ...

(1927 addition; now a

Courtyard by Marriott Courtyard by Marriott is an American brand of hotels owned by Marriott International. One of Marriott's High-priced brands with 5 star hotels, the hotels are primarily targeted to business travelers, but also accommodate traveling families. As o ...

hotel), the John Dickson Home for Aged Men (now the Kingsbury Center), and the Park & Shop, believed to be the country's first planned neighborhood shopping center. His demolished commercial designs include the Capital Garage, built in 1927 and imploded in 1974. He was a member of the

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

from 1901 until his death and named 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-memb ...

in 1941. Following Heaton's death on December 6, 1951, one of his colleagues, Leon Chatelain III, donated almost 10,000 of Heaton's drawings and designs to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Personal life

Heaton and Mabel Williams were married on October 1, 1902, at St. Andrews Episcopal Church (now the John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church) at 14th and Corcoran Streets NW in Logan Circle. The couple had two children, Doris (b. 1906), and James (b. 1911). The family originally lived at 3320 Highland Avenue NW in Cleveland Park, but moved to 4861 Indian Lane NW in Spring Valley, designed by Heaton, in 1928.

References

External links

Arthur B. Heaton
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
Heaton Architectural Drawing Archive
Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaton, Arthur B. 1875 births 1951 deaths Architects from Washington, D.C. Fellows of the American Institute of Architects University of Paris alumni 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects