Ellis Fuller Lawrence (November 13, 1879 – February 27, 1946) was an 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 worked primarily in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. In 1914, he became the co-founder and first dean of the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

's School of Architecture and Allied Arts, a position he held until his death. Lawrence concurrently served as campus architect for the University of Oregon and designed many campus buildings, including

Knight Library Knight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's (UO) library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildin ...

and the

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art :see also the ''Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art'', Washington State University, Pullman, Washington Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) is an art museum located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The original building w ...

. Lawrence Hall on the university campus (which replaced his Architecture and Art Building of 1923) was named in his honor in 1956. His body of over 500 projects includes churches, residences, commercial and industrial buildings, funerary buildings, multi-family residences, and public buildings. In 1988, the private residence he designed for Thomas A. Livesley, a prominent

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

businessman and civic leader, was purchased through private donations and donated to the state and now serves as the Governor's official residence (

Mahonia Hall Mahonia Hall is the official residence of the governor of Oregon, in Oregon's capital city, Salem. The state acquired the building in 1988 with private donations. It is also known as the T. A. Livesley House or Thomas and Edna Livesley Mansion, ...

Biography

Ellis F. Lawrence was born in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

and received his secondary education at

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

graduating in 1897. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT), the first school of architecture in the United States. After graduation in 1902, Lawrence worked for the Boston architectural firms

Peabody & Stearns Peabody & Stearns was a premier architectural firm in the Eastern United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the firm consisted of Robert Swain Peabody (1845–1917) and John Goddard Stearns ...

and Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul as well as for architects

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine. ...

and

Constant-Désiré Despradelle Constant-Désiré Despradelle (May 20, 1862 – February 8, 1912) was a French-born architect and professor of architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who, through his teaching, influenced a generation of Beaux-Arts style architec ...

before he left to travel in Europe. He was employed by the Boston architectural firm Codman & Despradelle in 1905. In 1906, Codman & Despradelle (Boston), sent Lawrence to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

to commence work there, but the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

convinced him to stay in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

where he had stopped on the way. He lived in Portland the rest of his life and commuted to his work as dean and campus architect in

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

. He was associated with several Oregon-based architecture firms: MacNaughton, Raymond & Lawrence (1906–1910);

Lawrence & Holford Lawrence & Holford was an architectural firm based in the U.S. state of Oregon, formed by Ellis F. Lawrence and William G. Holford and established in 1913. The firm designed many buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Place ...

(1913–1928); Lawrence, Holford, Allyn & Bean (1928–1933); and Lawrence, Holford, & Allyn (1933–1941). Lawrence's final partnership, Lawrence & Lawrence (1944–1946), was with his son, Henry Abbott Lawrence.

Buildings designed by Lawrence

On the National Register of Historic Places

Eugene, Oregon

* Alpha Phi Sorority House, University of Oregon * Chambers House *

, University of Oregon * Hope Abbey Mausoleum *

, University of Oregon * Women's Memorial Quadrangle (includes Gerlinger Hall, Susan Campbell Hall, and Hendricks Hall), University of Oregon

Portland, Oregon

* Belle Court Apartments * Cumberland Apartments * Henry B. Dickson House * Lewis T. Gilliland House * Albert, Oscar, and Linda Heintz House * Dr. Harry M. Hendershott House * James Hickey House * Irvington Tennis Club * William H. Lewis Model House * Alexander D. McDougall House * Natt and Christena McDougall House * Henry B. Miller House * Paul C. Murphy House * Isaac Neuberger House * Harry T. Nicolai House * John V. G. Posey House * O. L. Price House * Samuel G. Reed House * Maurice Seitz House * Blaine Smith House * Stanley C.E. Smith House * Arthur Champlin Spencer and Margaret Fenton Spencer House * John A. Sprouse Jr. House *

Alice Henderson Strong House The Alice Henderson Strong House is a house located in southwest Portland, Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places. See also * National Register of Historic Places listings in Southwest Portland, Oregon Current listings ...

* Fred E. Taylor House * Troy Laundry Building * Wells-Guthrie House * James E. Wheeler House * The Earl Bronaugh House

Other Oregon NRHP structures

*Old

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international Fraternities and sororities, sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established ...

Sorority House, Corvallis * James M. and Paul R. Kelty House, Lafayette *Leaburg Powerhouse, part of the

Leaburg Hydroelectric Project Historic District Leaburg is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States located on the McKenzie River and Oregon Route 126 east of Walterville and west of Vida. History The first post office in this locale was established in 1877 and n ...

, Leaburg *

Hall–Chaney House The Hall–Chaney House in Milwaukie, Oregon was built in 1916 and was 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 federa ...

, Milwaukie *

Elsinore Theater The Elsinore Theatre is 1,290-seattheatre located in Salem, Oregon, United States, that first opened on May 28, 1926. Early years Owner George Guthrie enlisted the firm of Lawrence and Holford to design the theatre in a Tudor Gothic style me ...

, Salem *

, (Oregon Governor's mansion), Salem

Other buildings

*Baker Middle School, Baker City *Cooley House,

Lewis and Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1867 and is situated on the historic M. Lloyd Frank Estate in South Portland's Collins View neighborhood. It is composed of three distinct but adja ...

, Portland *Franklin Building, Salem, contributing structure to the Salem Downtown Historic District *Martin House, Eugene *

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or " ...

, University of Oregon, Eugene * Mount Crest Abbey Mausoleum, Salem *

Ocean View Abbey Mausoleum The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and A ...

, Astoria *

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternity house, Eugene *Donald R. Newberry House, Medford, Oregon *John Hughes house, Salem Oregon *Prentiss Hall, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington *Hunter Conservatory, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington

References

''Harmony in Diversity : The Architecture and Teaching of Ellis F. Lawrence''.
Edited by Michael Shellenbarger ; essays by Kimberly K. Lakin, Leland M. Roth, Michael Shellenbarger. Eugene, Or.: Museum of Art and the Historic Preservation Program, School of Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, 1989. * Ritz, Richard Ellison. "Lawrence, Ellis Fuller," ''Architects of Oregon; A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased—19th and 20th Centuries''. Portland, OR: Lair Hill Publishing, 2002.

External links

Ellis Lawrence Building Survey
from University of Oregon Libraries
''Harmony in Diversity : The Architecture and Teaching of Ellis F. Lawrence''.Architecture of Ellis F. Lawrence National Register of Historic Places multiple property submission Pt. 1
*

i

* ttps://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/lawrence_ellis_f_1879_1946_/#.YFd0RS1h1z8 Ellis F. Lawrence, ''The Oregon Encyclopedia'', by Elizabeth Walton Potter. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Ellis F. 1879 births 1946 deaths Architects from Portland, Oregon People from Malden, Massachusetts Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 20th-century American architects Peabody and Stearns people