Frazier Forman Peters
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Frazier Forman Peters (July 20, 1895 - February 1963) was an American builder and
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 ...
specializing in stone houses. He also wrote books on the subject.


Career

Peters was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the son of the Revd.
John Punnett Peters John Punnett Peters (December 16, 1852 – November 10, 1921) was an American Episcopal clergyman and Orientalist. Biography John Punnett Peters was born in New York City on December 16, 1852. He graduated from Hopkins School in 1868 and then ...
, a noted minister. He worked briefly as a chemical engineer, then settled in
Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...
, where he became a builder and eventually (ca. 1936) an architect. His first major project was a stone house he built in Westport in the late 1920s for his own family. It featured two living rooms, two offices, and six bedrooms. Difficult economic conditions meant that Peters and his wife were both engaged in small businesses and attempting to be self-sufficient. In 1936, Peters came to the attention of a Mrs. E. G. Rionda, who later had him design and build a colony of stone houses on her estate in
Alpine, New Jersey Alpine is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is the List of extreme points of U.S. states, easternmost town in New Jersey. ...
. At that time, Peters was gaining small commissions by writing articles for design magazines. Frazier was influenced by the work of
Ernest Flagg Ernest Flagg (February 6, 1857 – April 10, 1947) was an American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility. Early life and education Flagg was born in Brooklyn, New ...
and evolved innovative and cost-effective methods of stone building construction. He described these methods in his books, teaching building methodologies that an ordinary person could use to build their own home. The
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
forced Peters to move from Westport to
Warwick, New York Warwick is a town in the southwestern part of Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 32,027 at the 2020 census. The town contains three villages (Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick) and eight hamlets ( Amity, Bellvale, E ...
in 1936. There he eventually established a community, Points of View, populated with stone houses designed and built by him, in one of which he dwelt until his death. He died of cancer in February 1963. His second wife, Laura tromme known to her family as Ted, survived him, dying in 1974. His granddaughter, architect Laura Blau, co-authored a book, "''Frazier Forman Peters; Westports Legacy in Stone''", (2014) with Robert Weingarten. The book supported and published by the Westport Historical Society, https://westporthistory.org/, catalogs the known Peters houses in Westport. Many Peters' homes exist in the surrounding communities and a few more across the country. Weingarten researched each property's deed history. Blau wrote the biography and history of Peter's career and explores his work including family anecdotes, information on early sustainable design, and signature design and building methods.


Bibliography

*''Houses Of Stone'' - New York (1936),
G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...
*''Without Benefit of an Architect'' - New York (1937), G.P.Putnam's Sons *''Pour Yourself A House'' - New York (1949), McGraw Hill *''Pour Yourself A House - Low Cost Building with Concrete and Stone'' - New York (1949), Whittlesey House *''Buying A House Worth The Money'' - - Boston (1950), Little, Brown {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Frazier 20th-century American architects 1963 deaths People from Westport, Connecticut 1895 births People from Warwick, New York