George Caleb Wright,

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, (April 25, 1889 – February 27, 1973) was an American architect from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He was a partner in the

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, architectural firms of Pierre & Wright, Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager (formed 1946),"Questionnaire for Architects' Roster and/or Register of Architects Qualified for Federal Public Works June 13, 1946. and Wright, Porteous & Lowe, and was later chief building inspector for the City of Indianapolis.

Early life and education

Wright was born April 25, 1889, in

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...

, where he attended his education until the high school level. He then attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

from 1908 to 1912, earning a degree in architecture and engineering.

Early career

He worked for the

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from 1912 to 1915, George C. Nimmons & Co. from 1915 to 1923, and Herbert Foltz from 1923 to 1925 until he formed Pierre & Wright. In addition, he was a construction supervisor during World War I for the army. He relocated to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

from Chicago in 1923.

Pierre & Wright (1925–1944)

Pierre & Wright, formed 1925, was responsible for many landmarks in Indianapolis and greater Indiana, and a number have been 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 ...

. Th
Pierre & Wright Architectural Records Collection
is located at Ball State University Libraries' Drawings + Documents Archive, Muncie, Ind.

Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager

In 1946, Wright formed a new firm with Kurt Vonnegut, Sr., called Vonnegut & Wright. After Yeager joined the firm it became Vonnegut, Wright and Yeager, then Wright, Porteous & Lowe, and then Wright, Porteous & Lowe/Bonar.

Wright, Porteous & Lowe

Following Kurt Vonnegut Sr.'s death in 1957, he left Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager and was senior partner in the firm Wright, Porteous & Lowe. His son, William Caleb Wright, was also a partner in that firm. From 1963 to 1969, he was chief building inspector for the City of Indianapolis.

Professional organizations

He was a registered architect in Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois and president of the Indiana Society of Architects and the Indiana Chapter of the AIA. In addition, he was a member of the board of the Indianapolis Construction League, Vice-Chairman of the Policy Committee, Indiana Construction Industry, member of the Mayor's Special Committee on Housing, etc.

Works by Pierre & Wright Architects

* Indiana State Library and Historical Building,

*Milo Stuart Memorial Building,

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(Indianapolis, Indiana)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, George Caleb 1889 births Architects from Indianapolis People from Libertyville, Illinois Art Deco architects University of Illinois alumni Beaux Arts architects 1973 deaths