Gustav Adam Maass Jr. (1893–1964) 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 ...

working primarily in the

Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references to Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

style who designed public buildings and private homes in and around

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

, from the 1920s until his death in 1964.

Early life and education

Gustav Maass was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the third of eight children of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrants. His father was a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

. Maass grew up in

and

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He received a degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1917, and worked during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the U.S. Civil Service at League Island Navy Yard in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. After the war, Maass returned to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where he designed a variety of structures, including a

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Temple, power plants, schools, churches, and houses.

Palm Beach

In 1921, Maass joined

Harvey and Clarke Harvey and Clarke was an American architectural firm formed by Henry Stephen Harvey and L. Philips Clarke in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1921. The firm was active in South Florida for only a few years, but in that time designed a number of distin ...

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, where he participated in the design of many buildings in

Delray Beach Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, Delray Beach is 52 miles (83 ...

in the 1920s; his

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style was reflected in commercial buildings along Atlantic Avenue. Maass was responsible for the design of several railroad stations on Florida's east and west coasts, including: * Deerfield Beach Seaboard station, 1300 West Hillsboro Boulevard,

Deerfield Beach Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the tenth-largest city in Broward County. Located 41 miles north of Miam ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

(1927), NRHP-listed *

Delray Beach Seaboard Air Line Railway Station The Delray Beach Seaboard Air Line Railway Station (also known as the Delray Beach Railroad Station) is a historic Seaboard Air Line Railroad, Seaboard Air Line Railway train station, depot in Delray Beach, Florida, Delray Beach, Florida, United ...

(1927), NRHP-listed *

Fort Lauderdale station Fort Lauderdale station is a train station in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is served by Tri-Rail and Amtrak. The station is located on Southwest 21st Terrace, just south of Florida State Road 842, West Broward Boulevard. The station has two si ...

(1927) * Homestead Seaboard station (1927) *

Hollywood station (Florida) Hollywood station is a train station in Hollywood, Florida, which is served by Tri-Rail and Amtrak. The station is located at 3001 Hollywood Boulevard, just west of I-95 and east of State Road 9. It has two side platforms serving the line's ...

(1928) Maass was partners wit
John L. Volk
from 1927 to 1935 in Palm Beach, when he started his own firm. He designed the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

building in

and the origina
Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adults
facility in Palm Beach and he also redesigned the interior of th
First Presbyterian Church

. Th
Palm Beach Town Council
has designated several Maass-designed houses as landmarks to be preserved, many of which were in the

style featuring simple windows, barrel clay tile roofs, and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

exteriors. Maass also used Neo-Classical and

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

styles.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Koskoff, Sharon. ''Art Deco of the Palm Beaches''. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2007. * Marconi, Richard A., and Debi Murray. ''Palm Beach''. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2009.

External links

Palm Beach County History OnlinePeople of Palm Beach County - Gustav Adam Maass, Jr.Gustav Maass-designed Ta-boó on Worth Avenue harkens to Palm Beach as eclectic resort

Gallery

File:Deerfield-beach-train-station.jpg, Deerfield Beach Station File:Delray SAL Station 001.jpg, Delray Beach Station File:Seaboard Air Line Ft Lauderdale Station 1927 (8445161115).jpg, Ft. Lauderdale Station File:Homestead SAL station.jpg, Homestead Station File:Hollywood SAL Station East.jpg, Hollywood Station {{DEFAULTSORT:Maass, Gustav 1893 births 1964 deaths Mediterranean Revival architects People from Palm Beach County, Florida 20th-century American architects American railway architects Seaboard Air Line Railroad Architects from Florida

Early life and education

Palm Beach

See also

References

External links

Gallery