Harrison Albright (May 17, 1866 – January 3, 1932) 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 ...

best known for his design of the

West Baden Springs Hotel The West Baden Springs Hotel, formerly the West Baden Inn, is part of the French Lick Resort and is a national historic landmark hotel in West Baden Springs, Indiana, West Baden Springs, Orange County, Indiana, Orange County, Indiana. It has a d ...

Orange County, Indiana Orange County is located in Southern Indiana, Southern Indiana in the United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,867. The county seat is Paoli, Indiana, Paoli. The County (United States), county has four municipal corporation, incorporate ...

Biography

Born in the

Ogontz Ogontz/Belfield is a neighborhood in Upper Northern Philadelphia that is located adjacent to West Oak Lane, East Germantown, Logan, and Fern Rock, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. History Ogontz was named after a Native American chi ...

neighborhood of

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, Pennsylvania, Albright was educated in the local public schools and at the Peirce College of Business and

Spring Garden Institute Spring Garden College—founded in 1851 as the Spring Garden Institute—was an American private technical college in the Spring Garden, Philadelphia, Spring Garden section of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its building at 523� ...

in Philadelphia. In 1886, he began his architecture business designing residential and public projects in Philadelphia. He moved to

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

in 1891 and was architect for the State of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

in addition to designing residential projects. As

State architect Many national governments and states have a public official titled the state architect or government architect. The specific duties and areas of responsibility of state architects vary, but they generally involve responsibility for the design and ...

he designed an annex to the State Capitol, a state asylum at

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, the Miners' Hospital in

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, eighth-most populous city in ...

and buildings at

Shepherd University Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 3,274 ...

and the Preparatory Branch of West Virginia University at Keyser. In 1901, he was hired by

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hotelier Lee Wiley Sinclair to design the landmark

which included a steel and glass dome. In 1905, he moved his architectural practice to California, working in

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and

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, as an early proponent of reinforced concrete construction. John L. Wright, son of

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

, was employed in the Albright firm. Harrison Albright retired from architecture for health reasons in 1925 and died in 1932 at age 65.

Works

Albright's designs include: * Citizens' National Bank Building, southwest corner 3rd &

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, 1897 (demolished, now site of Ronald Reagan State Office Building) * One Bridge Place, Charleston, West Virginia, 1898 * Upshur County Courthouse,

Buckhannon, West Virginia Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States. Located along the Buckhannon River, the population was 5,299 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is southwe ...

, 1901 *

, 1902 * Hotel Richmond,

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, 1904 * expansion of Homer Laughlin Building Annex/Lyon Building,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 1905 *

Santa Fe Freight Depot Santa Fe Freight Depot is a quarter-mile-long building in the industrial area to the east of Downtown Los Angeles, now known as the Arts District. The Southern California Institute of Architecture converted the structure into its campus in 2000 ...

(now home to the

Southern California Institute of Architecture Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. SCI-Arc was founded in 1972 when it was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde. It consists o ...

), 1907 * Coronado Library, Coronado, California, 1909 * U. S. Grant Hotel, San Diego, California, 1910 * Eli P. Clark Hotel, Los Angeles, 1912 * Spreckels Theater Building, San Diego, California, 1912 * Golden West Hotel, San Diego, 1913 *

Spreckels Organ Pavilion The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is an outdoor venue that houses the open-air Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park in San Diego, California. With more than 5,000 pipes, the Spreckels Organ is the world's largest pipe organ in a ful ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 1915 * Bank of Coronado Building, Coronado, California, 1917 * Adams School,

Maricopa, Arizona Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 66,290 residents as of 2022, Maricopa is the largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County. History Maricopa has had three locations over the years: ...

* Spreckels Mansion,

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort town, resort city in San Diego County, California, United States, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population ...

* Waldo Hotel,

Clarksburg, West Virginia Clarksburg is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 16,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, tenth-most populous city ...

* Columbus Power House,

Columbus, Indiana Columbus () is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 50,474 at the 2020 census. The city is known for its architectural significance, having commissioned noted works of modern architect ...

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Architects and Buildings database (extensive information)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albright, Harrison 1866 births 1932 deaths Concrete pioneers Architects from California Architects from Philadelphia Peirce College people 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Architects from Charleston, West Virginia