Jack West (August 9, 1922 – October 25, 2010) was an architect in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

and briefly in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. West was one of the leaders of the

Sarasota School of Architecture The Sarasota School of Architecture, sometimes called Sarasota Modern, is a regional style of post-war modern architecture (1941–1966) that emerged on Florida's Central West Coast, in and around the city of Sarasota, Florida. It is characterize ...

. West was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1922 and served in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

with the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he attended Yale University School of Architecture, graduating in 1949. He moved to Sarasota and worked for the firm of Twitchell and Rudolph with

Ralph Twitchell Ralph Spencer Twitchell (July 27, 1890 – January 30, 1978) was one of the founding members of the Sarasota School of Architecture. He is considered the father of the group of modernist architecture practitioners, including Paul Rudol ...

and Paul Rudolph as a draftsman and then as an architect. In 1951 West opened his own firm. From 1953 to 1954 he formed a partnership with Ralph Twitchell. From 1956 to 1960 West formed a partnership with architect Elizabeth Boylston Waters. In 1965 he joined

Rolland W. Sellew Rolland is a surname and masculine given name which may refer to: Surname * Alain Rolland (born 1966), former Irish rugby union footballer and current international referee * Andy Rolland (born 1943), Scottish former footballer * Antonin Rolland ( ...

to do

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and ur ...

work. In 1966 West partnered with engineer Al Conyers to create the firm of West and Conyers/Architects and Engineers, which lasted into the 1990s. The Gateway Bank building on

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

and Bahia Vista in Sarasota, built as the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Manatee County, was designed by West in 1974. In 2009, there was a proposal to demolish it, but it was preserved with support of Kafi Benz and local preservationists. The building's grounds include a sculpture by Jack Cartlidge original to the design.

Work

* Myrtle West house (1951), built for his mother * Knotts Glass House (1952–53), Yankeetown, Florida, with Ralph Twitchell. * Hudson House, Venice, Florida (1953), as Twitchell and West * Nokomis Beach Pavilion, (1954, renovated 2008), 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 ...

* Warm Mineral Springs Facilities and Cyclorama, North Port, Florida, (1956) * Oxford House, Sarasota, Florida, (1956) * Englewood Elementary School and Fruitville Elementary School Addition (1958), as part of West and Waters in partnership with Bolton McBryde out of

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

* Hilton and Dorothy Leech Art Studio, Sarasota (1960), used today as a residence and known as "The Round House." * Tuttle Elementary School, Sarasota, Florida (1960) * Courtyard House for Arvida Corporation,

Bird Key Bird Key is a barrier island in Sarasota Bay, south of the John Ringling Causeway, between mainland Sarasota and St. Armands Key. Originally a small barrier island connected to the Ringling Causeway by a tree lined causeway of its own, it was ...

, Sarasota, Florida (1964) with interior designer Terry Rowe, Homes for Better Living Award winner, published in Architectural Record Houses of 1965. * Sarasota City Hall (1965) *

Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club The Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, listed in the National Register as Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club, is a historic multi-purpose facility built-in 1938. It is located at 801 Tamiami Trail North and is owned/operated by the municipal governme ...

renovations, Sarasota, Florida (1970s) * First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Manatee County, Sarasota, Florida (1974) - renovated in 2009 by Gateway Bank * Public Housing, Venice, Florida (demolished) * Hunters Point House, Cortez, Florida

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Jack Architects from Florida 1922 births 2010 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Yale School of Architecture alumni