James Gamble Rogers II (January 24, 1901 – October 30, 1990) was a celebrated

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

practicing primarily in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

in the middle years of the twentieth century. He is noted for suavely elegant residential and commercial work, in the

Spanish Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (), often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of Revivalism (architecture), revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish archi ...

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 ...

, French Provincial, 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. His occasional forays into the

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 ...

and

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

also garnered outstanding contributions to the built environment.

Early life

Rogers was born on January 24, 1901, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to John Arthur Rogers and Elizabeth Baird Rogers. His father, as well as his paternal uncle and namesake

James Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...

were both architects. Rogers grew up in Winnetka until his family relocated to

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 ...

when he was in high school. Thereafter, he attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

but returned to

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...

and began work in his father's architecture practice before he could graduate, in 1924.

Architectural career

Between 1924 and 1934, Rogers designed many buildings but because he was not yet a registered architect, during that decade the drawings were signed by his father and by other architects. In 1928 he opened a branch of his father's practice in Winter Park. Following his father's death in 1934, Rogers managed the Orlando office of architect

David Hyer David Burns Hyer (May 21, 1875 – December 11, 1942) was an American architect who practiced in Charleston, South Carolina and Orlando, Florida during the first half of the twentieth century, designing civic buildings in the Neoclassical Reviv ...

. When Hyer returned to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

in 1935, Rogers opened his own practice in Winter Park, having successfully passed the Florida Board of Architecture examinations that year. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Rogers designed many outstanding commissions, chiefly residential, which were and remain among the most sought after homes in Winter Park and environs. Perhaps his best known of these is the Barbour Residence, also known as "Casa Feliz". The house was built on a site overlooking Lake Osceola in 1932; to save the home from destruction, in 2000 it was moved to its present location and is available for tours and for special event rentals. The home, designed to resemble a Spanish farmhouse, displays many of Roger's aesthetic gifts. Other easily viewed Winter Park commissions include the Greeneda Court shops on Park Avenue, the First Church of Christ Scientist, the Barbour Apartments and the Olin Library on the campus of Rollins College. Rogers continued to practice architecture until he was in his eighties. Among his later commissions of note is the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

Building in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, of 1948. Rogers died on October 30, 1990 at the home he designed on Temple Grove Avenue, Winter Park. At least a few of his works 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 ...

(NRHP) for their architecture.

Architectural work (partial listing)

*Claybaugh House (1927) * "Four Winds" (1929), Rogers House I, Isle of Sicily, Winter Park, Fla. His home. * Shippen House (1931), 1290 North Park Avenue, Winter Park, Fla. * Robert Bruce Barbour House (1932), "Casa Feliz", Interlachen Avenue, Winter Park, Fla. (relocated 2000 to 656 Park Avenue North), NRHP-listed. *Ingram House (1932) * McAllaster House (1934), 160 Alexander Place, Winter Park, Fla. *John N. Huttig Estate (1934), 435 Peachtree Rd., Orlando, Fla. NRHP-listed. *the Yergey House (c. 1935) * Holt House (1937), 1430 Elizabeth Drive, Winter Park, Fla. * Jewet House (1937), North Park Avenue, Winter Park, Fla. * Barbour Apartments (1937), 520-540 N. Knowles Ave, Winter Park, Fla. *McEwan House (c.1938), 407 Peachtree Road, Orlando, Fla., near Lake Concord *833 Seville Place (c. 1940) *Greeneda Court (1945–47), Park Avenue, Winter Park, Fla. * Mills Library (1948), Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla. *the

Caldwell Building The Caldwell Building, at 1001 Noble St. in Anniston, Alabama, United States, is a historic building built in Italianate architecture, Italianate style in 1889. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is a three-sto ...

(1947) *

Building (1948), 500 S. Duval St., Tallahassee, Fla. *

Holland Building The Holland Building, also known as the Mrs. Clifford L. Jarrett Building, is a historic commercial building located in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Built in 1914, it is a five-story, rectangular commercial building sheathed in marble, b ...

(1949), Tallahassee * First Methodist Church of Oviedo (1955), 263 King St. Oviedo, Fla. NRHP-listed. With . *Carlton Student Union Building (1956) at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. * 1329 South Highland Park Drive (1957), Lake Wales, Fla. * First Church of Christ, Scientist (1958), 186 Whipple Avenue, Winter Park, Fla. *Academic buildings at Florida State University (1959-1962) *Academic buildings at Rollins College (1951-1968) * Olin Library (1986), 1000 Holt Avenue, Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla. * 1020 Palmer Av. Winter Park, Fla. Rogers' largest residential design *the R. D. Keene House at 1030 Lake Adair Boulevard. * 711 Alba Drive Orlando, Fla. * 160 Glenridge, Winter Park, Fla. * 490 E Webster Ave, Winter Park, Fla. * 842 Laurel Ave, Orlando, Fla. * Author

Kate DiCamillo Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo (born March 25, 1964) is an American author of children's fiction. She has published over 25 novels, including '' Because of Winn-Dixie'' (2000), '' The Tiger Rising'' (2001), '' The Tale of Despereaux'' (2003), '' T ...

's Childhood Home, 1713 Sunset Drive Clermont, Fla. * University Club of Winter Park (1948), 841 North Park Ave, Winter Park, Fla.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, James Gamble, II 1990 deaths 1901 births 20th-century American architects People from Winter Park, Florida Architects from Chicago Architects from Florida