American architectural firm
The
Empire State Building
, Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon's best known work
Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon
, founded as
Shreve & Lamb
, was an
architectural firm
best known for designing the
Empire State Building
, the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion in 1931. The firm was prominent in the proliferation of
Art Deco architecture in New York City
.
History
[
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]
The firm was founded in 1920 as Shreve & Lamb, a partnership of
Richmond Harold ("R.H.") Shreve
, a Canadian from
Nova Scotia
, and
William F. Lamb
, from
Brooklyn
, New York. Shreve was the administrator, while Lamb was the architect. The two met while working at
Carrere & Hastings
, and Shreve & Lamb was initially a Carrere & Hastings firm. In 1924 the pair decided to leave Carrere & Hastings and became an autonomous architectural company.
[1]
In 1929,
Arthur Loomis Harmon
, from
Chicago
, Illinois, joined Shreve & Lamb, and the firm became Shreve, Lamb & Harmon.
[1]
Prior to joining the firm, Harmon's works included battle monuments at Tours, Cantigny and Somme-Py in France, a YMCA in
Jerusalem
, and the Shelton Hotel in New York, U.S.
[1]
For the construction of the Empire State Building, the firm's most notable work and a symbol of the
American expression of the Art Deco
style, Lamb was responsible for the design, while Shreve's planning skills facilitated the completion of the construction in a year. Shreve's planning skills were recognized in New York, and he was involved in projects beyond the firm, such as the
Slum Clearance
Committee of New York.
[1]
Shreve, Lamb & Harmon's primary focus was commercial office buildings, and their work in this area was described as "spare and functional" in 2010 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. However, the firm completed numerous residential projects, such as No. 130 East 57th Street, and this facet of the company's work was mainly conducted in neo-Tudor, as well as other popular historical styles of the 1920s.
[1]
Shreve, Lamb and Harmon had also employed the future architect behind the original
World Trade Center
complex,
Minoru Yamasaki
, after he had completed a masters degree in architecture in 1936. Lasting until 1945, this professional relationship was cut short when Yamasaki took a job at
Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
.
[2]
It is not entirely clear when the company went out of business, with 1989 being a likely date.
[3]
The archives
of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon are kept at the
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
of
Columbia University
.
[3]
Notable buildings
[
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]
All buildings are located in
New York City
unless otherwise indicated:
- 740 Park Avenue
(with
Rosario Candela
), 1930
- 3 East 57th Street
, 1930
500 Fifth Avenue
(1931)
500 Fifth Avenue
, 1931
- Empire State Building
, 1930?1931
- 14 Wall Street
(formerly the
Bankers Trust Company Building
) addition, 1931?1932
- 99 John Street
(also known as '99 John Deco Lofts'), 1932
Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and United States Courthouse
(1932)
Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and United States Courthouse
(with
R. H. Hunt
),
Chattanooga
,
Tennessee
, 1932
- 99 John Deco Lofts
(formerly
The Great American Insurance Company Building
), 1933
- Jerusalem International YMCA
(architect
Arthur Loomis Harmon
),
Jerusalem
,
Israel
, 1933
- Acacia Building
,
Washington, D.C.
, 1936
- Hill Building
(formerly the
SunTrust Tower
,
CCB Building
or
Central Carolina Bank
, and
Durham Bank and Trust Building
),
Durham
, North Carolina, 1935?1937
- 100 Ardsley Avenue West
(Hudson House), Irvington, NY 1936
- Lever Brothers Co. Headquarters (now MIT Sloan School, Building E52)
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
, 1938
North Building,
Hunter College
Hunter College
, 1940
- Parkchester
buildings, 1939?1942
- Best & Company Building
(demolished), 1947
- 1740 Broadway
(formerly the
MONY Building
or
Mutual of New York Building
), 1950
- New York Supreme Court, Kings County
, 1957
- Carman Hall
, 1960
- United Engineering Center
(demolished in 1997), 1961
- 280 Park Avenue
(formerly the
Bankers Trust Building
, with
Emery Roth & Sons
), 1961
- 222 Broadway
(formerly the
Western Electric Building
), 1961
- Calyon Building
(formerly the
Credit Lyonnais Building
and
J. C. Penney Building
), 1964
- Uniroyal Giant Tire
,
Allen Park
,
Michigan
, 1964
- 245 Park Avenue
(formerly the
Bear Stearns Building
,
American Brands Building
, and
American Tobacco Company Building
), 1967
- 1250 Broadway
(formerly the
Cooper-Bregstein Building
), 1967?1968
- Stonehenge
,
North Bergen, New Jersey
, 1968
- 475 Park Avenue South
, 1969
- Gouverneur Hospital
, 1970
- Textron Tower
(formerly the
40 Westminster Building
and
Old Stone Tower
),
Providence
,
Rhode Island
, 1972
- 55 Church Street
,
New Haven
,
Connecticut
, 1974
- Deutsche Bank Building
(formerly the Bankers Trust Plaza, now demolished), 1974
- 3 Park Avenue
, 1975
References
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Notes
External links
[
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]