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{{short description|American architect (1879–1945)}}
'''J. André Fouilhoux''' (1879–1945) was an engineer and architect from ], ] who partnered with architects in ] and ]. He was in the United States ca. 1904
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox architect
|name=Jacques André Fouilhoux
|image = ._Jacques_André_Fouilhoux_architect.jpg
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1879|9|27}}
|birth_place = Paris, France
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|6|20|1879|9|27}}
|death_place = New York City, US
|practice=
|alma_mater=], ] (Sorbonne)
|spouse= Jean Butler Clark
|significant_buildings=], ], ]
|awards=] New York Chapter
}}
'''Jacques André Fouilhoux''' (September 27, 1879 – June 20, 1945) was a French-born architect active in the United States from 1904 to 1945.<ref name="nyt45">''The New York Times''. (July 21, 1945). . ''The New York Times'', p. 1. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref> He is most well known for his work on ] in Chicago; ]; early skyscrapers such as the ] and ]; and the ], for which he designed the central ].<ref name="tribunelandmarks">Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks. (1986). . . Accessed April 23, 2020</ref><ref name="Cohen">Cohen, Barbara, Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast. (1989). . New York: Harry N. Abrams. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="nyt39">''The New York Times''. (November 25, 1939). . ''The New York Times'', p. 16. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref> Many of his early works are also listed in the ], including ] and Wickersham Apartments in ], Oregon.<ref name="NRHP705">. National Park Service. 1980. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="NRHPwickersham">. National Park Service. 1983. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref> According to the ], Fouilhoux has received less attention than partners such as ] and ], but was "known as an astute engineer and a painstaking supervisor and his work gained the respect of his collaborators."<ref name="lpcrockapts">Savage, Charles C. (June 19, 1984). . New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="krinsky">Krinsky, Carol Herselle. (1978). . New York: Oxford University Press, p. 47. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="wind">Wind, Herbert Warren. (November 27, 1954). "Architect," ''The New Yorker'', p. 56.</ref>


==Early life and education==
In New York he worked with ] starting ca. 1923 and worked on projects including the ]. He was a partner in the Godley, Fouilhoux, and Barber; Hood & Fouilhoux; and Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux firms.<ref> The New-York Historical Society</ref><ref name=dictionary>JAMES STEVENS CURL A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape 2000</ref> Projects he worked on included ] in Tarrytown, New York (1924), the ] (1929), the ] in New York City (1930–2), and ] in New York City (1931–4). After Hood's death in 1934 Fouilhoux joined ]and "contributed to the ] (1938–9)," as well as on the ] developments in New York City during the 1940s.<ref name=dictionary/>
Jacques André Fouilhoux, better known as J.A. Fouilhoux throughout his career in the United States, was born to a Catholic family in ], France, on September 27, 1879. He attended the ] in Paris, and went on to earn B.A., B.S. and B.Ph. degrees from the ] (Sorbonne).<ref name="lpcrockapts"/> He was then accepted into the ], where he studied architecture as well as civil and mechanical engineering.<ref name="nyt39"/> Following his graduation, he moved to the United States in 1904 and began his architectural career as a draftsman for ] in Detroit.<ref name="ferry">Ferry, W. Hawkins. (1970). . Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, pp. 10–11. Accessed August 18, 2020</ref> In 1908, he and Jean Butler Clark of Baltimore married in New York.<ref name="NRHP705"/><ref name="NYBC">New York Building Congress, Inc. (1945). "J. André Fouilhoux." Building Congress News, July 1945 (Commemorative Edition). Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref>

==Career==
===Early works===
] at the ]]]In 1909, Fouilhoux relocated to Portland, and began a partnership with ] that would last until World War I.<ref name="nyt45" /> Fouilhoux was prolific during the eight years he worked in Portland, and constructed a dozen notable buildings, including educational institutions (e.g., ], the ]) and residential buildings.<ref name="jefferson">Oregon Digital. (2009). . University of Oregon Libraries. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="lpcrockapts" /> His earliest works were constructed in late-19th and early-20th century revival styles—], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="NRHP705" /><ref name="NRHPelliottcorbett">. National Park Service. 1996. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="NRHPwickersham" /><ref name="NRHPhcorbett">. National Park Service. 1991. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="NRHPmann">. National Park Service. 1992. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="NRHPwaverly">. National Park Service. 2013. Accessed March 29, 2020.</ref> While this design approach befit the zeitgeist, critics and historic preservationists describe a unique perspective in his architectural style.<ref name="jefferson" /> This is especially evident in Jefferson High School (1909), which subtly revealed and navigated tensions between the ] movement and more modern Arts and Crafts style.<ref name="jefferson" />

Fouilhoux's architecture, particularly the balance between referential embellishment and modern sensibility, had an enduring effect on Oregon.<ref name="aia">American Institute of Architects, Portland Chapter. (1968). . Portland, OR: Portland, Oregon chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="powell">Powell, M. (July 13, 2016). . ''The New York Times''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> Many of his buildings there are still standing and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="NRHP705" /><ref name="NRHPelliottcorbett" /> Several continue to be highly sought-after residences that have defined luxurious neighborhoods, such as Wickersham Apartments (1910) and ] (1913).<ref name="powell" /><ref name="eastman">Eastman, Janet. (August 22, 2018). . ''Oregonlive''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref>

With the outbreak of World War I, Fouilhoux put his burgeoning career on pause and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as an officer in France in the ] with future president ] and was discharged with the rank of major.<ref name="nyt45"/><ref name="industrial">American Standards Association. (1945). ''Industrial Standardization'' (Vol. 16).</ref>

===Tribune Tower and Daily News Building===
], Chicago (1925)]]
In 1920, Fouilhoux returned to the U.S. and for the rest of his life would be based in New York <ref name="nyt31">''The New York Times''. (November 7, 1931). . ''The New York Times'', p. 21. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="nyt38">''The New York Times''. (November 3, 1938). . ''The New York Times'', p. 43. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="nyt45"/> He began making substantial contributions to ] approaches that would create a new architectural specter: the ].<ref name="korom">Korom, Joseph J. (2008). . Boston: Branden Books. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref><ref name="lehman">Lehman, Arnold. (April 1971). ]. ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin''. p. 363–370. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref> In the post-war architectural boom, Fouilhoux's work espoused and memorialized American democratic values, particularly freedom of the press.<ref name="tribunelandmarks"/><ref name="korom"/>

In 1922, Fouilhoux, Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells devised a design submission to the international competition for the ] in Chicago along with over 260 other entries.<ref name="NYBC"/><ref name="tribunelandmarks"/> With Fouilhoux working as an associate to partners Hood and Howells, their submission won the competition. The building melded medieval ] design elements with the ] sensibility of a modern office building.<ref name="fila">Fila, Bob & Blair Kamin. (2000). . Chicago: Tribune Company. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="tribunebritannica">Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). . Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> A lightness in the building's gothic details enables the vibrancy of the design to not be beholden to its silhouette, as with other skyscrapers.<ref name="tribunelandmarks"/> Hood and Howell's design and the praise from the competition jurors encapsulated the architectural moment of the time—nostalgic, but on the brink of modern.<ref name="tribunebritannica"/> Old elements were used in new ways, including at least 150 artifacts from historic sites that decorated the walls alongside quotes from historical figures.<ref name="tribunebritannica"/><ref name="korom"/> These inscriptions and sculptural details span decades and continents, memorializing the past in order to imagine the future that the ] aimed for.<ref name="tribunelandmarks"/>

Upon opening in 1925, the building was described by critics as idiosyncratic but designed for practical use, with historical perspective, humor, and a vision of the future.<ref name="tribunelandmarks"/> Fouilhoux and other contributors were immortalized as fable characters in ]'s screen in a large carved stone display above the main entrance. In a nod to the nickname assigned to Frenchmen during World War I, Fouilhoux is represented by a frog.<ref name="fila"/><ref name="tribunelandmarks"/>

In 1930, Howells, Hood and Fouilhoux designed another journalism building—the ] in New York.<ref name="nyt45"/> Though the owners of the News Building and Tribune Tower had family ties, the buildings did not share the ] design influence that distinguishes the latter; with the towering skyscraper design of the News Building, Fouilhoux entered into the "modernist vanguard."<ref name="korom"/> The News Building does, however, share Tribune Tower's use of art deco elements and quotes and symbols of democratic values and the American ].<ref name="korom"/> The building was well received by critics, architects and New Yorkers, with a 1932 exhibition at ] describing it as the "most effective skyscraper in New York."<ref name="smith">Smith, G. E. Kidder and Paul Goldberger. (1996). . New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>

===Rockefeller Center===
] in New York]]
In 1931, Fouilhoux joined a consortium of preeminent architectural firms coordinated by Raymond Hood that would be involved in the ].<ref name="richards">Richards, William. (July 25, 2018). . The American Institute of Architects. Accessed April 23, 2020</ref> ] Engineering Corp., as advisers to ] and his family, "selected architects who would be primarily interested in good planning, utility, cost, income, low operating expenses and progress ... men who were not committed to the architectural past nor too much interested in wild modernism."<ref name="NRHProck">. National Park Service. 1987. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> Three different firms—listed as ]; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux; and Reinhard & Hofmeister—formed the collective Associated Architects for ].<ref name="NRHProck"/> Fouilhoux had the greatest influence on the central fixture of the complex, ], known colloquially as "30 Rock".<ref name="richards"/> The RCA combined ] design elements with ] inspiration and the increasingly widespread ].<ref name="goldberger">Goldberger, Paul. (July 14, 1976). . ''The New York Times''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> From its inception, Rockefeller Center has captured the urban imagination of commercial media.<ref name="goldberger"/> In the 1980s, ] of ''The New York Times'' reflected on its status: "It was always respected. Now, however, it seems more to be idolized, copied by young architects as they sketch new towers and chosen by urban planners as the model that large-scale urban complexes should strive to follow."<ref name="goldberger50">Goldberger, Paul. (June 17, 1982). . ''The New York Times''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref>

After Hood's death in 1934, and following his work on Rockefeller Center, Fouilhoux partnered with ] on a commission from John D. and ] to design the ] just to the north.<ref name="lpcrockapts"/> Though there was not a strong demand for housing in Manhattan at the time, the Rockefeller Apartments accumulated a long wait-list before completion because they were an ideal size for young professionals working at Rockefeller Center or ]. Built in an international style with rounded and south-facing bay windows, it was praised by critics for its strong, progressive design aesthetics and practicalities.<ref name="lpcrockapts"/> Noted urbanist ] compared the apartment build with a romantic row of buildings in an old neighborhood in Germany: "When the windows are open up and down the façade, the effect is like a sudden whirring of birds' wings out of a tree. And if anyone wants to know what is modern ornament, that's what it is—something built for use, which suddenly, when it hits you at the right angle, begins to sing like the four-and-twenty blackbirds."<ref name="mumford">Wojtowicz, Robert. (2000). . Princeton Architectural Press. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>

===World of Tomorrow===
The ] was Fouilhoux and Harrison's most audacious architectural and engineering work. The New York Building Commission wrote that Fouilhoux's design contributions "created the distinctive tone of the exhibition."<ref name="NYBC"/> The 1939 World's Fair would be the second most expensive American World's Fair—an ambitious endeavor during the uncertain time following the ] and leading up to ].<ref name="ADclassics">Fiederer, Luke. (December 11, 2016). . ''ArchDaily''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="untapped81yrs">Sheidlower, Noah. (April 30, 2020). . ''Untapped New York''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> In 1934, the fair's intended theme was to honor the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of ], however the more abstract, forward-thinking theme "Building the World of Tomorrow" won out by 1936.<ref name="ADclassics"/>

The theme and, in turn, design concept therefore prioritized a "utopian aura" that would employ "a structure of ephemeral lines" according to ''The New York Times''.<ref name="ADclassics"/><ref name="nyt39"/><ref name="NYWFbulletin">New York World's Fair 1939 Inc. (1938). New York World's Fair Bulletin (Vol. 2).</ref> Built in ], a former dump site in ], the Fair used over 1,200 acres to imagine the future through a lens of innovation, consumerism, and commercialization.<ref name="ADclassics"/> The exhibitions and recreational space were made possible through relationships with 60 countries and 121 New York organizations.<ref name="ADclassics"/><ref name="Cohen"/> According to the book ''Trylon and Perisphere'', "Its goal was to display to the world its organizers' boundless belief in American business and industry, in peace and freedom, and in the potential of average Americans to rise above their difficulties."<ref name="Cohen"/>

Fouilhoux's greatest influence was on the central figures of the Fair—the ], respectively a large triangular pyramid and the largest sphere ever constructed.<ref name="untapped10facts">Saraniero, Nicole. (July 18, 2018). . ''Untapped New York''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> Imposing white masses of the "finite and infinite"—sometimes called the "spike and sphere" or "ball and bat"—they aptly represented futurism based on modernist principles that envisioned extreme abstractions achievable through new technologies.<ref name="ADclassics"/> The Trylon and Perisphere represented impressive feats of engineering, requiring 2,000 cubic yards of concrete, over 7,000 individual pieces, and adding up to a combined weight of approximately 10,000 tons.<ref name="untapped10facts"/><ref name="Cohen"/> The Trylon was 610 feet high and the perisphere was 180 feet in diameter and 18 stories high.<ref name="untapped10facts"/><ref name="Cohen"/> Inside the Perisphere, accessible via what were the largest escalators in the world, was "Democracity"—the central exhibit of the fair and vision of America's future in 2039.<ref name="rothstein">Rothstein, Edward. (December 6, 2012). . ''The New York Times''. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="ADclassics"/> Technological achievements were central to the Fair theme and to Harrison and Fouilhoux's designs, evidenced in the engineering of the Trylon and Perisphere as well as the emphasis on electrification seen in the Consolidated Edison and Electric Utility building exhibitions.<ref name="rovang">Rovang, Sarah. (2015). "Envisioning the Future of Modern Farming: The Electrified Farm at the 1939 New York World's Fair." ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', 74.2.</ref> The Fair embodied an imposing physicality and ambitious futuristic vision and welcomed almost 50 million visitors during the two seasons it was open.<ref name="Cohen" /><ref name="surveying">''Archinect''. (n.d.). " Accessed March 28, 2020.</ref> Despite these achievements, it did not live up to attendance or financial revenue goals. Still, it was "by no means a flop… it literally and figuratively replaced ashes with promise... On a practical level, it offered a preview of the tools needed to rebuild the world after the war."<ref name="Cohen" />

With the advent of World War II, architectural opportunities and priorities moved away from imposing skyline-defining monuments.<ref name="nyt42">''New York Times''. (May 7, 1942). . ''The New York Times'', p. 35. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref> In 1941, Fouilhoux joined the firm ] and completed the Crotona Toll House for the ] and worked on military bases at ] and ].<ref name="flora">Jennings, Allyn R. (October 1941). . ''Landscape Architecture Magazine.'' Accessed March 28, 2020.</ref><ref name="aymar">Embury, Aymar. (n.d.). . Syracuse University. Accessed April 27, 2020.</ref><ref name="nyt42" /> He then worked on the Clinton Hill Housing Development, also called the Clinton Hill Co-ops—good-quality affordable housing for workers and officers of the nearby ].<ref name="BkDailyEagle">'' The Brooklyn Daily Eagle''. (January 26, 1942). . Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref> While some community members lamented the demolition of the 19th century mansions that were removed to make way for the development, the Clinton Hill Co-ops played a significant role in stabilizing the neighborhood with middle-class housing during the war.<ref name="morris">Spellen, Suzanne. (April 4, 2012). . ''Brownstoner''. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref> The Clinton Hill Co-ops would be Fouilhoux's final contribution to the architecture of New York City. He fell to his death on June 20, 1945, while conducting an inspection of the Clinton Hill Co-ops roof and upper floors.<ref name="nyt45" /><ref name="NYBC" />

===Legacy===
Tribune Tower and Rockefeller Center are Fouilhoux's most enduring feats of engineering and architectural design and continue to be tourist destinations, as well as culturally notable in academic circles.<ref name="fila"/><ref name="goldberger50"/> Though the Trylon and Perisphere of the 1939 World's Fair were dismantled for the war effort, they "earned an enduring legacy as one of the world's greatest symbols of hope for the future."<ref name="ADclassics"/> Books, postage stamps, figurines, postcards, and many more paraphernalia immortalized the imagery of Fouilhoux's spike and sphere. Other significant buildings that Fouilhoux worked on include the ] and ] in Manhattan, and the Masonic Temple (now the ]).<ref name="gray">Gray, Christopher. (February 20, 1994). . ''The New York Times''. Accessed August 18, 2020</ref><ref name="lpcradiator">. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. November 12, 1974. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="lpcmcgraw">. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 11, 1979. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref><ref name="emanuel">Emanuel, Muriel. (2016). . New York: St. James Press. Accessed August 18, 2020</ref>

'''Citations and professional connections'''<ref name="NYBC"/>
* Fellow of the ] (AIA) awarded May 26, 1943
* Citation from the New York Chapter of AIA on February 14, 1945
* First prize, New York Chapter of AIA competition for the design of small, affordable dwelling for families, 1935<ref name="nyt35">''The New York Times''. (July 10, 1935). . ''The New York Times'', p. 23. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>
* President of New York Building Congress, elected 1942, 1945<ref name="nyt42"/><ref name="nyt45A">''The New York Times''. (April 27, 1945). . ''The New York Times'', p. 31. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>
* Member of the ]
* Member of the ]
* Chairman of the French Engineers in the United States, Inc.
* Treasurer and trustee of the ]
* Member of the Advisory Council of the ] Art School<ref name="nyt40">''The New York Times''. (October 16, 1940). . ''The New York Times'', p.15. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>
* Visiting Critic at the ]
* Member of visiting committee of the School of Architecture of ]
* President of the American Relief for France, Inc.<ref name="nyt45B">''The New York Times''. (June 16, 1945). .''The New York Times'', p. 10. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>
* Vice President and trustee of the French Hospital and French Benevolent Society
* Board of Trustees of St. Vincent de Paul Institute
* Member of the Commerce and Industry Association of New York
* The University Club
* The Catholic Club
* President of the Liturgical Arts Society
{| class="wikitable"
|+ List of works
|-
! Building !! City, State !! Date !! Role !! Style !! Citation
|-
| ]||Portland, Oregon||1909||Architect||Renaissance Revival||<ref name="jefferson"/>
|-
| ] (now Lincoln Hall at PSU)||Portland, Oregon||1910||Architect||Classical Revival||<ref name="portland">Portland State University. (n.d.). . Accessed March 29, 2020.</ref>
|-
| ]||Central Point, Oregon||1910||Architect||Tudor Revival||<ref name="NRHPfiero">. National Park Service. 1980. Accessed April 23, 2020.</ref>
|-
| Wickersham Apartments||Portland, Oregon||1910||Architect||Tudor Revival||<ref name="NRHPwickersham"/>
|-
| Anna Lewis Mann Old People's Home||Portland, Oregon||1911||Architect||Tudor Revival, Collegiate Gothic||<ref name="NRHPmann"/>
|-
| Failing Grammar Schoolhouse (now ])||Portland, Oregon||1912||Architect||Renaissance Revival||<ref name="hill">Hill, James. (October 17, 2011). . Portland Community College. Accessed March 29, 2020.</ref>
|-
| ]||Portland, Oregon||1913||Architect||Jacobethan||<ref name="angelus">Angelus Studio. (n.d.). . . Accessed March 29, 2020.</ref>
|-
| ]||Portland, Oregon||1913||Architect||Renaissance Revival||<ref name="NRHP705"/>
|-
| ] Clubhouse||Portland, Oregon||1913||Architect||Colonial Revival||<ref name="NRHPwaverly"/>
|-
| ]||Portland, Oregon||1915||Architect||Colonial Revival||<ref name="NRHPelliottcorbett"/>
|-
| ]||Portland, Oregon||1916||Architect||Colonial Revival||<ref name="NRHPhcorbett" />
|-
| Astoria Methodist Church||Astoria, Oregon||1916||Architect||Colonial Revival||<ref name="tour">''Discover Our Coast''. (n.d.). . Accessed March 29, 2020.</ref>
|-
| St. Vincent de Paul Asylum||Tarrytown, New York||1924||Architect|| ||<ref name="emanuel"/>
|-
| ]||Chicago, Illinois||1924||Architect||Gothic Revival||<ref name="tribunebritannica"/>
|-
| ] (American Standard Building)||Manhattan, New York||1924||Architect||Gothic Art Deco||<ref name="lpcradiator"/>
|-
| ]||Myrtle Beach, South Carolina||1929||Architect||Neoclassical||<ref name="stokes">Stokes, Barbara. F. (2007). . Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. Accessed August 18, 2020.</ref>
|-
| ]||Manhattan, New York||1930||Architect||Art Deco||<ref name="korom"/>
|-
| ]||Scranton, Pennsylvania||1930||Architect||Art Deco||<ref name="emanuel"/>
|-
| ]||Manhattan, New York||1931||Architect||Art Deco, International Style ||<ref name="NRHProck"/>
|-
| ]||Manhattan, New York||1931||Architect||International Style||<ref name="lpcmcgraw"/>
|-
| ]||Manhattan, New York||1937||Architect||International Style||<ref name="lpcrockapts"/>
|-
| ], 1939 World's Fair||Manhattan, New York||1939||Architect||Modernist||<ref name="ADclassics"/>
|-
| Crotona Toll House||Bronx, New York||1941||Architect|| ||<ref name="aymar"/>
|-
| Clinton Hill Cooperative Development||Brooklyn, New York||1943||Architect||Modernist||<ref name="BkDailyEagle"/>
|-
| Facilities at Submarine and Air Base Coco Solo||Cativá, Panama||1944||Architect||Modernist||<ref name="NYBC"/>
|}

==See also==
*]
*]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist|2}}

{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouilhoux, J. Andre}}
{{Uncategorized}}
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]
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Latest revision as of 17:03, 2 September 2024

American architect (1879–1945)

Jacques André Fouilhoux
Born(1879-09-27)September 27, 1879
Paris, France
DiedJune 20, 1945(1945-06-20) (aged 65)
New York City, US
Alma materEcole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, University of Paris (Sorbonne)
OccupationArchitect
SpouseJean Butler Clark
AwardsAmerican Institute of Architects New York Chapter
BuildingsTribune Tower, Rockefeller Center, Daily News Building

Jacques André Fouilhoux (September 27, 1879 – June 20, 1945) was a French-born architect active in the United States from 1904 to 1945. He is most well known for his work on Tribune Tower in Chicago; Rockefeller Center; early skyscrapers such as the Daily News Building and 30 Rockefeller Plaza; and the 1939 New York World's Fair, for which he designed the central Trylon and Perisphere. Many of his early works are also listed in the National Historic Register, including 705 Davis Street Apartments and Wickersham Apartments in Portland, Oregon. According to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Fouilhoux has received less attention than partners such as John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, but was "known as an astute engineer and a painstaking supervisor and his work gained the respect of his collaborators."

Early life and education

Jacques André Fouilhoux, better known as J.A. Fouilhoux throughout his career in the United States, was born to a Catholic family in Paris, France, on September 27, 1879. He attended the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris, and went on to earn B.A., B.S. and B.Ph. degrees from the University of Paris (Sorbonne). He was then accepted into the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, where he studied architecture as well as civil and mechanical engineering. Following his graduation, he moved to the United States in 1904 and began his architectural career as a draftsman for Albert Kahn in Detroit. In 1908, he and Jean Butler Clark of Baltimore married in New York.

Career

Early works

Trylon and Perisphere at the 1939 New York World's Fair

In 1909, Fouilhoux relocated to Portland, and began a partnership with Morris H. Whitehouse that would last until World War I. Fouilhoux was prolific during the eight years he worked in Portland, and constructed a dozen notable buildings, including educational institutions (e.g., Jefferson High School, the University Club) and residential buildings. His earliest works were constructed in late-19th and early-20th century revival styles—French renaissance, Collegiate Gothic, Tudor, Jacobethan, Colonial, and English Arts and Crafts. While this design approach befit the zeitgeist, critics and historic preservationists describe a unique perspective in his architectural style. This is especially evident in Jefferson High School (1909), which subtly revealed and navigated tensions between the Classical Revival movement and more modern Arts and Crafts style.

Fouilhoux's architecture, particularly the balance between referential embellishment and modern sensibility, had an enduring effect on Oregon. Many of his buildings there are still standing and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several continue to be highly sought-after residences that have defined luxurious neighborhoods, such as Wickersham Apartments (1910) and 705 Davis Street Apartments (1913).

With the outbreak of World War I, Fouilhoux put his burgeoning career on pause and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as an officer in France in the 129th Field Artillery Regiment with future president Harry S. Truman and was discharged with the rank of major.

Tribune Tower and Daily News Building

Tribune Tower, Chicago (1925)

In 1920, Fouilhoux returned to the U.S. and for the rest of his life would be based in New York He began making substantial contributions to modernist design approaches that would create a new architectural specter: the skyscraper. In the post-war architectural boom, Fouilhoux's work espoused and memorialized American democratic values, particularly freedom of the press.

In 1922, Fouilhoux, Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells devised a design submission to the international competition for the Tribune Tower in Chicago along with over 260 other entries. With Fouilhoux working as an associate to partners Hood and Howells, their submission won the competition. The building melded medieval gothic architectural design elements with the Art Deco sensibility of a modern office building. A lightness in the building's gothic details enables the vibrancy of the design to not be beholden to its silhouette, as with other skyscrapers. Hood and Howell's design and the praise from the competition jurors encapsulated the architectural moment of the time—nostalgic, but on the brink of modern. Old elements were used in new ways, including at least 150 artifacts from historic sites that decorated the walls alongside quotes from historical figures. These inscriptions and sculptural details span decades and continents, memorializing the past in order to imagine the future that the Tribune Company aimed for.

Upon opening in 1925, the building was described by critics as idiosyncratic but designed for practical use, with historical perspective, humor, and a vision of the future. Fouilhoux and other contributors were immortalized as fable characters in Aesop's screen in a large carved stone display above the main entrance. In a nod to the nickname assigned to Frenchmen during World War I, Fouilhoux is represented by a frog.

In 1930, Howells, Hood and Fouilhoux designed another journalism building—the Daily News Building in New York. Though the owners of the News Building and Tribune Tower had family ties, the buildings did not share the neo-gothic design influence that distinguishes the latter; with the towering skyscraper design of the News Building, Fouilhoux entered into the "modernist vanguard." The News Building does, however, share Tribune Tower's use of art deco elements and quotes and symbols of democratic values and the American Protestant work ethic. The building was well received by critics, architects and New Yorkers, with a 1932 exhibition at MoMA describing it as the "most effective skyscraper in New York."

Rockefeller Center

Construction of Rockefeller Center in New York

In 1931, Fouilhoux joined a consortium of preeminent architectural firms coordinated by Raymond Hood that would be involved in the construction of Rockefeller Center. Todd, Robertson and Todd Engineering Corp., as advisers to John D. Rockefeller and his family, "selected architects who would be primarily interested in good planning, utility, cost, income, low operating expenses and progress ... men who were not committed to the architectural past nor too much interested in wild modernism." Three different firms—listed as Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux; and Reinhard & Hofmeister—formed the collective Associated Architects for Rockefeller Center. Fouilhoux had the greatest influence on the central fixture of the complex, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, known colloquially as "30 Rock". The RCA combined Art Deco design elements with Beaux-Arts inspiration and the increasingly widespread International Style. From its inception, Rockefeller Center has captured the urban imagination of commercial media. In the 1980s, Paul Goldberger of The New York Times reflected on its status: "It was always respected. Now, however, it seems more to be idolized, copied by young architects as they sketch new towers and chosen by urban planners as the model that large-scale urban complexes should strive to follow."

After Hood's death in 1934, and following his work on Rockefeller Center, Fouilhoux partnered with Wallace Harrison on a commission from John D. and Nelson Rockefeller to design the Rockefeller Apartments just to the north. Though there was not a strong demand for housing in Manhattan at the time, the Rockefeller Apartments accumulated a long wait-list before completion because they were an ideal size for young professionals working at Rockefeller Center or Midtown Manhattan. Built in an international style with rounded and south-facing bay windows, it was praised by critics for its strong, progressive design aesthetics and practicalities. Noted urbanist Lewis Mumford compared the apartment build with a romantic row of buildings in an old neighborhood in Germany: "When the windows are open up and down the façade, the effect is like a sudden whirring of birds' wings out of a tree. And if anyone wants to know what is modern ornament, that's what it is—something built for use, which suddenly, when it hits you at the right angle, begins to sing like the four-and-twenty blackbirds."

World of Tomorrow

The 1939 New York World's Fair was Fouilhoux and Harrison's most audacious architectural and engineering work. The New York Building Commission wrote that Fouilhoux's design contributions "created the distinctive tone of the exhibition." The 1939 World's Fair would be the second most expensive American World's Fair—an ambitious endeavor during the uncertain time following the Great Depression and leading up to World War II. In 1934, the fair's intended theme was to honor the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington, however the more abstract, forward-thinking theme "Building the World of Tomorrow" won out by 1936.

The theme and, in turn, design concept therefore prioritized a "utopian aura" that would employ "a structure of ephemeral lines" according to The New York Times. Built in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, a former dump site in Queens, the Fair used over 1,200 acres to imagine the future through a lens of innovation, consumerism, and commercialization. The exhibitions and recreational space were made possible through relationships with 60 countries and 121 New York organizations. According to the book Trylon and Perisphere, "Its goal was to display to the world its organizers' boundless belief in American business and industry, in peace and freedom, and in the potential of average Americans to rise above their difficulties."

Fouilhoux's greatest influence was on the central figures of the Fair—the Trylon and Perisphere, respectively a large triangular pyramid and the largest sphere ever constructed. Imposing white masses of the "finite and infinite"—sometimes called the "spike and sphere" or "ball and bat"—they aptly represented futurism based on modernist principles that envisioned extreme abstractions achievable through new technologies. The Trylon and Perisphere represented impressive feats of engineering, requiring 2,000 cubic yards of concrete, over 7,000 individual pieces, and adding up to a combined weight of approximately 10,000 tons. The Trylon was 610 feet high and the perisphere was 180 feet in diameter and 18 stories high. Inside the Perisphere, accessible via what were the largest escalators in the world, was "Democracity"—the central exhibit of the fair and vision of America's future in 2039. Technological achievements were central to the Fair theme and to Harrison and Fouilhoux's designs, evidenced in the engineering of the Trylon and Perisphere as well as the emphasis on electrification seen in the Consolidated Edison and Electric Utility building exhibitions. The Fair embodied an imposing physicality and ambitious futuristic vision and welcomed almost 50 million visitors during the two seasons it was open. Despite these achievements, it did not live up to attendance or financial revenue goals. Still, it was "by no means a flop… it literally and figuratively replaced ashes with promise... On a practical level, it offered a preview of the tools needed to rebuild the world after the war."

With the advent of World War II, architectural opportunities and priorities moved away from imposing skyline-defining monuments. In 1941, Fouilhoux joined the firm Harrison, Fouilhoux & Abramovitz and completed the Crotona Toll House for the Bronx Zoo and worked on military bases at Coco Solo and Balboa, Canal Zone. He then worked on the Clinton Hill Housing Development, also called the Clinton Hill Co-ops—good-quality affordable housing for workers and officers of the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard. While some community members lamented the demolition of the 19th century mansions that were removed to make way for the development, the Clinton Hill Co-ops played a significant role in stabilizing the neighborhood with middle-class housing during the war. The Clinton Hill Co-ops would be Fouilhoux's final contribution to the architecture of New York City. He fell to his death on June 20, 1945, while conducting an inspection of the Clinton Hill Co-ops roof and upper floors.

Legacy

Tribune Tower and Rockefeller Center are Fouilhoux's most enduring feats of engineering and architectural design and continue to be tourist destinations, as well as culturally notable in academic circles. Though the Trylon and Perisphere of the 1939 World's Fair were dismantled for the war effort, they "earned an enduring legacy as one of the world's greatest symbols of hope for the future." Books, postage stamps, figurines, postcards, and many more paraphernalia immortalized the imagery of Fouilhoux's spike and sphere. Other significant buildings that Fouilhoux worked on include the American Radiator Building and McGraw-Hill Building in Manhattan, and the Masonic Temple (now the Scranton Cultural Center).

Citations and professional connections

  • Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded May 26, 1943
  • Citation from the New York Chapter of AIA on February 14, 1945
  • First prize, New York Chapter of AIA competition for the design of small, affordable dwelling for families, 1935
  • President of New York Building Congress, elected 1942, 1945
  • Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Member of the Architectural League of New York
  • Chairman of the French Engineers in the United States, Inc.
  • Treasurer and trustee of the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
  • Member of the Advisory Council of the Cooper Union Art School
  • Visiting Critic at the Columbia School of Architecture
  • Member of visiting committee of the School of Architecture of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • President of the American Relief for France, Inc.
  • Vice President and trustee of the French Hospital and French Benevolent Society
  • Board of Trustees of St. Vincent de Paul Institute
  • Member of the Commerce and Industry Association of New York
  • The University Club
  • The Catholic Club
  • President of the Liturgical Arts Society
List of works
Building City, State Date Role Style Citation
Jefferson High School Portland, Oregon 1909 Architect Renaissance Revival
Lincoln High School (now Lincoln Hall at PSU) Portland, Oregon 1910 Architect Classical Revival
Conro Fiero House Central Point, Oregon 1910 Architect Tudor Revival
Wickersham Apartments Portland, Oregon 1910 Architect Tudor Revival
Anna Lewis Mann Old People's Home Portland, Oregon 1911 Architect Tudor Revival, Collegiate Gothic
Failing Grammar Schoolhouse (now National University of Natural Medicine) Portland, Oregon 1912 Architect Renaissance Revival
University Club Portland, Oregon 1913 Architect Jacobethan
705 Davis Street Apartments Portland, Oregon 1913 Architect Renaissance Revival
Waverley Country Club Clubhouse Portland, Oregon 1913 Architect Colonial Revival
Elliott R. Corbett House Portland, Oregon 1915 Architect Colonial Revival
H. L. and Gretchen Hoyt Corbett House Portland, Oregon 1916 Architect Colonial Revival
Astoria Methodist Church Astoria, Oregon 1916 Architect Colonial Revival
St. Vincent de Paul Asylum Tarrytown, New York 1924 Architect
Tribune Tower Chicago, Illinois 1924 Architect Gothic Revival
American Radiator Building (American Standard Building) Manhattan, New York 1924 Architect Gothic Art Deco
Ocean Forest Country Club Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 1929 Architect Neoclassical
Daily News Building Manhattan, New York 1930 Architect Art Deco
Masonic Temple (Scranton Cultural Center) Scranton, Pennsylvania 1930 Architect Art Deco
Rockefeller Center Manhattan, New York 1931 Architect Art Deco, International Style
McGraw-Hill Building Manhattan, New York 1931 Architect International Style
Rockefeller Apartments Manhattan, New York 1937 Architect International Style
Trylon and Perisphere, 1939 World's Fair Manhattan, New York 1939 Architect Modernist
Crotona Toll House Bronx, New York 1941 Architect
Clinton Hill Cooperative Development Brooklyn, New York 1943 Architect Modernist
Facilities at Submarine and Air Base Coco Solo Cativá, Panama 1944 Architect Modernist

See also

References

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