James A. Wetmore
James A. Wetmore | |
---|---|
Supervising Architect of the United States | |
In office 1915–1933 | |
Preceded by | Oscar Wenderoth |
Succeeded by | Louis A. Simon |
Personal details | |
Born | November, 1863 Bath, New York |
Died | March 14, 1940 Coral Gables, Florida | (aged 76)
Profession | Lawyer, civil-servant |
James Alfonso Wetmore (November 1863 – March 14, 1940) was an American lawyer and administrator, best known as the Acting
Wetmore is frequently and incorrectly described as the "
Background
Wetmore was born in
Office of the Supervising Architect
In 1911, he became the executive officer to the supervising architect, James Knox Taylor. He was the EO, which put him in charge of all non-technical operations of the office,[5] under Taylor, and then under his successor Oscar Wenderoth who took over in 1912.[4] For a period in 1912 after the resignation of Taylor, Wetmore was acting supervising architect until Wenderoth relocated to Washington.[5]
Wenderoth resigned in April 1915 to return to private practice in a firm that specialized in designing bank interiors.[5] Following Wenderoth's departure in 1915, Wetmore was named as the acting supervising architect. He held this position for almost twenty years, until his retirement in 1933. He initially believed the position would be temporary until an architect was selected to be the supervising architect. However, he had a thorough understanding of the operation of the office and worked well with its architects, which accounted for his remaining in the position. Although outsiders did not always understand why a lawyer was running the office, the duties were primarily administrative; supervising architects did not require him to be trained as one.[5] During much of his tenure, Louis A. Simon was responsible for the direction of much of the actual design work. Simon eventually succeeded Wetmore as head of the office.
Wetmore was interested in
As supervising architect, he often spoke to the Society of Constructors of Federal Buildings. He addressed the 1917 annual convention by reporting that "The Treasury Department completed plans and contracts for a public building every four days and each building has averaged a cost of $50,000." He also noted that almost 90% of these were post offices.[7]
McAdoo Classification
Buildings were to be designed with specific criteria. A "Class A" building was one that was on a major street of a major city, surrounded by expensive buildings, and expected to generate at least $800,000 in revenue. These buildings would have
A small post office with revenue of under $15,000 would be made of brick, with standard wood windows and doors and would appear "ordinary". Critics felt the system would make public buildings too plain.[5]
World War I
During World War I, much of the work of the office stopped due to the priorities of the war. Construction was postponed except for the completion of building already under construction, and of new facilities such as hospitals, quarantine and immigration stations that aided the war effort. At McAdoo's direction, Wetmore tried to keep the staff together but many were lost to the armed forces and other agencies..[5]
Post-war era
Construction resumed, although costs had escalated and buildings could not be constructed at the costs estimated before the war. Work did proceed and the demand for new buildings increased. Wetmore was now serving under a new
Federal Real Estate Board
Wetmore was also named the chairman (Surveyor General of Real Estate) of the Federal Real Estate Board after its creation in 1922. The board was created to manage the government's vast real estate holdings and reduce expenses.[8]
Legacy and honors
Wetmore's name is inscribed on the
He was most proud of the cornerstone of the post office built in 1931 in his birthplace of Bath, New York. He laid this cornerstone himself and retained the engraved trowel as a souvenir.[1]
Some of the buildings where his name can be found are:
- United States Court House (Des Moines, Iowa), 1928
- Federal Building and United States Courthouse (Albuquerque, New Mexico), 1930
- U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (Baltimore, Maryland), 1930
- Alaska State Capitol, Juneau, Alaska, 1931
- U.S. Post Office (Medina, New York), 1931–1932
- Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building and United States Courthouse, Trenton, New Jersey, 1932
- Las Vegas, Nevada, 1933
During World War II the Liberty ship SS James A. Wetmore was built in Brunswick, Georgia, and named in his honor.[10]
Personal life
He married Harriet Blye around 1883; she died before his retirement. They had two children, a daughter Viola and a son William. During his career with the government, he lived in both
References
- ^ a b c "Art: Cornerstone Man". Time. December 10, 1934. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d "James Alfonso Wetmore (Lawyer)". washington.edu. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9780195351866.
- ^ Annual Report of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to the President. United States Bureau of the Budget. 1922. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ House, Kirk (May 10, 2016). "Carved in Stone: The James A. Wetmore Story". Wellsville Daily Reporter. Wellsville, NY. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ISBN 978-1476617541. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
External links
Media related to James A. Wetmore at Wikimedia Commons