Shreve, Lamb & Harmon
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.
History
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, United States (U.S.)—Shreve was the administrator, while Lamb was the designer. The two met while working at Carrère & Hastings, and Shreve & Lamb was initially a Carrère & Hastings firm. In 1924 the pair decided to leave Carrère & Hastings and became an autonomous architectural company.[1]
In 1929 Arthur Loomis Harmon, from Chicago, U.S., 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, 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 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]
Notable buildings
All buildings are located in New York City unless otherwise indicated:
- Reynolds Building, Winston-Salem, 1929
- 521 Fifth Avenue (also known as the Lefcourt National Building), 1929
- 740 Park Avenue (with Rosario Candela), 1930
- 500 Fifth Avenue, 1931,
- Empire State Building, 1930–1931
- 14 Wall Street (formerly the Bankers Trust Company Building) addition, 1931–1932
- 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
- Lever Brothers Co. Headquarters (now MIT Sloan School, Building E52), Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1938
- 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 Crédit 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
- 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
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 Klose, Oliivia. "500 Fifth Avenue Designation Report" New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (December 14, 2010)
External links
Media related to Shreve, Lamb & Harmon at Wikimedia Commons