Alfred Easton Poor

Alfred Easton Poor (May 24, 1899 – January 13, 1988) was an American architect who was involved with many buildings and projects in New York City as well as multiple works in Washington, D.C. for the US Federal Government. In 1928 he won an open competition to design the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Alfred Easton Poor
BornMay 24, 1899
Baltimore, MD
DiedJanuary 13, 1988 (1988-01-14) (aged 88)
New York, NY
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University, A.B., 1920
University of Pennsylvania, B. Arch., 1923; M. Arch., 1924
OccupationArchitect
BuildingsJacob K. Javits Federal Building
James Madison Memorial Building, US Library of Congress
ProjectsWright Brothers National Memorial

While a student at the University of Pennsylvania, he studied under Paul Philippe Cret.[1][2] Poor was the president of the National Academy of Design in New York from 1966 to 1977, organizing its 150th anniversary in 1975.[3] He has been called "one of America's most prominent twentieth century architects"[1] and a "prominent member of the international school of modern architecture."[4]

Projects

Over his long career, Poor's projects include both public and private sector works. Along with fellow New York architect Robert P. Rogers, Poor won the open international design competition for the Wright Brothers National Memorial in 1928.[1][2][3]

For the US Government, he worked on a project that restored and extended the East Front of the US Capitol building in the early 1960s,[1][3] and was also a leading architect in designing the US Library of Congress' James Madison Memorial Building,[3][5] the third-largest public building in Washington.[5]

Poor was especially active in the New York City area. His projects include the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building,[3][6] the Queens County Courthouse and prison in Kew Gardens,[3][7] the Home Insurance Company Building,[8][9] and the 40-acre Red Hook housing projects.[3]

Poor was chosen by Walter Annenberg to design the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.[1][10] His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics.[11]

According to his obituary in The New York Times, he also "designed dozens of branch offices in Manhattan and abroad for the Chemical, National City and Marine Midland banks" and "designed a number of Long Island country homes."[3] Other works include the Cape Cinema, in Dennis, Massachusetts.[12]

Books

Poor was also an author of books about historical architecture, such as Formal Design in Minor French Buildings - The Tuileries Brochures (1931) and Colonial Architecture of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard (1932).[1]

Personal life

Alfred Easton Poor was a son of Charles Lane Poor. He served in the US Navy in World War I and in the US Navy Reserve in World War II.[13]

References
  1. Art of the Print
  2. Library of Congress, American Treasures
  3. Obituary, New York Times
  4. Art History 3401, University of Minnesota
  5. Library of Congress
  6. New York Architecture - Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building
  7. "NYC.gov Website". Archived from the original on 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  8. "In-Arch.net". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  9. A View on Cities
  10. University of Pennsylvania: An Architectural Tour. By George E. Thomas and Lewis Tanner
  11. "Alfred Easton Poor". Olympedia. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  12. Cape Cinema, About
  13. Social Networks and Archival Context Project
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