Walker and Weeks was an architecture firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, founded by Frank Ray Walker (September 29, 1877 - July 9, 1949) [1] and Harry E. Weeks (October 2, 1871 - December 21, 1935). [2]
Walker and Weeks was an architecture firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, founded by Frank Ray Walker (September 29, 1877 - July 9, 1949) [1] and Harry E. Weeks (October 2, 1871 - December 21, 1935). [2]
Harry Weeks was born October 2, 1871, in W. Springfield, MA, the son of Charles F. and Clarissa Allen Weeks. He attended MIT where he studied architecture in the Beaux-Arts tradition, graduating in 1893. He then worked for several prominent Massachusetts architectural firms before owning his own firm in Pittsfield, MA, for 3 years, where he would meet his future business partner. At the suggestion of John M. Carrere, a member of the Cleveland Group Plan Commission, Weeks moved to Cleveland in 1905, where he went to work for the prominent Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer (1870-1957). [3]
Frank Walker was born September 29, 1877, in Pittsfield, MA, the son of Frank and Helen Theresa (Ranous) Walker. He also studied architecture in the beaux-arts tradition at MIT, from which he was graduated in 1900. He subsequently moved to France to study at the Atelier of Monsieur Redon in Paris, and then lived a year in Italy. He returned to practice architecture in Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh before moving to Cleveland in 1905 to work for the firm of J. Milton Dyer. [4]
After working together in Dyer's office, Walker and Weeks opened their own practice in 1911; the office continued to produce work even after Weeks's death, until the early 1950s. As was often the case with architecture firms, Walker was the designer while Weeks was primarily the businessman. [5]
The firm is most noted for its bank buildings; [5] several dozen were designed in the teens alone. Their best-known bank was the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, built in 1923. However, they also designed a wide variety of commercial, public, ecclesiastic and residential buildings, as well as a number of bridges, during the course of the firm's life. Walker and Weeks were responsible for the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza in Indianapolis, which features a cenotaph based on the Mausoleum of Maussollos.
Walker and Weeks frequently employed sculptor Henry Hering to create sculpture for their projects.
Like many architects the firm produced work in a variety of styles, from Neoclassical, Italian Renaissance and finally, the 1930s, ending in Moderne and/or Art Deco.
The buildings designed by the firm include: [6]
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Henry Hering was an American sculptor.
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Allen Memorial Medical Library is located along Euclid Avenue on the campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Completed in 1926, the building was named in honor of Dudley P. Allen. Designed by the Cleveland firm of Walker and Weeks in a classical revival style, it was constructed with Indiana limestone on a pink Georgia marble base. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 1982-11-30 and is a Cleveland Landmark. Along with serving as a library, the erection's 450 seat auditorium serves as classroom for students of Case Western Reserve University.
The Society for Savings Building, also known as the Society Corp. Building, is a high-rise building on Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The building was constructed in 1889, and stood as the tallest building in Cleveland until 1896, when it was surpassed by the 221-foot Guardian Bank Building. The building stands 152 feet tall, with 10 floors. The Society for Savings Building is often considered to be the first modern skyscraper in Cleveland and the state of Ohio. It was designed by John Wellborn Root of the Chicago-based architectural firm Burnham & Root.
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J. Milton Dyer was an American architect based in Cleveland, Ohio.
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The Brooklyn Bank Building is a historic bank structure located in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. Designed in 1904 prominent Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer as a home for the Brooklyn Savings and Loan Association, the building exhibits a mix of architectural styles, including Neoclassical and Commercial, typical of Dyer's eclectic work.
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John P. Huntington was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Associated with John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, he was prominent in the business affairs of Cleveland's oil industry. Among other philanthropic activities, funds which he left in a bequest were combined with those of Hinman Hurlbut and Horace Kelley to establish the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1913.
The following is a bibliography of Cleveland, Ohio. It includes selected publications specifically about the city, Cuyahoga County, and the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area.
