Editing Wallace Harrison

{{short description|American architect (1895–1981)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox architect
| name = Wallace Harrison
| image = Wallace Kirkman Harrison.jpg
| caption = 
| birth_name  = Wallace Kirkman Harrison
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1895|9|28}}
| birth_place = [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1981|12|2|1895|9|28}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| alma_mater  = [[École des Beaux-Arts]]
| practice    = Harrison & Abramowitz
| significant_buildings = [[United Nations headquarters]]<br /> [[Exxon Building (New York)|Exxon Building]]
| significant_projects = [[Rockefeller Center]]<br /> [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]]
| significant_design = [[Trylon and Perisphere]]
| awards = [[AIA Gold Medal]] (1967)
}}

'''Wallace Kirkman Harrison''' (September 28, 1895 – December 2, 1981) was an American architect. Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the [[construction of Rockefeller Center]]. He is best known for executing large public projects in New York City and upstate, many of them a result of his long and fruitful personal relationship with [[Nelson Rockefeller]], for whom he served as an adviser.<ref>Caroline Rob Zaleski, ''Long Island Modernism'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2012): Pg. 27</ref>
[[File:Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, January 30, 2025.jpg|thumb|The [[Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)|Metropolitan Opera House]] at [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]], seen from Lincoln Center Plaza]]

==Early life and education==
Harrison was born in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], on September 28, 1895. He studied engineering at [[Worcester Polytechnic Institute]] and architecture at the [[Boston Architectural Club]]. In the 1920s, he attended [[École des Beaux-Arts]] and, two years later, won the Rotch Taveling Scholarship in 1922.

==Career==
Harrison's work in the mid-20th century comprised large, modernist public projects and office buildings.  He worked for [[McKim, Mead & White]] and [[Bertram Grovesnor Goodhue]] from 1916 to 1923, and later formed a series of architectural partnerships. Harrison participated with the architectural teams involved in the [[construction of Rockefeller Center]] in New York City, completed in 1939.  His brother-in-law was married to [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]]'s daughter, Abigail<ref>Icons of American Architecture: From the Alamo to the World Trade Center By Donald Langmead</ref> and Harrison served as a designer and architectural adviser for [[Nelson Rockefeller]], notably in the years when Rockefeller was governor of New York.

In 1941, Harrison joined with [[Max Abramowitz]] to form the firm of [[Harrison & Abramovitz|Harrison & Abramowitz]]. In partnership with Abramovitz, Harrison designed scores of university and corporate buildings, including the [[Time-Life Building|Time & Life]] (1959) and Socony-Mobil (1956), both designated New York City landmarks.<ref name="Caroline Rob Zaleski 2012 Pg. 26">Caroline Rob Zaleski, ''Long Island Modernism'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2012): Pg. 26</ref>

Among Harrison's most noted projects are the [[Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)|Metropolitan Opera House]] at the [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]] and the [[Empire State Plaza]] in [[Albany, New York]]. He also served as Director of Planning on the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations complex]], which was built on slaughter house property contributed by the Rockefeller family (the Rockefellers owned the Tudor City Apartments across First Avenue). Harrision developed the design for the [[Pershing Park|Pershing Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], which is now home to the National World War I Memorial.<ref>Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art:  A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.:  U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013):  Appendix B, p. 545.</ref> In addition to his architectural work, Harrison served as master planner and supervising architect for a number of important [[Long Island]]-based projects, including the [[1939 New York World's Fair|World's Fairs of 1939]] and [[1964 New York World's Fair|1964]] in [[Flushing, Queens]], and [[LaGuardia]] and [[Idlewild Airport|Idlewild]] (now [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|John F. Kennedy]]) airports.<ref name="Caroline Rob Zaleski 2012 Pg. 26"/>

Harrison's major projects are marked by straightforward planning and sensible functionalism, although his residential side-projects show more experimental flair. In 1931, Harrison established an {{convert|11|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Wallace K. Harrison Estate|summer retreat]] in [[West Hills, New York]], which was a very early example and workshop for the [[International Style (architecture)|International Style]] in the United States, and a social and intellectual center of architecture, art, and politics. The home includes a {{convert|32|ft|m|adj=on}} circular living room that is rumored to have been the prototype for the [[Rainbow Room]] in [[Rockefeller Center]]. Two other circular rooms complete the center of Harrison's design. Frequent visitors and guests included Nelson Rockefeller, [[Robert Moses]], [[Marc Chagall]], [[Le Corbusier]], [[Alexander Calder]], and [[Fernand Léger]]. Harrison's expansive country property also exhibited his relationships with contemporary architects. For example, shortly after purchasing the property in 1931, Harrison and his wife bought the [[Aluminaire House]], an iconic, compact, ready-to-assemble steel-and-aluminum structure designed by Swiss architect [[Albert Frey (architect)|Albert Frey]] and then editor of Architectural Record, [[A. Lawrence Kocher]].<ref>Caroline Rob Zaleski, ''Long Island Modernism'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2012): Pg. 29</ref>

Harrison collected works by Calder and Léger and commissioned new ones for buildings that he designed, including his country house in [[West Hills, New York]] on Long Island, a pavilion at the [[1939 New York World's Fair]], parts of Rockefeller Center; and the United Nations headquarters.<ref>Eve M. Kahn (May 8, 2014), [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/09/arts/design/a-glimpse-of-leger-a-good-look-at-lalique.html A Glimpse of Léger, a Good Look at Lalique] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601051244/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/09/arts/design/a-glimpse-of-leger-a-good-look-at-lalique.html |date=June 1, 2016 }} ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> Léger waited out part of [[World War II]] by painting a mural at the bottom of Harrison's swimming pool. Léger also created a large mural for the home's circular living room and sculpted an abstract form to serve as a skylight. Calder's first show is said to have taken place at the home.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} In 1965, Harrison was appointed to a commission to choose modern art works for the [[Empire State Plaza#Art collection|Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection]] in Albany, NY.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection and Plaza Memorials |date=May 3, 2002 |publisher=Rizzoli International Publications |isbn=0847824551 |page=11}}</ref>

Between 1941 and 1943, Harrison designed and built the Clinton Hill Coops, a 12-building coop complex split between two campuses along Clinton Ave. in [[Brooklyn]], to house the Brooklyn Navy Yards workers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://architectuul.com/architect/wallace-kirkman-harrison |title=Article in "Architectuul" |access-date=October 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013065914/http://architectuul.com/architect/wallace-kirkman-harrison |archive-date=October 13, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Harrison's architectural drawings and archives are held by the Drawings and Archives Department of [[Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library]] at [[Columbia University]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_3460617/ |title=Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers, 1913–1986 bulk 1930–1980 |access-date=October 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029194218/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/archival/collections/ldpd_3460617/ |archive-date=October 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Harrison was a member of the [[United States Commission of Fine Arts]] from 1955 to 1959. In 1967, Harrison received the [[AIA Gold Medal]].<ref>Luebke, ''Civic Art''; Richard Guy Wilson, ''The AIA Gold Medal'' (New York:  McGraw-Hill, 1984).</ref> In 1938, he was elected into the [[National Academy of Design]] as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1948.

==Personal life==
Harrison married Ellen Hunt Milton (1903–1995) in 1926. They had a daughter, Sarah, and lived in [[Manhattan]] and [[Seal Harbor, Maine]].<ref>Goldberger, Paul. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/03/obituaries/wallace-harrison-dead-at-86-rockefeller-center-architect.html Wallace Harrison Dead at 86; Rockefeller Center Architect] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324012339/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/03/obituaries/wallace-harrison-dead-at-86-rockefeller-center-architect.html |date=2017-03-24 }}" ''The New York Times'', December 3, 1981. Article retrieved May 27, 2014.</ref>

==Major projects==
{{for|work from 1941 through 1976|Harrison & Abramovitz}}
[[File:UNO New York.JPG|thumb|[[United Nations Secretariat Building]] at the [[headquarters of the United Nations]] in New York City]]
* [[185 Montague Street]] (1929–1930)
* [[Rockefeller Center]], part of the [[construction of the Rockefeller Center#Associated Architects|Associated Architects]], 1931–1971
* The [[Rockefeller Apartments]] (with [[J. André Fouilhoux]]), commissioned by [[Nelson Rockefeller]], facing the [[Museum of Modern Art]] Sculpture Garden, 1936
* [[Trylon and Perisphere]] for the [[1939 New York World's Fair]]
* [[10 Rockefeller Plaza]] (formerly the Eastern Airlines Building), part of Rockefeller Center, 1939
* The Clinton Hill Co-ops, Brooklyn, New York, 1941–43
* [[The Corning Museum of Glass]], Corning, New York, 1951
* Sophronia Brooks Hall Auditorium, [[Oberlin, Ohio|Oberlin]], Ohio, 1953
* The First Presbyterian Church ("The [[Fish Church]]"), Stamford, Connecticut, 1958
* [[1271 Avenue of the Americas]] (formerly the Time-Life Building) at Rockefeller Center, New York City, 1959
* The Nelson A. Rockefeller [[Empire State Plaza]], [[Albany, New York]], his last major project, 1959–1976
* [[File:Hopkins-Center-for-the-Arts-Wheelock-St-Hanover-New-Hampshire-05-2018a.jpg|thumb|[[Hopkins Center for the Arts]] at [[Dartmouth College]]]] [[Hopkins Center for the Arts]], [[Dartmouth College]], whose details foreshadow the Metropolitan Opera House, 1962
* Lead architect for the [[headquarters of the United Nations]] (including [[United Nations Secretariat Building]], [[United Nations General Assembly Building]], and [[Dag Hammarskjöld Library]]), coordinating the work of an international cadre of designers, including [[Sven Markelius]], [[Le Corbusier]], and [[Oscar Niemeyer]], 1952
* [[Erieview Tower]], [[Cleveland]], Ohio, 1963
* The [[New York Hall of Science]] at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]], New York City, 1964
* Air traffic control tower, [[LaGuardia Airport]] (1964) (demolished 2011)<ref name=nyt1>{{cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|title=La Guardia Loses Swiss Cheese Ice Cream Cone, and Some History|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/la-guardia-loses-swiss-cheese-ice-cream-cone-and-some-history/?hp|access-date=November 26, 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129033202/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/la-guardia-loses-swiss-cheese-ice-cream-cone-and-some-history/?hp|archive-date=November 29, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Hilles Library'', [[Harvard University]], 1965
* [[Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)|Metropolitan Opera House]] and the master plan for [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]], coordinating the work of [[Pietro Belluschi]], [[Gordon Bunshaft]], [[Philip Johnson]], and [[Eero Saarinen]], 1961–1966 (The Opera House opened in 1966)
* Master plan for [[Battery Park City]], New York City, 1966
* [[1221 Avenue of the Americas]] (formerly the McGraw-Hill Building) at Rockefeller Center, 1969
* [[1251 Avenue of the Americas]] (formerly the Exxon Building) at Rockefeller Center, 1971
* The [[National City Tower]], [[Downtown Louisville|Louisville]], [[Kentucky]], 1972
*[[Jasna Polana]] Mansion, [[Princeton, New Jersey]], about 1975

==See also==
{{Commons category|Wallace Harrison}}
* [[Nelson Rockefeller]]
* [[Rockefeller Center]]
* [[Lincoln Center]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Newhouse, Victoria. ''Wallace K. Harrison, Architect''. New York: Rizzoli, 1989.
* Reich, Cary. ''The Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller: Worlds to Conquer 1908–1958''. New York: Doubleday, 1996.
* Sudjic, Deyan. ''The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful—and Their Architects—Shape the World''. New York: Penguin, 2005.
* [[Okrent, Daniel]]. ''[[Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center]]''. Viking Penguin, 2003.

==External links==
* [http://findingaids.cul.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-a/ldpd_3460617/ Wallace K. Harrison architectural drawings and papers, 1913–1986 (bulk 1930–1980)][http://library.columbia.edu/locations/avery/da.html/ Held by the Department of Drawings & Archives], [http://library.columbia.edu/locations/avery.html/ Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University]

{{Rockefeller Center}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Wallace}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American architects]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Architects from New York City]]
[[Category:Architecture firms based in New York City]]
[[Category:American ecclesiastical architects]]
[[Category:Rockefeller Center]]
[[Category:Architects from Worcester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from West Hills, New York]]
[[Category:Modernist architects from the United States]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Institute of Architects]]
[[Category:New York Hall of Science]]
[[Category:Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]