Louis Skidmore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louis Skidmore
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| Born | April 8, 1897 |
| Died | September 27, 1962 (aged 65) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | AIA Gold Medal (1957) |
| Practice | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |
Louis Skidmore (born April 8, 1897 – died September 27, 1962) was an important American architect. He helped start a famous architecture company called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (often called SOM). He also won a very special award for architects, the AIA Gold Medal.
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About Louis Skidmore
Louis Skidmore was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. He served in the United States Army during World War I as a Sergeant.
On June 14, 1930, he married Eloise Owings. She was the sister of Nathaniel A. Owings, who would later become his business partner. Louis and Eloise were married for over 32 years. They had two sons, Louis Jr. and Philip Murray.
His Education
Louis Skidmore studied at Bradley Polytechnic Institute, which is now called Bradley University. He finished his studies there in 1917.
After that, he trained with a big architecture company in Boston called Cram and Ferguson. They designed buildings in the old Gothic style. At night, he also studied at the Boston Architectural Club. He worked on extra design projects that were reviewed by professors from Harvard and MIT. Winning a prize at the Boston Architectural Club helped him get into MIT. He then studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology until 1924.
Travels in Europe
After working as an architect for eight years, Louis Skidmore won a special award called the Rotch Traveling Fellowship. This award allowed him to travel to Europe. He spent most of his time in Rome and Paris.
While he was in Paris, he met Raymond Hood. Hood convinced him to get involved with the Chicago World's Fair. Raymond Hood was in charge of the design team for the fair. Also, while in Europe, Louis met Eloise Owings, who he later married. They returned to the United States together. Eloise then introduced Louis to her brother, Nathaniel "Nat" Owings.
Working on the Chicago World's Fair
For the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, Louis Skidmore started working with Raymond Hood. He was a junior designer on the design team. He also hired Nat Owings to work there.
The head of the Fair, General Rufus Dawes, later let go of all the other architects on the team. Louis Skidmore was the only one left. This meant he became the person who reviewed all the designs for the fair. Because of this, Louis Skidmore got to know many different companies. After the fair, he was hired to study a museum in Munich, Germany.
Starting Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings started their architecture company in 1936. John O. Merrill became the third partner in 1939. This is how the company got its name: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, or SOM.
During World War II, the company built many large housing projects. One of the most famous was the secret town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In New York, they built the Abraham Lincoln Houses, which was a large complex of 14 buildings in Harlem. Another big project they worked on for the government was the United States Air Force Academy.
SOM became known for being reliable in building large projects. In the 1950s, it grew into one of the biggest and most talked-about companies that built skyscrapers. One of SOM's most famous buildings from when the original founders were in charge was the Lever House, built in 1952.
Gordon Bunshaft, another architect, once said about Louis Skidmore: "Skid was a very easy-going guy, very bright and tricky enough to get work, but a very pleasant guy... Skid was the man who had the insight in finding people."
Community Involvement and Awards
Louis Skidmore was very involved in the architecture community. He was the president of the New York Building Congress in 1949. He was also the vice-president of the Architectural League of New York in 1952.
He received the highest award an individual architect can get in the United States. This was the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal in 1957.
His Family
Louis Skidmore Jr., one of Louis Skidmore's sons, later retired as a partner from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He lives in Houston, Texas. Philip M. Skidmore, his other son, lives and works in Greenwich, Connecticut.
See also
In Spanish: Louis Skidmore para niños
