Howard T. Fisher

Howard T. Fisher (1903-1979) had a long and varied career as an architect, city planner, and educator.

Howard Taylor Fisher was born October 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Walter Lowrie Fisher and Mabel Taylor. He graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in 1926.[1] He attended the School of Architecture, Harvard University, from 1926 to 1928.[2]

Work in Architecture

Fisher began his career as an architect in 1931 with a solo practice in Chicago that continued until 1943.[2]

In 1932, he founded General Houses, Inc. in Chicago to design, sell, and erect low-cost prefabricated housing.[3] The basis of the houses that the company designed and built was a coordinated system of prefabricated steel-framed modular panels, of which there were eight kinds: solid, small window, large window, glass, entrance door, kitchen door, double doors, and a fireplace. All of the panels were four feet wide and all were nine feet high except for the fireplace panel, which was taller. A garage door panel was the same height as the other panels but twice the width. As modules, the panels could be assembled in a wide variety of configurations to suit individual clients and specific sites. One General Houses house, built on the side of a hill, had three stories, with the living room on the topmost floor to best enjoy the view. The General Houses, Inc. building system was the subject of U.S. patent 1,969,125 issued August 7, 1934.[4] A marketing slogan of the company was "A house that's twice as good at half the price."[3] During the Century of Progress, Fisher had two prefabricated houses on display. The first prefabricated house was part of "The Work of the Young Architects of the Midwest" exhibit, the exhibit also featured the work of Fisher's rival, Robert W. McLaughlin, Jr.[5] Another house, built for Ruth Page was described an interesting albeit gloomy house with an awkward spatial layout.[6]

General Houses, Inc.'s first house was erected in 1933 in Winnetka, Illinois, but no longer stands.[3]

The House at 130 Mohegan Avenue is a surviving example of a General Houses house. Completed in November 1933 and costing about $4,500 in total, it is a single story 21 feet (6.4 m) by 37 feet (11 m) rectangular steel prefabricated home that rests upon a concrete slab.[7][8]

General Houses, Inc., wound up its business in 1947.[9]

In 1943 Fisher established Howard T. Fisher & Associates, also in Chicago, to practice architecture and city planning. The firm wound up its business in 1965.[1]

He became a Member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1949, remaining a Member until his death, becoming an Emeritus Member in 1966. He was made a member of the College of Fellows of the AIA in 1974.[2]

Work as an Educator

In 1965 Fisher founded the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, serving as its director until 1968. From 1966 to 1970 he was a professor of city planning, and a research professor in cartography from 1970 until his retirement in 1975.[1]

Personal

Fisher married Marion Hall on February 11, 1939. They had three children: Ann Bourne Fisher (deceased), Morgan Hall Fisher, and Alan Hall Fisher.[1]

He died January 24, 1979, in Exeter, New Hampshire.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Who's Who in America, 40th edition, 1978-1979.
  2. 1 2 3 http://public.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/AIA%20scans/F-H/Fisher_Howard.pdf
  3. 1 2 3 "General Houses, Inc. (Archive.org capture from April 8, 2011)". Connecticut College. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Our Homes," advertising brochure published by General Houses, Inc., editors J. Eugene Armes, Ruth Fisher, and P. D. Paddock, Chicago 1934.
  5. ↑ Schulze, Franz (1996). Philip Johnson: Life and Work. University of Chicago Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0226740584.
  6. ↑ Elderfield, John (1998). Philip Johnson and the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Modern Art. p. 53.
  7. ↑ "About the House (Archive.org capture from January 8, 2009)". Connecticut College. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "History (Archive.org capture from January 8, 2009)". Connecticut College. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  9. ↑ http://public.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/American%20Architects%20Directories/1956%20American%20Architects%20Directory/Bowker_1956_F.pdf
  10. ↑ http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1979/01/25/111005138.html?pageNumber=31
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