Alex B. Mahood

Alexander Blount Mahood (March 17, 1888 – December 25, 1970) was a Bluefield, West Virginia-based architect.

Alex B. Mahood
Born
Alexander Blount Mahood

(1888-03-17)March 17, 1888
Lynchburg, Virginia, United States
DiedDecember 25, 1970(1970-12-25) (aged 82)[1]
Bluefield, West Virginia, United States
OccupationArchitect
Page Coal and Coke Company Store, Pageton, 1914.
Pocahontas Fuel Company Store, Jenkinjones, 1917.
Wyoming Hotel, Mullens, 1918.
Frank S. Easley House, Bluefield, 1919.
Itmann Company Store, Itmann, 1923.
County Courthouse, Princeton, 1930.
Geriatrics Building, Weston State Hospital, 1950.
Student Center, Concord University, 1962.
Main Building, West Virginia University at Parkersburg, 1967.

Life and career

Mahood was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1888. He attended public schools, after which he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and studied in the ateliers of Mssrs. Chifflot and Duquesne. After his return from France in 1911, he took a position as draftsman in the Lynchburg firm of Frye & Chesterman. He soon made his way to Roanoke, where he also worked for Henry H. Huggins and Homer M. Miller. In 1912 Miller elevated Mahood to a partner, in Miller & Mahood.[2] Miller had, in 1911, landed a major commission in nearby Bluefield, the Law & Commerce Building - the largest office building in the growing city.[3] Mahood was sent to Bluefield to open a branch office, where he would supervise construction and court new business.

Upon its completion in 1913, the Mahood offices were moved into the new Law & Commerce Building. The partnership with Miller was dissolved in 1914, and Mahood remained in Bluefield. He remained in private practice until 1923, when he established a partnership with Frederick C. Van Dusen, which lasted until 1926. He was again alone until 1940, when he added Richard T. Snellings of Charlottesville as an associate. His son, A. B. Mahood, Jr. was also made an associate, in 1949.[2] The firm would remain as such until 1970, when Mahood died.

Legacy

Mahood was the architect for the West Virginia Hotel (1923) and many of his major residential works are in the South Bluefield area. These included the Country Club and the Country Club Hill section where the Bluefield Club was constructed in 1920.[4] Mahood designed mansions for magnates of the southern coalfields, and embellished Bluefield's residential districts with some of the grandest Georgian Revival houses in the state.[5]

He designed the Women's Dormitory at the West Virginia University in Morgantown, United States Steel Building in Gary, Skyway Drive-In Theater in Brush Fork, the Deco-Style Mercer County Courthouse (1930–1931) in Princeton and the Guyan Theater in Logan. He also designed a number of coal company offices and stores in the southern West Virginia region.[4] He may have also designed the McNeer House (1919) near Salt Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.[6]

He died in 1970, at Bluefield, West Virginia.

Selected works

Miller & Mahood, 1912-1914
  • 1912 - Masonic Temple, 203 Federal St, Bluefield, West Virginia[7]
    • Demolished.

Alex. B. Mahood, 1914-1923

Mahood & Van Dusen, 1923-1926
  • 1923 - West Virginian Hotel, 415 Federal St, Bluefield, West Virginia[26]
  • 1924 - W. A. Bodell House, 1430 Whitehorn St, Bluefield, West Virginia[10]
  • 1924 - Leonard House, 2002 Jefferson St, Bluefield, West Virginia[17]
  • 1924 - Prichard School (former), 2619 Raceview Dr, Ona, West Virginia[27]
  • 1925 - Thomas H. Cooper House, 909 Edgewood Rd, Bluefield, West Virginia[10]
  • 1925 - Russell F. Ritz House, 908 Edgewood Rd, Bluefield, West Virginia[28]
  • 1925 - Memorial School, 319 Memorial Ave, Bluefield, West Virginia[29]
  • 1926 - National Armature and Electric Building, 2 Pine St, Bluefield, West Virginia[30]

Alex. B. Mahood, 1926-1970

References
  1. unknown (n.d.). "The AIA Historical Directory of American Architects". American Institute of Architects. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  2. American Architects Directory. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1955.
  3. Engineering Review Aug. 1911: 82. New York.
  4. Easley House NRHP Nomination. 1991.
  5. S. Allen Chambers (n.d.). "The West Virginia Encyclopedia: Architects and Architecture". West Virginia Humanities Council. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  6. McNeer House NRHP Nomination. 1990.
  7. Engineering News 6 June 1912: 350. New York.
  8. Engineering and Contracting 4 Feb. 1914: 58a. New York.
  9. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  10. "Bluefield Historical Society: Driving Tour" Archived 2016-01-31 at the Wayback Machine. http://www.bluefieldhistoricalsociety.org/. 2006.
  11. Chambers, S. Allen. Buildings of West Virginia. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  12. Pocahontas Fuel Company Store NRHP Nomination. 1992.
  13. American Contractor 29 Sept. 1917: 46. Chicago.
  14. Mullens Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1993.
  15. Annett, Mary Margaret Spracher. Postcard History Series: Bluefield in Vintage Postcards. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2004.
  16. American Contractor 5 July 1919: 76. Chicago.
  17. Jefferson Street Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1991.
  18. Country Club Historic District NRHP Nomination. 1991.
  19. American Contractor 13 Nov. 1920: 50. Chicago.
  20. American Contractor 24 April 1920: 72. Chicago.
  21. American Contractor 25 Sept. 1920: 59. Chicago.
  22. American Contractor 4 June 1921: 69. Chicago.
  23. American Contractor 27 May 1922: 65. Chicago.
  24. Manufacturers' Record 7 Dec. 1922: 119. Baltimore.
  25. Itmann Company Store and Office NRHP Nomination. 1990.
  26. Architectural Forum 1924: 44.
  27. Prichard House NRHP Nomination. 2001.
  28. Upper Oakhurst Historic District NRHP nomination. 1991.
  29. Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph 1 Feb. 1925: 1.
  30. Iron Age 1926: 536. New York.
  31. Mercer County Courthouse NRHP Nomination. 1980.
  32. [focus.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=9cf7b181-8cd9-43c2-9092-bdfd3c9b335e Beckley Courthouse Square Historic District NRHP Nomination]. 1994.
  33. Manufacturers Record 1937: iv. Baltimore.
  34. "Alex B. Mahood, architect (firm)" Archived 2016-08-22 at the Wayback Machine. . American Institute of Architects. n.d.
  35. Manufacturers Record 1938: 103. Baltimore.
  36. "Benchmark at Concord: White Hall Demolition in Progress, Making Way for Technology Center" Archived 2016-08-21 at the Wayback Machine. http://hub.concord.edu/ Archived 2016-08-21 at the Wayback Machine. Concord University News. 20 June 2004.
  37. Bridgemen's Magazine 1941: 18. St. Louis.
  38. Norfolk and Western Magazine 1947: 541.
  39. American Architects Directory. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1962.
  40. Engineering News-Record 1955: 124. New York/
  41. American Architects Directory. New York: R. R. Bowker, 1970.
  42. Raleigh Register 13 Feb. 1964: 11.
  43. Engineering News-Record 1966: 72. New York.
  44. Engineering News-Record 1967: 44. New York.
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