Delos H. Smith

Delos Hamilton Smith Jr. (May 10, 1884 – July 21, 1963)[1] was an American architect and architectural historian.

Education and career

Born in Willcox, Arizona, to Delos H. Smith Sr. and Martha McCurdy Smith,[2] Smith attended public school in Washington, D.C., and received a B.S. in architecture from the George Washington University in 1906,[1][3] apprenticing with the Office of Supervising Architect in the United States Department of the Treasury the same year.[1]

He then worked as an apprentice for several architecture firms in short order, including Hornblower and Marshall from 1907 to 1909,[1][3] Hill and Kendall from 1910 to 1911, and J.H. DeSibour from 1911 to 1912.[1] He was a junior partner in the firm of Kendall & Smith from 1912 to 1916,[1] also teaching architecture at the George Washington University during this time,[4] where he also received an M.S. in architecture in 1916.[1] He then established his own architecture firm, maintaining sole ownership until 1924, when he formed the partnership of Smith & Edwards.[1]

Notable buildings designed by Smith include St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Rock Creek Parish (for renovation following a 1921 fire that gutted the church),[5] the Montgomery County Courthouse in Rockville, Maryland, and the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.[1] During World War II, Smith was given charge of the Design Division at the Norfolk, Virginia, Navy Yard as a Commander in the United States Navy Reserve, where he "oversaw drafting production for a variety of industrial and military projects".[1]

Smith was inducted as a fellow of the American Institute of Architects on March 12, 1952.[1]

Personal life and death

In 1928, Smith married Iris Bland, with whom he had one daughter, Marisa Smith.[1]

He died in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 79.[1]

References
  1. DC Architects Directory, p. 72.
  2. John Clagett Proctor, Edwin Melvin Williams, and Frank P. Black, Washington, Past and Present: A History - Volume 3 (1930), p. 232.
  3. Anne E. Peterson, Hornblower & Marshall, Architects (1978), p. 16.
  4. The Cherry Tree: Published by the Students at George Washington University (1916), p. 23.
  5. National Register of Historic Places. "St. Paul's Episcopal Church". Retrieved October 14, 2023.
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