Eric Kebbon

Harold Erickson Kebbon Sr. (6 June 1890 – 18 April 1964) was an American architect who designed over 100 schools as well as several post offices, courthouses, housing developments and private residences.[1][2][3]

Eric Kebbon was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 6, 1890, to Gustave Adolph Kebbon, born in Sweden, and Datie Louise Eldridge. He graduated from Somerville English High School in Boston, Massachusetts in 1908 and of which he was also the senior class president. He was a 1912 graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture Degree and of which he was the senior class president as well as Editor-In-Chief of the Technique — MIT's 1912 yearbook. After graduation, he travelled in Europe and upon return, he became MIT's architect for buildings up to $6,000,000. With the approach of World War I he enlisted into the Army and was promoted to Major in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1917 to 1919.

After the war, he married Jane Holmes Jutte and they had two children.[2] He also went into private practice designing private residences and housing developments. During the 1930s under the New Deal, Kebbon was hired by the U.S. Treasury to design several Court Houses and U.S. Post Offices. He worked as a consulting architect for the Office of the Supervising Architect and is credited as the design architect of at least six post office buildings.[4] In 1938, he was appointed by the New York City Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, to be the supervising architect for the NYC Board of Education Design and Construction Department, through which he designed and constructed more than 100 schools.[1] He retired from the position on January 1, 1952 but maintained a continued working relationship with the DOE. He later went back into private practice and then for a short time, from 1956 to 1958, he worked with the noted firm of McKim, Mead & White, after which he retired from practice.

In 1952 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and held several positions during the 1930s, Secretary and Vice President, within the New York, AIA Chapter.

Eric Kebbon died in the Bronx, New York on April 18, 1964, at the age of 73. He was buried in Stonington Cemetery, Stonington, Connecticut and his simple modern form pedimented white marble gravestone with an ionic capital carved into the surface reads "ARCHITECT" below which is listed "BEAUTY - INTEGRITY - HUMANITY".[5]

Selected works

A number of Eric Kebbon designed buildings are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[6]

References
  1. "Eric Kebbon, 73, School Architect; He Designed 100 Buildings for Board of Education". Obituaries. New York Times. 19 April 1964. p. 84. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  2. Who's Who in the East and Eastern Canada, p. 610
  3. Official List of Officers of the Officer's Reserve Corps, p. 30
  4. Gobrecht, Larry E. (November 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Bronxville Post Office". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2010-10-01. See also: "Accompanying five photos". Archived from the original on 2012-09-22.
  5. Case, Joanna (2017-12-31). "Harold Erickson "Eric" Kebbon Sr". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  7. Shaver, Peter D.; LaFrank, Kathleen; Dulberger, Judith (Botch); Gobrecht, Larry E.; et al. (1988-10-05). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: United States Post Offices in New York State 1858 to 1943 Thematic Resources". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  8. "Designer: Eric Kebbon". The Living New Deal. Department of Geography, University of California Berkeley. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  9. "C.F. Haynsworth Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Greenville, SC". U.S. General Services Administration. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  10. "East New York Vocational High School". Brooklyn Visual Heritage. Retrieved 2023-07-11. East New York Vocational High School, located at Atlantic Avenue, Conduit Boulevard., and Wells Street, built in 1941 at a cost of $2,000,000. An architectural rendering. Eric Kebbon was the architect.
  11. "History". Midwood High School Alumni Association. 2021. Retrieved 2023-07-11. Although the school opened its doors to students on February 3, 1941, the dedication was not held until May 8, 1941.
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