Bertram Charles Hill (27 April 1881 - 29 May 1977) was a British-born

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who made his home in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, and helped design many of the most famous buildings in the city.

Early Years

Bertram Hill was born on 27 April 1881 in the Bedminster district of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England to William Hill, a prominent Bristol businessman who was head of the British clothing firm of Wathen Gardiner & Co. His brother Stanley Frederick Hill was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Another brother William John Hill joined their father in Wathen Gardner, and his nephew

Patrick Seager Hill Patrick Seager Hill, T.D. (16 January 1915 – 17 December 2010) was a British clothing manufacturer, who was a pioneer and developer of safety and fire protective clothing. Early life and military service Hill was born on 16 January 1915 in Bri ...

became managing director in 1965 of the Wathen Gardiner subsidiary

Bristol Uniforms Bristol Uniforms is a British clothing company that specializes in the manufacture of modern-day safety and fire protective clothing. History Wathen Gardiner & Co Wathen Gardiner & Co, the parent company of Bristol Uniforms, was founded as ' ...

. Although Bertram's family was immersed in the Bristol clothing industry, he chose a different career path, and graduating from the Merchant Venturer's Technical College in Bristol, immigrated as a young man to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he worked for a short time on the east coast.

Career

Settling in 1905 in Dallas,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Hill worked for the next several years as a draftsman and consultant for various architectural firms. His first major projects were the Adolphus Hotel and the

Dallas City Hall Dallas City Hall is the seat of municipal government of the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is located at 1500 Marilla in the Government District of downtown Dallas. The current building, the city's fifth city hall, was completed in 19 ...

(circa 1914), the basement of which is where Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

, was gunned down in 1963 by

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...

. Hill opened his own office in 1921 in Dallas, and designed many private residences from the 1920s through the 1940s in the Swiss Avenue, Gaston Avenue,

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and Highland Park areas. He also worked on commercial properties, apartments, several churches, and the original

and Lakewood Country Club buildings.

Legacy

Hill is especially known for his traditional, grand,

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-style homes, many examples of which can be seen in the

Swiss Avenue Historic District The Swiss Avenue Historic District is a residential neighborhood in East Dallas, Dallas, Texas (USA). It consists of installations of the Munger Place addition, one of East Dallas' early subdivisions. The Swiss Avenue Historic District is a histor ...

in East Dallas. However, he also designed a number of more modern-looking residential and commercial properties described as ''"googie"'' or ''"coffee house modern".'' Many Dallas residences designed by Hill survive, quite a few of which are registered with the Dallas Historic Preservation League. A collection of his personal papers held by the DeGolyer Library at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

contain correspondence, journals, photographs of his work, and designs to several of his buildings. He retired in the Dallas area, where he died on 29 May 1977 at the age of 95 and is buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park .

References

1881 births 1977 deaths British emigrants to the United States {{Architect-stub