David Supowitz (June 19, 1893May 17, 1964) was an American architect and philanthropist. He was the architect of over 500 buildings in the
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
, mostly theaters but also synagogues, schools and hospitals.
Early life
Supowitz was born in 1894 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. He had a sister, future Mrs. Frank Roberts, of
Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census.
History
Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farm ...
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
(class of 1915) with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in architecture. He earned his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in 1916.
During high school, he spent the summers working for
John T. Windrim
John Torrey Windrim (February 14, 1866 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – June 27, 1934 in Devon, Pennsylvania) was an American architect. His long time chief designer was W. R. Morton Keast.
He trained in the office of his father, architect Jam ...
. In October 1916, he began working for Magaziner and Potter, before returning to Windrim in April for five more months.
Career
In October 1917, aged 20, Supowitz moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the U.S. Naval Construction Division.
He returned to Philadelphia in 1919, when he began working for Stanley Neubauer. He later became partner in the company Neubauer and Supowitz. The firm was in business until 1926, and Supowitz continued in sole practice through 1963. In 1928, he opened a new office at 260 South 15th Street in Philadelphia.
He shared an office with Israel Demchick and Shander Berger from 1945, and went into business as Supowitz and Demchick in 1963.
Supowitz became a corporate member of the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
in 1943.
Death
Supowitz died in 1964, aged 70, at
Einstein Medical Center
Einstein Healthcare Network is a private non-profit healthcare organization based in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region of the United States. The healthcare network serves Greater Philadelphia and its flagship hospital is the Einstein Medical ...
, of which he was the associate architect. He was living at the time on South 17th Street in Philadelphia. He was interred in Montefiore Cemetery in Abington Township, Pennsylvania.
Notable works
* Collingswood Theatre,
Collingswood, New Jersey
Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, located east of Center City Philadelphia. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 13,926,Northampton, Pennsylvania (1933)
* Hollywood Theatre,
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
(1936)
*
Campus Theatre
Campus Theatre is an entertainment venue in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Opened in 1941, and located on Market Street, it is one of the few single-screen Art Deco movie houses in the country still in operation, and forms part of Lewi ...
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
Stone Harbor is a borough in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It occupies the southern portion of Seven Mile Island together with its northern neighbor Avalon. It is ...
* Philadelphia Film Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* State Theatre,
Boyertown, Pennsylvania
Boyertown (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Boyerschteddel'') is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,055 at the 2010 census. Boyertown is known for the many painted fiberglass bears that can be found throughout the town and boroug ...