Dwight James Baum (June 24, 1886 – December 14, 1939) was an American architect most active in New York and in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

. His work includes

Cà d'Zan Ca' d'Zan () is a Mediterranean revival mansion in Sarasota, Florida, adjacent to Sarasota Bay. Ca' d'Zan was built in the mid-1920s as the winter residence of the American circus mogul, entrepreneur, and art collector John Ringling and his wife ...

, the

Sarasota Times Building The Sarasota Times Building is a historic site in Sarasota, Florida. It is located at 1214–1216 1st Street. On March 22, 1984, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The three-story asymmetrically-massed, stucco and cas ...

(1925),

Sarasota County Courthouse The Sarasota County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located in Sarasota, Florida. Designed by architect Dwight James Baum in the Mediterranean Revival style, it was built in 1926-1927 by Stevenson and Cameron, Inc. of New York. His ...

(1926), early residences in

Temple Terrace, Florida Temple Terrace is an incorporated city in northeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, adjacent to Tampa. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 26,690. It is the third and smallest incorporated municipality in Hillsb ...

(1927), Pinecroft,

West Side YMCA 5 West 63rd Street is a 14-storey building in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, near the western edge of Central Park (Central Park West). It is part of the Upper West Side Historic District. Completed in 1930 and des ...

on 63rd Street between Central Park and Columbus Avenue,

Columbus Circle (Syracuse, NY) Columbus Circle is a neighborhood and plaza in the downtown section of Syracuse, New York, United States. At the center of the circle is a large fountain and the Columbus Monument, designed by the Syracuse-born architect Dwight James Baum and de ...

(1934) and Hendricks Memorial Chapel.

Biography

Baum was born in

Newville, New York Newville is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the town of Danube, New York, Danube, in Herkimer County, New York, Herkimer County, New York (state), New York, United States. Newville is located on Nowadaga Creek, south-southeast of Little Falls, New ...

(near Utica) and moved to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

as a young man, eventually graduating from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1909 with an architecture degree. He worked for nationally known firms Boring and Tilton and

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

before venturing out with his own residential design firm around 1912. A 1922 visit to Florida led to an important commission from

John Nicholas Ringling John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros World's Greatest Shows ...

, the 30-room mansion and estate that the Ringlings dubbed Cà d'Zan, which is now on the grounds of the

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the official state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable Burton Ringling and John Ringling for the people of Florida. Florida State Univ ...

. During the 1920s Florida land boom, Baum designed a half-dozen significant civic buildings and several houses in Sarasota, and at least one residence in Tampa, all in the Mediterranean Revival Style. Cà d'Zan in 2007

In 1926 Baum designed forty two

Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

style houses of varying sizes in the City of

, this is thought to be the largest collection of his work in the Southeast. He also designed Sunset Hill for Mrs. Eugene D. Stocker at

Warren, New York : ''There is also a Warren County, and a hamlet of Warren''. Warren is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,143 at the 2010 census. The town is named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed at the Battle ...

in 1923-1924. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2007. During the Depression, Baum became involved with historic preservation issues, becoming involved with

Good Housekeeping Magazine ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...

as consulting architect, and as designer of their building exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. His later work includes buildings at his alma mater,

(notably the focal point of the campus plan, the Hendricks Chapel, designed with

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...

), and the pedestal for V. Renzo Baldi's statue of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

in the city's

Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South ( West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the so ...

. Baum was distantly related to author and designer

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

Work

A number of his works are listed on the

. His work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. Baum's work includes the following: *

, 1925, NRHP-listed *

El Vernona Apartments-Broadway Apartments The El Vernona Apartments-Broadway Apartments (also known as the Belle Haven Apartments) is a historic site in Sarasota, Florida. It is located at 1133 Fourth Street. On March 22, 1984, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places ...

, 1926 * Early residences in

, circa 1926 *

, now the

, Sarasota, 1927 *

, 1927, NRHP-listed * Residence of Arch B. Johnston, son of Archibald Johnston (first mayor of consolidated city of Bethlehem), Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, 1927 * Memorial Hospital, Syracuse, with

, 1927 * Pinecroft, the Crosley Powel, Jr. Estate,

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, 1928–1937 *

, on 63rd Street between Central Park and Columbus Avenue, New York City, 1930 (Baum's only high-rise) *

, 1934 * Hendricks Memorial Chapel,

, with

, 1929–1930 *

El Vernona Hotel-John Ringling Hotel EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

, Sarasota, 1929 (razed) * United States Post Office, Flushing, New York, with William Knowles, 1934 (not chronological) *

Burns Realty Company-Karl Bickel House Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

, 101 N. Tamiami Trail

Sarasota, FL Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

, NRHP-listed *

, 1133 4th St.

, NRHP-listed *

, 111 N. Tamiami Trail

, NRHP-listed * Dr. Walter Kennedy House, 1876 Oak St.

, NRHP-listed * Pinecroft, 2336 Kipling Ave.

Cincinnati, OH Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, NRHP-listed *

Riverdale Presbyterian Church Complex Riverdale Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located at 4761-4765 Henry Hudson Parkway in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. It was designed in 1863 by architect James Renwick, Jr. The church is a fiel ...

, 4761-4765 Henry Hudson Parkway

New York, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, NRHP-listed *

George Schueler House The George Schueler House is a historic home in Sarasota, Florida. It is located at 76 South Washington Drive. On September 26, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places ( ...

, 76 S. Washington Dr.

, NRHP-listed * Sunset Hill, 102 NY 167 Warren, NY, NRHP-listed * US Post Office-Flushing Main, 41-65 Main St.

, NRHP-listed *

, 1926

References

Bibliography

* Corbett, Harvey Wiley, et al. ''The Work of Dwight James Baum, Architect''. New York: 1927. * Morrison, William A, editor; Ron McCarty, intro.
The Work of Dwight James Baum.
' New York: Acanthus Press, 2008.

External links

– ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 16, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baum, Dwight James 1886 births 1939 deaths 20th-century American architects Syracuse University School of Architecture alumni Olympic competitors in art competitions