Eaton W. Tarbell (1914–1992) was an American architect. A student of Walter Gropius, he is best known for introducing

International Style International style may refer to: * International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture *International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art *International Style (dancing), a term used in ...

architecture to Maine.

Life and career

Eaton Weatherbee Tarbell was born June 14, 1914, in

Merrill, Maine Merrill is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 208 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Demographics 201 ...

to Perley Hudson Tarbell, a potato farmer, and Caroline (Weatherbee) Tarbell. He was educated in the Bangor public schools and Deerfield Academy before attending

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, from which he graduated in 1937. He then attended the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

, where he studied under Walter Gropius, a pioneer of modern architecture. After graduation in 1941 he worked for Boston engineers

Stone & Webster Stone & Webster was an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles A. Stone and Edwin S. Webster in 1889. In the early ...

and Bangor contractor T. W. Cunningham before establishing his own architecture firm, Eaton W. Tarbell & Associates, in Bangor in 1944.Richard A. Hebert,
Modern Maine: Its Historic Background, People and Resources
' 3 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1951): 64–65.

Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. (born August 17, 1948) is a Maine historian. In 2004, Shettleworth was appointed the sixth State Historian by Governor John Baldacci and reappointed four years later. Personal He was born to Earle G. Shettleworth Sr. and ...

,
Eaton W. Tarbell
" Maine Architecture & Landscape Design Database, no date. Accessed October 10, 2022. Several of his early works in Maine have been noted as the first examples of fully-developed

architecture in Maine. The first of these was a house in Hampden for Harold L. Tandy, a senior employee of T. W. Cunningham. This house, altered though still recognizable, adapted several features of Gropius' own house to local conditions.Philip Isaacson, "The Development of Modern Styles of Architecture" in ''Maine Forms of American Architecture'', ed. Deborah Thompson (Waterville: Colby College Museum of Art, 1976): 225–254. Tarbell was a consistent advocate for modern architecture, and encouraged Maine institutions to abandon traditional

revival styles An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

in favor of it. He was active in the local architectural community, joining the American Institute of Architects in 1944 as part of the Maine chapter, and served as chapter secretary and president. In 1978 he suffered a setback when the new Waterville Junior High School, which he had designed and supervised, partially collapsed."Students stay home from dangerous school" in ''Portsmouth Herald'', December 11, 1978, 3. His last major work was what is now the

Collins Center for the Arts The Collins Center for the Arts, formerly the Maine Center for the Arts, is a performing arts center and concert hall located on the campus of the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. It has been operating since 1986, hosting both local and na ...

at the University of Maine in Orono, completed in 1986. He retired shortly thereafter.

Personal life

Tarbell was married twice, first to Pauline Alwilda Graham in 1940 and second to Sallie (Wheeler) Downey in 1951. He had five children overall. Tarbell died April 3, 1992, in Venice, Florida. After his death his widow donated his architectural drawings to the Maine Historical Society.

Architectural works

* Harold L. Tandy house, 403 Main Rd S, Hampden, Maine (1944, altered) * Dryden Terrace, 48 College Ave,

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

(1947–48)"Tarbell, Eaton Weatherbee" in ''American Architects Directory'' (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1962): 693. * Vine Street School, 66 Vine St,

(1950–51)"Tarbell, Eaton Weatherbee" in ''American Architects Directory'' (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 550–551. * South School, 30 Broadway, Rockland, Maine (1951) * All Souls Congregational Church Arlan A. Baillie Building, 10 Broadway,

(1953–54) * Fruit Street School, 175 Fruit St,

(1953) * Bangor Auditorium 515 Main St,

(1954–55, demolished 2013) * Bangor Water District office building, 614 State St,

(1959) * Russell Peters house, 272 Kenduskeag Ave,

(1959) * East Grand School, 31 Houlton Rd, Danforth, Maine (1960) * James A. Taylor Osteopathic Hospital (former), 268 Stillwater Ave,

(1960, altered) * Bangor High School, 885 Broadway,

(1961–64)"Tarbell, Eaton Weatherbee" in ''American Architects Directory'' (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 903. * One Merchants Plaza, 1 Merchants Plz,

(1972–73) * Waterville Junior High School, 100 W River Rd,

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the populatio ...

(1978) *

, University of Maine, Orono, Maine (1983–86)A New Center of Attention
" Bangor Daily News, January 28, 2009. Accessed October 10, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarbell, Eaton W. Architects from Bangor, Maine People from Aroostook County, Maine Bowdoin College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni 1914 births 1992 deaths