Gene Leedy (February 6, 1928 – November 24, 2018) was an American architect based in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...

. He was a pioneer of the modern movement in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and later a founder of the

Sarasota School of Architecture The Sarasota School of Architecture, sometimes called Sarasota Modern, is a regional style of post-war modern architecture (1941–1966) that emerged on Florida's Central West Coast, in and around the city of Sarasota, Florida. It is characterize ...

, whose members included Paul Rudolph,

Victor Lundy Victor Alfred Lundy (born February 1, 1923) is an American architect. An exemplar of modernist architecture, he was one of the leaders of the Sarasota School of Architecture. His Warm Mineral Springs Motel, outside Warm Mineral Springs, Florid ...

, and others. After beginning his career in Sarasota, Leedy moved his practice to Winter Haven in 1954. He is best known for his bold use of precast concrete, especially in long-span, "

double-tee A double tee or double-T beam is a load-bearing structure that resembles two T-beams connected to each other side by side. The strong bond of the flange (horizontal section) and the two webs (vertical members, also known as stems) creates a struc ...

" structural elements.

Personal life

Gene Leedy was born to Cecil Hudgins Leedy and Ethyl Ferguson Leedy on February 6, 1928 in

Isaban, West Virginia Isaban is an unincorporated community located on Fourpole Creek, in McDowell and Mingo counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.Th ...

. Cecil was a supervisor for a coal mining company, and Ethyl taught in a one-room schoolhouse. The family eventually moved to Gainesville, Florida, where Cecil opened a small restaurant. At the University of Florida in Gainesville, Gene later studied architecture. On July 20, 1950, in Arlington, Virginia, he married Kathryn "Bebe" Hoge, of Tampa, Florida. The couple settled in Florida, first in Sarasota and then, in 1954, in Winter Haven, where Gene opened his own architectural office. Their son, Robert Hoge Leedy, was born in Winter Haven on October 17, 1956, but they divorced in 1958. Gene then married Marjorie Frances Ingram on March 6, 1960, residing in Winter Haven along with Marjorie's daughter from her previous marriage, Helen Isabel King (born August 27, 1954). The family grew with the birth of their daughter, Marjorie "Saffie" Leedy, on October 25, 1962, and their son, Gene Ingram Leedy, on November 1, 1969. Leedy's wife, Marjorie, died on Christmas Day 2010 in Winter Haven.

Notable career achievements

Leedy was selected as one of ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

s successful young architects in 1965 with a published portfolio of his work. In 1988, he was awarded the lifetime design achievement award from the Florida Association of Architects. He was inducted into the College of Fellows 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 1992, and received the outstanding alumni award from the College of Architecture of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1993. His work has been extensively published in the U.S. and Europe and has received more than 50 architectural awards both nationally and statewide. In addition to projects throughout the U.S., including

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, he designed a large housing complex for the government of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. He was also a design consultant for Alfred A. Yee and Associates, Architects and Engineers,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

for more than 25 years. Among Leedy's notable former employees are architects

Lawrence Scarpa Lawrence Scarpa (born October 28, 1959) is an American architect based in Los Angeles, California. He used conventional materials in unexpected ways and is considered a pioneer and leader in the field of sustainable design. Personal life Scarpa ...

and

Max Strang Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

, whose firm Strang Design, collaborated with Alive Coverage on
The Gene Leedy Influence
'. This short film is about a house designed by Gene Leedy in 1956 in

, which was his own family residence, as well as the original prototype for the Craney Spec Homes development. This small collection of homes is now recognized as a National Historic District.

Honors and awards

Lifetime Design Achievement Award - Florida Chapter of the

- 1988 Outstanding Alumni Award - University of Florida College of Architecture - 1993 Fellows of the AIA - 1992

Significant works

Commercial projects

* Cypress Gardens Bank, Winter Haven, Florida, 1965 * City Hall, Winter Haven, Florida, 1960 * Gene Leedy Architectural Office, Winter Haven, Florida, 1961 * Keiltronix Office Building, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1987 * Taxdal Medical Center, Winter Haven, Florida, 1986 * Flagship Bank, Orlando, Florida, 1975 * Chamber of Commerce, Winter Haven, Florida, 1990 * Walden Lake Country Club, Plant City, Florida 1985 * Commerce Bank of Central Florida, Winter Haven, Florida 1990 * American National Bank, Winter Haven, Florida, 1962 * Brentwood Elementary School, Sarasota, Florida, 1958 * First National Bank of Cape Canaveral, Cape Canaveral, FL 1963

Residential projects

* House for Contemporary Builders, Sarasota, Florida, 1950 * Craney Homes, Inc, Winter Haven, Florida, 1956 * Weaving/Thomasson house, Winter Haven, Florida, 1956 * Navickas Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1957 * Dormon Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1963 * Builder's House for Levitt & Sons Inc, Rockledge, Florida, 1964 * Libby Residence, Winter Park, Florida, 1957 * Sands Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1965 * S.A.E. Fraternity House, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 1963 * Sparrow Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1954 * Azalea Place Townhouses, Winter Park, Florida, 1982 * Brogden Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1979 * Miller Residence, Plant City, Florida, 1985 * Carlton Beach House, Boca Grande, Florida, 1985 * Dean Residence, Winter Haven, Florida 1983 * De Pree Residence, Marco Island, Florida 1979 * Garcia Residence, Anna Maria Island, Florida, 1995 * Keilhack Residence, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1979 * Leedy Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1956 (Addition in 1998) * Leedy Beach House, Casey Key, Florida, 1985 (Renovation) * Lifsey President's House, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 1994 * Smith Beach House, Boca Grande, Florida, 1985 * Solomon Residence & Studio, Siesta Key, Florida, 1970 * Strang Residence, Winter Haven, Florida, 1970 * Strasberg Residence, Longwood, Florida, 1982

References

* Hochstim, Jan. "Florida Modern." Rizzoli International Publications, 2005. * Howey, John. "The Sarasota School of Architecture." The MIT Press, 1995. * Weaving, Andrew. Sarasota Modern. Rizzoli, 2006.

External links

The Leedy Lifetime Works Tour

Sarasota Historical Resources

Lakeland Ledger Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leedy, Gene 1928 births 2018 deaths Architects from Florida Modernist architects University of Florida alumni Modernist architecture in Florida People from Winter Haven, Florida