Jack West (August 9, 1922 – October 25, 2010) was an architect 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 ...

and briefly in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. West was one of the leaders 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 ...

. West was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 1922 and served in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

with the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he attended

Yale University School of Architecture The Yale School of Architecture (YSOA) is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University, and is generally considered to be one of the best architecture schools in the United States. The School awards the degrees of Master of Arc ...

, graduating in 1949. He moved to Sarasota and worked for the firm of Twitchell and Rudolph with

Ralph Twitchell Ralph Spencer Twitchell (July 27, 1890 – January 30, 1978) was one of the founding members of the Sarasota School of Architecture. He is considered the father of the group of modernist architecture practitioners, that includes Paul ...

and Paul Rudolph as a draftsman and then as an architect. In 1951 West opened his own firm. From 1953 to 1954 he formed a partnership with Ralph Twitchell. From 1956 to 1960 West formed a partnership with architect Elizabeth Boylston Waters. In 1965 he joined Rolland W. Sellew to do

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

work. In 1966 West partnered with engineer Al Conyers to create the firm of West and Conyers/Architects and Engineers, which lasted into the 1990s. The Gateway Bank building on

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

and Bahia Vista in Sarasota, built as the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Manatee County, was designed by West in 1974. In 2009, there was a proposal to demolish it, but it was preserved with support of Kafi Benz and local preservationists. The building's grounds include a sculpture by Jack Cartlidge original to the design.

Work

* Myrtle West house (1951), built for his mother * Knotts Glass House (1952–53), Yankeetown, Florida, with Ralph Twitchell. * Hudson House, Venice, Florida (1953), as Twitchell and West * Nokomis Beach Pavilion, (1954, renovated 2008), 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 ...

* Warm Mineral Springs Facilities and Cyclorama, North Port, Florida, (1956) * Oxford House, Sarasota, Florida, (1956) * Englewood Elementary School and Fruitville Elementary School Addition (1958), as part of West and Waters in partnership with Bolton McBryde out of

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

* Hilton and Dorothy Leech Art Studio, Sarasota (1960), used today as a residence and known as "The Round House." * Tuttle Elementary School, Sarasota, Florida (1960) * Courtyard House for Arvida Corporation,

Bird Key Bird Key is a barrier island in Sarasota Bay, south of the John Ringling Causeway, between mainland Sarasota and St. Armands Key. Originally a small barrier island connected to the Ringling Causeway by a tree lined causeway of its own, it was t ...

, Sarasota, Florida (1964) with interior designer Terry Rowe, Homes for Better Living Award winner, published in Architectural Record Houses of 1965. * Sarasota City Hall (1965) *

Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club The Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, listed in the National Register as Municipal Auditorium-Recreation Club, is a historic multi-purpose facility built-in 1938. It is located at 801 Tamiami Trail North and is owned/operated by the municipal governme ...

renovations, Sarasota, Florida (1970s) * First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Manatee County, Sarasota, Florida (1974) - renovated in 2009 by Gateway Bank * Public Housing, Venice, Florida (demolished) * Hunters Point House, Cortez, Florida

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Jack Architects from Florida 1922 births 2010 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Yale School of Architecture alumni