Lang & Witchell was a prominent architectural firm in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
, active from 1905 to 1942.
History
Senior partner Otto H. Lang was born in
Freiburg in 1864. He graduated in 1888 with a degree in structural engineering from the
University of Karlsruhe
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 w ...
, also studying architecture. He then relocated to the United States, eventually settling in Dallas, where he worked for the
Texas and Pacific Railroad,
[Marcel Quimby, "Shaping the Dallas Skyline," ''Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas'' 9, no. 2 (Fall 1997): 13-20.] eventually becoming its senior architect and engineer.
["In General," ''Brickbuilder'', September 1905, 213.] Frank O. Witchell was born in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
in 1879. As a child, his family relocated to
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
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. As a teenager he entered the office of
J. Riely Gordon, one of the best-known architects in the state. In 1898 he began work as a designer with
Sanguinet & Staats
Sanguinet & Staats was an architectural firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, with as many as five branch offices in Texas. The firm specialized in steel-frame construction and built many skyscrapers in Texas. The firm also accepted commissions for res ...
in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
.
In 1905, the two men separated from their employers, founding the new firm of Lang & Witchell.
This firm would rise to become the most esteemed architectural firm in Dallas.
The partnership was dissolved in 1938, when Witchell retired duo to failing health.
Lang continued to operate the firm until 1942, when he too retired. He continued on in an advisory capacity with architect
Grayson Gill.
["Lang Honored," ''Pencil Points'', 1942, 48.] Lang would die in 1947, and Witchell in 1952.
Legacy
The firm is credited with designing a number of buildings that are 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 ...
.
Architectural works
References
Defunct architecture firms based in Texas
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