Gouverneur Medwin Peek was an American architect who practiced in Central

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 ...

in the middle years of the twentieth century.

Early years and education

Peek was born January 26, 1900, in Palatka,

Putnam County, Florida Putnam County is a county located in the northern part of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 73,321. Its county seat is Palatka. Putnam County comprises the Palatka, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is inc ...

, to Gouverneur Frank Peek and Rebecca Medwin Hyde. His father died the year after his birth. He and his mother lived with his maternal grandmother, Anne Elizabeth Copcutt Hyde in DeLand, and two spinster relatives Aunt Marianna Hyde and great-Aunt Anna Crook Copcutt. Peek graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

in 1920. He then studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(Master in Architecture, 1924), his senior thesis being "A Casino at De Leon Springs." His Harvard education included two years of study in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. After serving as artist of record on an archaeological team at Deir el Baḥri, in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

(1924–1925), Peek then returned to Florida to begin architectural practice in DeLand. He did the major design for the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., when he worked for the John Russell Pope Architectural firm. He was commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to draw sketches of the King Tutankhamen digs, shortly after graduating from Harvard.

Practice in DeLand, Florida

Peek designed many landmark structures in DeLand, including the old City Hall and the civic band shell. Peek also created notable homes in DeLand's University Terrace neighborhood. The subdivision is contained by Amelia, Garfield, Oakdale and University Avenues. It was platted in late 1925 by Harry W. Prahl, who was a contractor from

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. and who employed Peek as consulting architect between 1926 and 1928. The development comprised the styles popular in Florida at the time, with Tudor and Colonial designs on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue and those with Mediterranean and Mission revival to the north. Medwin Peek was a childhood friend of

Bert Fish Bert Fish (October 8, 1875July 21, 1943) was an American lawyer, judge, philanthropist, and ambassador. Early life Fish originally hailed from Bedford, Indiana, but moved to Volusia County, Florida in 1881. He became the Superintendent of the V ...

and served as the architect of the Fish Memorial Hospitals. His address, at 714 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand, FL, is now part of the campus of First Presbyterian Church, DeLand.

Personal life

Peek married Alleyne Caroline Foster (4 Aug. 1906, Springfield, Windsor, Vermont - 24 Jul 1989, Longwood, Seminole, Florida) on 25 Aug 1927 in Daytona Beach, Volusia, Florida. He married Ellen Tansel on November 21, 1942. Peek died on 25 Apr 1979, in DeLand, at the age of 79. Personal Family Records of Grandson, Russell A. Peek

Selected work

* 1924 The DeLand Hotel, now DeLand Artisan Inn, 215 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand * 1926 DeLand City Hall, Florida Ave., between New York and Howry Avenues (demolished in 2007). * 1926 "Casa de Rosa", 321 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, University Terrace, DeLand * 1926 Smith Hall, the John J. Peacock Residence, 717 N. Amelia Ave., University Terrace, DeLand * 1926 Old DeLand Colored Hospital, Stone Street * 1929, the DeLand Band Shell at Veterans Park, between Rich and Indiana (demolished in 1950)DeLand, by Maggie Hall, Maggie Smith Hall, Michael Justin Holder, West Volusia Historical Society, page 41 * 1936 Commons Building, West end of Bert Fish Dr., (burned in 1954) * 1945 Music Building, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida * 1952 Fish Memorial Hospital, DeLand, Florida

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peek, Medwin Architects from Florida 1900 births 1979 deaths Stetson University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni 20th-century American architects People from Palatka, Florida People from DeLand, Florida American expatriates in Italy American expatriates in Egypt