Milton Bennett Medary Jr. (February 6, 1874 – August 7, 1929) was an American architect from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, practicing with the firm

Zantzinger, Borie and Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

from 1910 until his death.

Biography

Medary attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

for one year before joining the Philadelphia architecture firm of

Frank Miles Day Frank Miles Day (April 5, 1861 – June 15, 1918) was a Philadelphia-based architect who specialized in residences and academic buildings. Career In 1883, he graduated from the Towne School of the University of Pennsylvania, and traveled to Europe ...

in 1891. While at the university, he entered a student competition and designed, (with Frank Miles Day and William C. Hays), the 1894 student union, Houston Hall. Credit for this design, however, was given to a faculty member, Frank Miles Day with Medary listed as an associate architect. Medary remained with Frank Miles Day until 1894, when he founded his own firm in Philadelphia, Field & Medary. That firm would become

Zantzinger, Borie & Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

in 1910. He was employed in 1904 to rehabilitate

Solitude Farm Solitude Farm is a historic home in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The original house was built in two sections about 1750 and in 1761. The original section is a two-story rectangular stuccoed stone structure with a kitc ...

West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania West Whiteland Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 19,632 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which , or 0.15%, ...

. ''Note:'' This includes Medary began design work in 1908 on the

Washington Memorial Chapel Washington Memorial Chapel — located on Pennsylvania Route 23 in Valley Forge National Historical Park — is both a national memorial dedicated to General George Washington and an active Episcopal parish in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania ...

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Tow ...

. Its exterior was completed in 1917 and its interior in 1921, under Zantzinger, Borie & Medary. He designed the Fiske Portal (1922–23), a new doorway for St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia. Sculptor and cabinetmaker

Edward Maene Edward Maene (21 April 1852, Bruges, Belgium – 4 December 1931, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a Belgian-American Architectural sculpture, architectural sculptor, woodcarver and cabinetmaker. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was a m ...

, metalworker Samuel Yellin, and stained glass designer

Nicola D'Ascenzo Nicola D'Ascenzo (September 25, 1871, Torricella Peligna, Italy – April 13, 1954, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an Italian-born American stained glass designer, painter and instructor. He is best known for creating stained glass windows fo ...

collaborated on the doors and the polychromed "Christ in Majesty" tableau above them. His firm designed the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company Building (1926–28) in Philadelphia (now an annex of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

), and the

Bok Singing Tower Bok Tower Gardens is a contemplative garden and bird sanctuary located atop Iron Mountain, north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. Formerly known as the Bok Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Singing Tower, the gardens' attractions include the ...

(1927–29), in

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. , the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 16,759. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales is ...

. Medary was a design consultant to several universities, the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association, and

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. His buildings include the Pennsylvania Athletic Club, Bryn Mawr Hospital, and, with

Paul Cret Paul Philippe Cret (October 23, 1876 – September 8, 1945) was a French-born Philadelphia architect and industrial designer. For more than thirty years, he taught at a design studio in the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylv ...

, the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...

. Medary served as chairman of the Department of Labor's Housing Corporation during World War I and was selected in 1927 by Secretary of the Treasury

Andrew Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...

to serve on the Board of Architectural Consultants, which advised the department on the design of the

Federal Triangle The Federal Triangle is a triangular area in Washington, D.C. formed by 15th Street NW, Constitution Avenue NW, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and E Street NW. Federal Triangle is occupied by 10 large city and federal office buildings, all of which are ...

development. Medary served on the National Capital Park and Planning Commission and on the

U.S. Commission of Fine Arts The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction with ...

in Washington, D.C.; he was president of both 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 ...

(AIA) and its Philadelphia chapter, a

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

, and was affiliated with the Foundation for Architecture and Landscape Architecture and with the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

. Medary was honored by the AIA with a gold medal in 1929 and by the

Philadelphia Art Club The Art Club of Philadelphia, often called the Philadelphia Art Club, was a club in Philadelphia, founded on February 7, 1887, to advance the arts.

with a gold medal in 1927, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Pennsylvania in 1927.Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 549.

Death

He died in 1929 of heart failure. With him was his wife, Hannah, and daughter Rachael. His sons, Richard Medary and Milton Bennett Medary III, then students at the University of Pennsylvania were traveling in Europe. Another daughter, Mrs. William Norris, lived in Rio de Janeiro.

Gallery

File:Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.jpg, Houston Hall (1894–96),

, Philadelphia. File:Washington Memorial Chapel T-Square Club Catalogue 1908 p.102.jpg, Perspective & plan of

(1908), Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. File:T-Square Club Catalogue 1922 p.73.jpg, Washington Memorial Chapel, interior completed 1921. File:St Marks door, Locust St, Philly.JPG, Fiske Portal (1922–23), St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia. File:Philadelphia Museum Perelman Building.JPG, Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company Building (1926–28), Philadelphia. File:Bok Tower.png,

(1927–29), Lake Wales, Florida.

References

External links

*
Short biography
from Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania.
Zantzinger, Borie and Medary
from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Medary, Milton Bennett 1874 births 1929 deaths University of Pennsylvania alumni Architects from Philadelphia Preservationist architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Presidents of the American Institute of Architects Recipients of the AIA Gold Medal