Paul Atherton Kennon Jr. (January 27, 1934 – January 8, 1990), was an American architect, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Dean of the School of Architecture at Rice University, Texas, US. From "Remembering Paul Kennon, FAIA" ''Texas Architect'', March–April 1990. A native of

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

in northwestern Louisiana, Kennon studied for his undergraduate degree at Texas A & M University, followed by earning a Master's degree at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan. He worked for seven years as a designer for architect Eero Saarinen (He won an Eliel Saarinen Memorial Fellowship that enabled him to study at the Cranbrook Academy.) Kennon was recruited to Rice University as associate director of the

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education. Africa ...

and a teaching faculty member. He became dean of the architecture school in September 1989. A few months later, he died suddenly in 1990 of a heart attack. In 1967, he returned to work with the architectural practice, Caudill, Rowlett, Scott, headed by his mentor William W. Caudill, for whom he had worked during his college vacations. He became a design principal and then president of the company. The projects for which he was responsible won a number of awards.

Family

Kennon was the son of Paul Atherton Kennon Sr. (1910-1986), a native of Tangipahoa Parish in South Louisiana, and the former Gladys Bookout (1910-2001), originally from Shreveport. The couple divorced. A college graduate, his mother for years was executive secretary at Arkansas-Louisiana

CITGO Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...

. About 1945, Gladys Kennon married

Taylor W. O'Hearn Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

of Shreveport. In 1964, when blacks were still mostly disenfranchised in Louisiana, O'Hearn was elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

from Caddo Parish as a

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

. He was one of two

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

elected that year, the first to serve in the state house since Reconstruction. The other was also elected at-large from Caddo Parish.

References

External links

Paul Kennon's collection of work in Columbus, Indiana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennon, Paul A. 1934 births 1990 deaths People from Shreveport, Louisiana Texas A&M University alumni United States Army officers Architects from Texas Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 20th-century American architects Military personnel from Houston 20th-century American Episcopalians