Roger Montgomery (1925–2003) was an American architect, and Professor at Washington University in St. Louis and University of California, Berkeley.

Early life and education

Roger Montgomery was born in New York City to parents Graham Livingston Montgomery and Anne Cook and lived in Greenwich Village until 1930, when he moved to Port Washington,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. In 1945 he was accepted into the United States Army, where he served in an intelligence unit in occupied Germany as a radio operator. He attended a

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

-influenced grade school in Port Washington. In high school he was voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ and ‘The Great Orator’. He was excused from military service in 1941 because of a punctured eardrum and subsequently enrolled in

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, but was dismissed from the college in 1945. Montgomery began his architectural work in 1948 as an apprentice in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

and was soon successful, in part because of a shortage of architects and large post-war boom in construction. From 1955 to 1956 he attended the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

where he received a Masters of Architecture degree under professors Josep Lluís Sert and Sigfried Giedion, while studying with classmates Fumihiko Maki and Ben Weese.

Career

*1957: Began position as professor of architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. Also named founding Director (1957–1963) of the

Landmarks Association of St. Louis A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or ...

, one of the nation's first building and neighborhood preservation groups. *1960: Started the architectural practice of Schnebli, Anselevicius, and Montgomery (SAM) that designed the Washington University Law School Building in 1972. Founded the Urban Design Program at Washington University with Fumihiko Maki *1961: Worked for the Kennedy Administration as the first Urban Design Officer in the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency (later HUD). *1964: Named founding Director of Washington University's Urban Renewal Design Center and planned and designed ‘Towne South’, a community outside of St. Louis *1965: Named founding Director of the Urban Housing Foundation, Inc. (1965–1967). *1967: Hired as a professor with joint appointment in both the departments of City & Regional Planning, and of Architecture, at the University of California, Berkeley. *1968: Named a juror from the Progressive Architecture P/A Design Awards. *1967-72: Served as west coast editor for ''

Architecture Forum Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

'' magazine. *1973: Published ''

Housing in America Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether i ...

'' (co-authored with Daniel Mandelker), a survey of housing economics, race, and land use issues. Also published ''

A Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (co-authored with David Gebhard and Sally Woodbridge). *1977: Published a guide to the architecture and vernacular buildings of Washington State, titled A guide to architecture in Washington State: an environmental perspective. *1980s: During this period Montgomery served as President of the California Council of Architectural Education, and the National Board of Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility. Additionally, he served on boards for a number of voluntary organizations related to the design professions including Planners for Equal Opportunity, Planners Network and Northern California Non-Profit Housing Coalition. In the Bay Area, Montgomery advised City and County boards in Berkeley, Alameda County, Santa Clara and San Francisco. Montgomery was also named Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs and later Acting Dean. *May 1, 1989: Named Dean of the College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, a position he holds until January 1996. During 1989, Montgomery was named to the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the Berkeley Art Museum, a position he holds until 2002.

Personal life

Montgomery married

graduate Mary Hoyt. They had four sons, Richard, Thomas, John and Peter. He died of cancer on October 25, 2003.

Notes

External links

Roger Montgomery obituary
in the San Francisco Chronicle
Press Release
from University of California, Berkeley
In Memorium - Roger Montgomery
from University of California {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Roger 1925 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American architects Washington University in St. Louis faculty Oberlin College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design faculty Deaths from cancer in New York (state) People from Greenwich Village People from Port Washington, New York American expatriates in Germany