Wilbur R. Ingalls Jr., (February 21, 1923 − September 23, 1997) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

from the state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. Ingalls focused mainly on schools, but also designed other types of public buildings such as churches and banks.

Early life

Wilbur R. Ingalls Jr. was the son of Laura Lewis Ingalls and Wilbur R. Ingalls Sr. He was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

and attended Portland Public Schools, graduating from

Deering High School Deering High School (DHS) is a public high school in Portland, Maine, United States. The school is part of the Portland Public Schools district. It is one of the three public high schools located in Portland, the others being Portland High Scho ...

in 1942. Ingalls was a member of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and served in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. During his time in the Army, Ingalls attended the Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe as an aviation cadet. After the war he returned to Portland and attended the Portland Junior College. In 1952 Ingalls graduated from the School of Architecture at Syracuse University.

Career

Shortly after graduating from Syracuse, Ingalls began his career as an architect at the firm of Alonzo J. Harriman, in

Auburn, Maine Auburn is a city in south-central Maine within the United States. The city serves as the county seat of Androscoggin County. The population was 24,061 at the 2020 census. Auburn and its sister city Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities ...

. In 1956 he worked for Engineering Services of Portland, and in 1957 he opened his own private architecture firm, which he continued until retiring in 1995. In a 1989 letter to '' The Portland Press Herald'', Ingalls wrote, "It is a matter of architectural philosophy to use a few quality exterior materials in a simple way and let the interiors unfold as a series of surprises." Ingalls designed more than 60 schools throughout Maine. He also designed several churches and banks. According to Ingalls' wife, his favorite designs were the Howard C. Reiche Community School and the Portland Arts & Technology High School.

Works

Schools

Churches Municipal buildings Commercial buildings

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingalls, Wilbur R. Jr. 1923 births 1997 deaths Architects from Portland, Maine United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Arizona State University alumni Syracuse University alumni University of Southern Maine alumni 20th-century American architects Deering High School alumni Military personnel from Portland, Maine