William Butts Ittner (September 4, 1864 – 1936) was an architect in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He designed over 430 school buildings in Missouri and other areas, was president of the St. Louis Chapter of 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 ...

from 1893 to 1895, was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Missouri in 1930, served as president of the

Architectural League of America 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 o ...

during 1903–04, and at the time of his death was president of the St. Louis Plaza Commission, a fellow and life member of the American Institute of Architects, and a thirty-third degree

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

. He was described as the most influential man in school architecture in the United States and has a star on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there ...

. He was appointed St. Louis School Board commissioner in 1897 and is said to have designed open buildings that featured "natural lighting, inviting exteriors, and classrooms tailored to specific needs."
09-04-1864 6661 Delmar inducted 10-04-2008 St Louis Walk of Fame In 1936, Ittner died. His legacy is survived by the William B. Ittner, Inc. and Ittner & Bowersox, Inc. architecture firms in St. Louis.

Background

His parents were Anthony Friday Ittner, Anthony F. and Mary Butts Ittner.Carolyn Hewes Tof
William B. Ittner, FAIA (1864–1936)
Landmarks Association of St. Louis His father worked at a lead plant and then as a bricklayer before founding Ittner Bros. with his brother Conrad in 1859. William Ittner's father (later a U.S. Congressman) helped establish the trade school from which his son graduated in 1884 "with the first class granted diplomas by Washington University's Manual Training School." He also graduated with a degree in architecture from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, traveled in Europe and married Lottie Crane Allen in St. Louis. He worked in the office of

Eames & Young Eames and Young was an American architecture firm based in St. Louis, Missouri, active nationally, and responsible for several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. History The principals were Thomas Crane Young, FAIA and Will ...

between 1889 and 1891, then practiced alone "before entering brief partnerships, first with William Foster and then with T. C. Link and

Alfred Rosenheim Alfred Faist Rosenheim, F.A.I.A. (June 10, 1859 – September 9, 1943) was an architect born in St. Louis, Missouri and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He was one of the leading architects in Los Angeles, California in the ...

." He was elected to the new office of Commissioner of School Buildings for the School Board of St. Louis in 1897 and remained in the position until he resigned in 1910. He continued as "consulting architect" to the Board until October 1914. His first school design was Eliot School (1898–99) and his last was Bryan Mullanphy (1914–15). RALongHS

He is credited with the design of over 430 schools nationwide and has over 35 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. E shaped schools were said to be his trademark.

Architectural Innovations

Many of the architectural planning and designs seen in schools today were developed by Ittner. Some examples include: # Integrated ventilation: Ittner designed chases to be placed behind lockers, which allowed air from inside the school to exit through chimneys. # Natural lighting: Ittner integrated large windows, skylights, and lightwells in order to introduce light inside school buildings. # Standardized plans: Ittner constructed plans that would effectively connect the specialized places of the school into one, cohesive unit. These plans included the H-Plan, I-Plan, and L-Plan. # The Community School Concept: Ittner used site planning concepts to allow school resources to be available to residents in the surrounding areas.

Projects

Residences

*6034 West Cabanne Place, St. Louis, Missouri (1891) *2137–39 California Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri (1893) *3439 Longfellow, St. Louis, Missouri (1893) *3013 Hawthorne, St. Louis, Missouri (1894) *3435 Hawthorne, St. Louis, Missouri (1895)

Schools

{{columns-list, colwidth=30em, * Board of Education Building, St. Louis, Missouri (1893) (NRHP) * Arlington School, St. Louis, Missouri (1898) (NRHP) * Jackson School, St. Louis, Missouri (1898) (NRHP) *

Rock Spring School Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1898) (NRHP) * Simmons Colored School, St. Louis, Missouri (1898) (NRHP) * Eugene Field School, St. Louis, Missouri (1900) (NRHP) * Wyman School, St. Louis, Missouri (1900) (NRHP) * Grant School, St. Louis, Missouri (1901) (NRHP) * Ralph Waldo Emerson School, St. Louis, Missouri (1901) (NRHP) *

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , count ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1901) (NRHP) * Eliot School, St. Louis, Missouri (1901) (NRHP) *

Harris Teachers College Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1906) (NRHP) * Hempstead School, St. Louis, Missouri (1906) (NRHP) * Gardenville School, St. Louis, Missouri (1907) * Greenville High School, Greenville, Ohio * Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri (1908) * Ralph Waldo Emerson School, Gary, Indiana (1908) (NRHP) * Carr School, St. Louis, Missouri (1908) (NRHP *

Soldan High School Soldan International Studies High School (also known as Soldan High School) is a public magnet high school in the Academy neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri that is part of the St. Louis Public Schools. Soldan was known for its wealthy and pre ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1909) * Wichita High School, Wichita, Kansas (1910) (NRHP) * Central High School, South Bend, Indiana (1911) (NRHP) * Delaney School, St. Louis, Missouri (1911) (NRHP) * Mark Twain School/Goodall School, Webster Groves, Missouri (1911 & 1927) *

Shelbyville High School The Shelbyville High School is a historic school complex located at Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana. The high school was designed by architects William Butts Ittner and built in 1911. It is a two-story, Neoclassical style brick building on ...

, Shelbyville, Indiana (1911) (NRHP) *

Hume-Fogg High School Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School is a public magnet high school serving grades 9–12 and located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. History Hume School, serving the first through 12th grades, opened in 1855 on Eighth Avenue ( ...

, Nashville, Tennessee (1912) (NRHP) * Grover Cleveland High School, St. Louis, Missouri (1913) * Delmar-Harvard School, University City, Missouri (1913) * Thomas C. Miller Public School, Fairmont, West Virginia (1914) (NRHP) * McClain High School, Greenfield, Ohio (1915) *

W. H. Adamson High School William Hardin Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School, is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is part of the Dallas Independent School District and is classified as a 5A school ...

, Dallas, Texas (1915) * The Wilson School, St Louis, Missouri (1916) *

Forest Avenue High School James Madison High School, formerly Forest Avenue High School, is a public secondary school in Dallas, Texas (USA). Madison High School enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. The school is a Dal ...

, Dallas, Texas (1916) (NRHP) * Francis L. Cardozo Senior High School, Washington, D.C. (1916) (NRHP) *

Marshall School Marshall School is an independent, coeducational, day school in Duluth, Minnesota for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Marshall School is sometimes referred to as ''Duluth Marshall'' at Minnesota State High School League athletic tourn ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1918) (NRHP) *

Frankfort Community High School Frankfort Community High School (FCHS) is a Public school (government funded), public high school located in West Frankfort, Illinois serving grades 9 to 12. The campus consists of five buildings: FCHS Main School Building, Max Morris Gymnasium, ...

, West Frankfort, Illinois (1920) * Former Niagara Falls High School, Niagara Falls, New York (1921) (NRHP) * Franklin School, St. Louis, Missouri (1923) (NRHP) * Normandy High School, Normandy, Missouri (1923) *

Belleville High School-West Belleville Township High School West (also known as Belleville West) is a public comprehensive high school in Belleville, Illinois that is part of Belleville Township High School District 201. Athletics The Maroons, as West teams are known, ...

, Belleville, Illinois (1924) * Central High School, Columbus, Ohio (1924) Educational architecture in Ohio
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630021951/http://books.google.com/books?id=PxwCLqaGl6YC&pg=PA7&dq=Frederick+Garber+Frank+R&cd=8#v=onepage&q=ittner&f=false , date=2014-06-30 : from one-room schools and Carnegie ... By Virginia Evans McCormick page 107 * Bel-Nor Elementary School, Bel-Nor, Missouri (1926) *

St. Petersburg High School St. Petersburg High School, founded in 1898, is a secondary school located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school's current building, a historic landmark, was built in 1926. It was designed by Missouri architect William B. Ittner. It was listed ...

, St. Petersburg, Florida (1926) (NRHP) * Robert Alexander Long High School, Longview, Washington (1927) (NRHP) * Dunbar School, Fairmont, West Virginia (1928) (NRHP) *

Fairmont Senior High School Fairmont Senior High School, is a Public High School, public high school in Fairmont, West Virginia. The current school building, built in 1928, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Serving grades nine through twelve, it is one ...

, Fairmont, West Virginia (1928) (NRHP) * Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School, Maplewood, Missouri (1929) * Nipher Middle School, Kirkwood, Missouri (1929){{cite web, url=https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/domain/452, title=Nipher Middle School: Our History, publisher=Kirkwood School District, work=Kirkwoodschools.org, access-date=April 22, 2019, archive-date=April 23, 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423012737/https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/domain/452, url-status=live * Ramsey High School, Birmingham, Alabama (1930) * Lincoln School, Springfield, Missouri (1930) * Keysor Elementary School, Kirkwood, Missouri (1930){{cite web, url=https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/domain/240, title=Keysor Elementary School: Our History, publisher=Kirkwood School District, work=Kirkwoodschools.org, access-date=April 18, 2019, archive-date=April 19, 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419002423/https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/domain/240, url-status=live * Robinson Elementary School, Kirkwood, Missouri (1930){{cite web, url=https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/domain/282, title=Robinson Elementary School: Our History, publisher=Kirkwood School District, work=Kirkwoodschools.org, access-date=April 18, 2019, archive-date=April 19, 2019, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419002430/https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/domain/282, url-status=live * University City High School, University City, Missouri (1930) (NRHP) * Theodore Roosevelt High School, Gary, Indiana (1930) (NRHP) * Lew Wallace School, Gary, Indiana (1930) * Bailey School, Springfield, Missouri (1931) (NRHP) * Phelps School, Springfield, Missouri (1931{{cite web, url=http://thelibrary.org/lochist/postcards/phelps_school.cfm, title=Phelps School, Springfield, Mo., access-date=4 February 2018, archive-date=6 September 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906003535/http://thelibrary.org/lochist/postcards/phelps_school.cfm, url-status=live) * Hanley Junior High School, University City, Missouri (1936) (demolished 1985) * Morton High School, Richmond, Indiana (1939) * Park City Junior High School, Knoxville, Tennessee (NRHP) * Greenfield Educational Complex, Greenfield, Ohio** * Froebel School, Gary, Indiana (1912)(NRHP) *

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , count ...

, Gary, Indiana (1926)

Other buildings

* Masonic Temple, Belleville, Illinois (1915) *

Missouri Athletic Club The Missouri Athletic Club (often referred to as the MAC), founded in 1903, is a private city and athletic club with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA and the West Clubhouse is located in the St. L ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1916) (NRHP) * Principia Page-Park YMCA Gymnasium, St. Louis, Missouri (1919) (NRHP) (significant expansion to 1910 structure designed by A.B. Groves) * Scottish Rite Cathedral, St. Louis, Missouri (1921) *Ainad Temple, East St. Louis, Illinois (1922) * St. Louis Colored Orphans Home, St. Louis, Missouri (1922) (NRHP) *Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, St. Louis, Missouri (1922) (NRHP) *Masonic Temple, Maplewood, Missouri (1924) (demolished c. 1984) * Missouri State Teachers Association Building, Columbia, Missouri (1927) (NRHP) *

Continental Life Building The Continental-Life Building, also known as the Continental Building, is an Art Deco skyscraper in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, which was completed in 1930. The building is located in Grand Center in St. Louis' Midtown neighborhood, and it ...

, St. Louis, Missouri (1929)

References

{{Reflist

External links

*{{Find a Grave, 34942443 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ittner, William B. * 1864 births 1936 deaths Architects from St. Louis Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects