William Gabriel Tachau,

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

, (April 1875 – January 1969), was an American architect active in early- to mid-twentieth-century

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. With

Lewis Pilcher Lewis F. Pilcher, AIA (1871–1941), was an American academic and architect active in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century New York City. With William G. Tachau, he was a partner of Pilcher and Tachau, the predecessor firm of ...

, he was a partner in the architectural firm of Pitcher & Tachau from 1904 to 1919 when he established the firm of Tachau & Vought.Nancy L. Tod

''New York's Historic Armories: An Illustrated History'' (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2006), p.268 Both firms from 1918 onward specialized in mental hygiene hospitals."Questionnaire for Architects' Roster and/or Register of Architects Qualified for Federal Public Work

May 20, 1946) The firm moved from 109 Lexington Avenue to 102 East 30th Street around 1923 and remained at that address and that name even after Vought left.Office for Metropolitan History

"Manhattan NB Database 1900–1986," (21 February 2010)

Early life and education

Tachau was born in April 1875 in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

where he attended high school and later designed the Louisville Library. He earned a

Ph.B. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1896, and a Diplome Ecoles des Beaux Arts in 1903. His uncle was banker

Elkan Naumburg Elkan Naumburg (1835–1924) was a New York City merchant, banker, philanthropist and musicologist, best remembered for his sponsorship of the arts in Manhattan. From the last quarter of the nineteenth century, he used his wealth to promote p ...

Practice

He worked as a draftsman from 1896 to 1897 in the architectural firm of

Lamb and Rich Hugh Lamb (ca. 1850-1903) and Charles Alonzo Rich (ca. 1850-1943) were partners in the New York City architecture firm of Lamb & Rich, which operated from 1880 to 1899.The firm was preceded by the firm of Lamb & Wheeler (1877–1881) and succeeded ...

, as a designer for the architectural firm of

Herts & Tallant Henry Beaumont Herts (January 23, 1871 – March 27, 1933) was an American architect. Herts was born in New York City, attended Columbia University without graduating, and apprenticed under Bruce Price. He studied architecture in Europe at th ...

in 1898, 1903 and 1904, and was briefly chief of design for

Albert Kelsey Albert Warren Kelsey, Jr. (April 26, 1870 – May 6, 1950) was an American architect, who designed in a number of Revivalist styles. Biography He was born in 1870 in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of economist and writer A. Warren Kelsey and nove ...

in 1903. He joined Lewis Pitcher around 1904 forming Pitcher and Tachau. Like many New York architectural firms active during the Great Depression,

Tachau and Vought Tachau and Vought was an American architectural firm active in the mid-twentieth-century New York City that specialized in mental hygiene hospitals. It was established in 1919 as the successor to the architectural firm of Pilcher and Tachau by Will ...

worked in "almost continuous employment on Federal, State or City work," as they were included on Mayor

Fiorello H. La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City from ...

's list of architects, since its inception. He practiced under the license No. 3556 in New York and No. C-250 in New Jersey, and was a member of the Society Diplome par le Government Francais and the Beaux Arts Society. Upon's Vought's departure from the firm,

Eliot Butler Willauer Eliot Butler Willauer, AIA, (April 4, 1912 – February 6, 1972) was an American architect active in mid-twentieth-century New York City. With William G. Tachau, he was a principal in the architectural firm of Tachau & Vought, the successor firm ...

(1912–1972) became a principal in Tachau & Vought

Works as Picher & Tachau

*Jewett House (1907, formerly North Residence from 1915, designed as the firm Pitcher and Tachau) of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

built for $280,000.Karen Van Lengen and Lisa Reilly. ''Vassar College: An Architectural Tour.'' The Campus Guide Series. (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004), p.80 *

Troop C Armory A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Roy ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

*The

Kingsbridge Armory The Kingsbridge Armory, also known as the Eighth Regiment Armory, is a decommissioned armory at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. It was built in the 1910s, from a design by the f ...

in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

Works as Tachau & Vought

*Louisville Library,

for $300,000 * Temple Israel,

for $287,700 * Squadron C Armory (or Company C Armory),

built for $500,000 * Central Islip Hospital in

Central Islip, New York Central Islip is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Islip, New York, Islip in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 34,450 at the 2010 c ...

built for $900,000 * 8th Regiment Armory,

, built for $1,500,000 *

Utica State Hospital Utica may refer to: Places *Utica, Tunisia, ancient city founded by Phoenicians * Útica, a village in Cundinamarca, Colombia * Port Perry/Utica Field Aerodrome, Canada United States *Utica, New York * Utica Mansion, in Angels Camp, California *N ...

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

built for $600,000 *Psychiatric Pavilion,

, built for $1,650,000 *The "medieval-inspired drill shed" of the

369th Regiment Armory The 369th Regiment Armory is a historic National Guard Armory building located at 2366 Fifth Avenue, between West 142nd and 143rd Streets, in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It was built for the 369th Regiment, also known as the "Harlem Hell Fi ...

, 2360 Fifth Avenue (18-42 West 143rd Street and 17-44 West 142nd Street), New York City, a two-story fireproof drill shed for troops (1920–1924) for $300,000.00 (filed in 1921) *

Naumburg Bandshell The Central Park Mall is a pedestrian esplanade in Central Park, in Manhattan, New York City. The mall, leading to Bethesda Fountain, provides the only purely formal feature in the naturalistic original plan of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calve ...

, Central Park, Concert Ground of Mall, Indiana limestone and cast-stone (1923) for $125,000. The structure, an innovative and novel neo-classical half-dome design on a high section of drum, later came into frequent use due to its inherently good and responsive acoustical qualities., and Drawings on deposit at Avery Library Columbia University and at NYC's Public Design Commission archives. * Apple Bee Farm Estate, for George W. Naumburg, Croton-on-Hudson, New York, (1920s). Drawings on deposit at Avery Library Columbia University * Naumburg Family Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York, early 1920s, for

(1835–1924) and subsequent relatives. Drawings on deposit at Avery Library Columbia University *The U.S. Marine Hospital (Stapleton, Staten Island) (1933–36, with

Kenneth Murchison Kenneth Murchison (1794 - 1 August 1854) was the Resident Councillor of Penang and Resident Councillor of Singapore, as well as the third Governor of the Straits Settlements. Early life Murchison was born in Scotland in 1794 to Barbara (née ...

and

William H. Gompert William H. Gompert (1875 -1946) was the Architect and Superintendent of School Buildings for the New York City Board of Education. According to researcpublished by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Gompert was educated at Adelphi ...

), built for $2,266,000 * Freeport Post Office (designed with

William Gropper William Gropper (December 3, 1897January 3, 1977) was a U.S. cartoonist, painter, lithographer, and muralist. A committed radical, Gropper is best known for the political work which he contributed to such left wing publications as '' The Rev ...

in the Colonial Revival style), 132 Merrick Road,

Freeport, New York Freeport is a village in the town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York state. The population was 43,713 at the 2010 census, making it the second largest village in New York by population. A settlemen ...

(added 1989 to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

) National Register of Historic Places
/ref> *4781-4789 Broadway (1948), a two-story brick library, built for $285,000.00

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tachau, William G. 1875 births 1969 deaths Architects from Louisville, Kentucky Architects from New York City Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Naumburg family