Walker and Weeks was an

architecture firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...

based in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, founded by Frank Ray Walker (September 29, 1877 - July 9, 1949) and Harry E. Weeks (October 2, 1871 - December 21, 1935).

Background

Harry Weeks was born October 2, 1871, in W. Springfield, MA, the son of Charles F. and Clarissa Allen Weeks. He attended MIT where he studied architecture in the Beaux-Arts tradition, graduating in 1893. He then worked for several prominent Massachusetts architectural firms before owning his own firm in Pittsfield, MA, for 3 years, where he would meet his future business partner. At the suggestion of John M. Carrere, a member of the Cleveland Group Plan Commission, Weeks moved to Cleveland in 1905, where he went to work for the prominent Cleveland architect

J. Milton Dyer J. Milton Dyer (April 22, 1870 – May 27, 1957) was a prominent Cleveland, Ohio architect. Background Dwyer was born in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middletown, Pennsylvania where his father had a hardware business.J. Milton Dyer J. Milton Dyer (April 22, 1870 – May 27, 1957) was a prominent Cleveland, Ohio architect. Background Dwyer was born in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middletown, Pennsylvania where his father had a hardware business.

Works

The firm is most noted for its bank buildings; several dozen were designed in the teens alone. Their best-known bank was the

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is the Cleveland-based headquarters of the U.S. Federal Reserve System's Fourth District. The district is composed of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. ...

, built in 1923. However, they also designed a wide variety of commercial, public, ecclesiastic and residential buildings, as well as a number of bridges, during the course of the firm's life. Walker and Weeks were responsible for the

Indiana World War Memorial Plaza The Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is an urban feature and war memorial located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, originally built to honor the veterans of World War I. and (PDF) It was conceived in 1919 as a location for the na ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, which features a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

based on the

Mausoleum of Maussollos The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

. Walker and Weeks frequently employed sculptor

Henry Hering Henry Hering (February 15, 1874 – January 15, 1949) was an American sculptor. Early career He was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens at Cooper Union and of Philip Martiny at the Art Students League of New York. He then went to Paris wher ...

to create sculpture for their projects. Like many architects the firm produced work in a variety of styles, from Neoclassical, Italian Renaissance and finally, the 1930s, ending in Moderne and/or

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

Notable buildings

The buildings designed by the firm include: * Lorain County Savings and Loan Building,

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles southwest of Cleveland. As of the 2020 cen ...

, 1916 * First National Bank of Cleveland, Cleveland, 1917 * Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Building,

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

, 1917 * Steubenville Bank and Trust Building,

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...

, 1919 *

Public Auditorium Public Auditorium (also known as Public Hall) is a multi-purpose performing arts, entertainment, sports, and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The 10,000-capacity main auditorium shares its stag ...

, Cleveland, 1922 *

Superior Building The Superior Building, originally known as the Cleveland Discount Building, is a high-rise building in Cleveland, Ohio. The building rises in Downtown Cleveland. It contains 22 floors, and was completed in 1922. The Superior Building currently s ...

, Cleveland, 1922 *

, Cleveland, 1923 * Tate House, Tate, Georgia, 1923 * Cleveland Public Library Building, Cleveland, 1925 *

Old National Bank Building The U.S. Bank Building, previously the Old National Bank Building, is a high-rise in Spokane, Washington, United States. Having been completed in 1910, it was the first skyscraper in the Inland Northwest. At tall, the building was the tallest i ...

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

, 1925 * Allen Memorial Medical Library, Cleveland, 1926 * Indiana World War Memorial,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, 1927 * Thirty-seventh Division Memorial Bridge,

Eyne Eyne (; ca, Eina) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Eyne is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Population Sites of ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, 1927 * Wolfe Music Building, Cleveland, 1927 * Epworth-Euclid Methodist Church (with

Bertram Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...

), Cleveland, 1928 * St. Paul's Episcopal Church,

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th larges ...

1928 * First Baptist Church,

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...

, 1928 *

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

, Cleveland, 1929 * Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, 1931 *

Severance Hall Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle section of Cleveland, Ohio. Opened in 1931, Severance Hall was named after patrons John L. Severance and his wife, Elisabeth Huntingdon DeWitt Severance, and serves as the hom ...

, Cleveland, 1931 * Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland - Pittsburgh Branch, Pittsburgh, 1931 * Central Branch of the Evansville Public Library, Indiana, 1932 *

Hope Memorial Bridge The Hope Memorial Bridge (formerly the Lorain–Carnegie Bridge) is a art deco truss bridge crossing the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. The bridge connects Lorain Avenue on Cleveland's west side and Carnegie Avenue on the east side, terminat ...

(Originally the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge), Cleveland, 1932 * Tomlinson Hall,

Case Institute of Technology Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Res ...

, Cleveland, 1945 * Highland View Hospital,

Highland Hills, Ohio Highland Hills is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,130 at the 2010 census. It was formally incorporated in 1990.Saint Ann Church

, 1952

References

* Gaede, Robert C. & Kalin, Robert, editors, ''Guide to Cleveland Architecture'', Cleveland 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 ...

, Cleveland, 1990. * Johannesen, Eric, ''A Cleveland Legacy: The Architecture of Walker and Weeks'',

Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses ...

, Kent, Ohio, 1999. * Johannesen, Eric, ''Cleveland Architecture: 1876-1976'',

Western Reserve Historical Society The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle. The society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cul ...

, 1981. * Rarick, Holly M., ''Progressive vision: The Planning of Downtown Cleveland 1903 - 1930'',

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

, Cleveland, Ohio, 1986. {{refend

External links

Walker and Weeks materials
available in the Digital Gallery from Cleveland Public Library Architecture firms based in Ohio History of Cleveland Companies based in Cleveland Design companies established in 1911 1950s disestablishments in Ohio