Douglas Putnam Haskell (1899 – August 11, 1979) was an American writer, architecture critic and magazine editor. Today he is widely known for his coinage of the term

Googie architecture Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in th ...

in a 1952 article in ''House and Home'' magazine.

Biography

The son of American missionaries, Haskell was born in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in the Balkan city of Monastir, now Bitola in the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. After returning to the United States, he graduated from Oberlin College in 1923. Shortly after this he became an editor at a national Student magazine, ''The New Student''. In 1927, he joined the editorial staff of the New York City-based magazine ''Creative Art''. He was the architecture critic of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'' from 1929 until 1942, and was twice the associate editor of ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

'', in 1929-1930 and from 1943–1949. He wrote for numerous other publications, including the English journal ''

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism ...

'' and '' Harper's Magazine''. In 1949, he became the editor of ''

Architectural Forum ''Architectural Forum'' was an American magazine that covered the homebuilding industry and architecture. Started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1892 as ''The Brickbuilder'', it absorbed the magazine ''Architect's World'' in October 1938. Ownership ...

'', a post he held until his retirement in 1964. Under his editorship, the magazine published some of the early work of

Jane Jacobs Jane Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book '' The Death and Life of Great American Cities ...

, whom Haskell hired as an associate editor in 1952. Not only one of the noted champions of

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...

in 1920s America, he was also a proponent of modern

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...

, and he became a friend of planners such as Clarence Stein and Henry Wright and fellow critic

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a w ...

. Haskell was also an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute and at

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 ...

. Although not an architect himself, he was admitted as a member 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 ...

. His papers are held at Columbia University's Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library. He was the elder brother of scientist

Edward Haskell Edward Fröhlich Haskell (August 24, 1906 – 1986) was a synergic scientist who dedicated his life to the unification of human knowledge into a single discipline. Biography Haskell was born in Phillipopolis, now Plovdiv, Bulgaria. His mother wa ...

References

External links

Haskell papers, held in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives at Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Douglas 1899 births 1979 deaths Oberlin College alumni American architecture writers American male non-fiction writers American magazine editors 20th-century American male writers