Edward Emmett Dougherty, a.k.a. Edwin Dougherty (March 18, 1876 – November 11, 1943) was an architect in the southeastern United States. One of his best known designs was the Tennessee War Memorial Auditorium in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 1922. The work won state and national design competitions.Edward Emmett Dougherty
Atlanta's Beaux-Arts architect that got away January 13, 2012

Early life

Edward Emmett Dougherty was born on March 18, 1876, in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1895. He then studied architecture at Cornell University and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.

Career

As an architect, Dougherty partnered with

Arthur Neal Robinson Arthur Neal Robinson Sr. (1886–1958) was an architect in Atlanta, Georgia.Arthur Neal Robinson

for a few years. He was also a partner in Dougherty & Gardner and in Dougherty, Wallace and Clemmons. An impressive string of successful projects in Atlanta brought notice and numerous commissions in

where Dougherty moved in 1916 for the second part of his career. That year he designed Nashville's Belle Meade Country Club. In 1917, he designed the nearby

Belle Meade Apartments The Belle Meade Apartments is a historic building in Belle Meade, Tennessee near Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. Location The building is located at 715 Belle Meade Boulevard in Belle Meade, a city near Nashville, Tennessee. It stands opposite th ...

, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He designed projects for the

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, ...

. Several buildings designed by Dougherty are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Tennessee War Memorial Auditorium

Dougherty received the contract for a 2,000-seat auditorium, Tennessee's War Memorial Building, now known as the War Memorial Auditorium (1922) in a "spirited competition" according to the '' Nashville Tennessean''. A jury of nationally-known architects devised a competition to narrow the competitors to six; three from Tennessee and three from out-of state. The designers were kept anonymous and the choice was made by a commission of local city fathers at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville on February 14, 1922. Dougherty's design was the unanimous choice.

Personal life

Dougherty married Blanche Carson on June 5, 1907.

Death

Dougherty died on November 11, 1943, at a Nashville Hospital at age 68. He had suffered a heart attack at his apartment the night before.

Works

*One or more works in Adair Park Historic District, bounded by Metropolitan Pkwy., Lexington Ave., Norfolk Southern RR and Shelton Ave., Atlanta, Georgia (Dougherty, Edward E., et al.), NRHP-listed * Central Baptist Church, 500 N.E. 1st Ave., Miami, Florida (Dougherty & Gardner), NRHP-listed * Central Presbyterian Church, 201 Washington St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia (Dougherty & Gardner), NRHP-listed * Doctor's Building, 706 Church St., Nashville, Tennessee (Dougherty and Gardner), NRHP-listed *

Druid Hills Baptist Church The Church at Ponce & Highland is a Baptist church, founded in July 1914 and located at 1085 Ponce de Leon Ave NE at the corner of Highland Avenue in the Poncey–Highland neighborhood in the city of Atlanta. Designed by architect Edward Emmett ...

(1925–1928) 1085 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE at Moreland Ave., Druid Hills, City of Atlanta *Druid Hills Golf Club (1912–1914) * Guildfor Dudley, Sr. and Anne Dallas House, 5401 Hillsboro Pike Forest Hills, Tennessee (Dougherty & Gardner), NRHP-listed * Belle Meade Country Club Nashville, 815 Belle Meade Boulevard *First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Dougherty & Gardner) * First Baptist Church, 510 Main Ave., Knoxville, Tennessee (Dougherty & Gardner), NRHP-listed * Highland School, 978 North Ave., NE, Atlanta, Georgia (Dougherty, Edward E.), NRHP-listed *

Hil'ardin/Sharp-Hardin-Wright House Hil'ardin, also known as the Sharp-Hardin-Wright House, at 212 S. Lee St. in Forsyth, Georgia, was built in 1836. The house, with two other contributing buildings, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The visible Cla ...

, 212 S. Lee St., Forsyth, Georgia (Dougherty & Gardner), NRHP-listed * Home Park School, 1031 State St., NW, Atlanta, Georgia (Dougherty, Edward), NRHP-listed * Imperial Hotel, 355 Peachtree St., Atlanta, Georgia (Dougherty, Edward E.), NRHP-listed *One or more works in Valdosta Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase), roughly bounded by Valley, Lee, and Toombs Sts. and Crane Ave., Valdosta, Georgia (Dougherty, Edward E.), NRHP-listed *

Sam Venable The Venable Brothers was a business venture formed by brothers William Hoyt Venable (1852–1905) and Samuel Hoyt Venable (1856–1939) in DeKalb County, Georgia. The brothers owned rock quarries. Sam Venable was involved in the resurgenc ...

home, also known as Stonehedge Mansion and now converted to

St. John's Lutheran Church (Atlanta, Georgia) St. John's Lutheran Church is a Lutheran church in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. First organized in 1869, the church moved to its current location in 1959. History Originally named Die Deutsche Lutherische Germeinde, or "The German Luther ...

Stonehenge is mansion and church
/ref> *Central Baptist Church, 500 NE 1st Ave. Miami, Florida (with Thomas Gardner) It was built on lots donated by

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...

. *Gateway to Percy Warner Park, Nashville