William B. Tabler Sr. (October 28, 1914 – February 3, 2004) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who designed more than 400 hotels. He was best known for giving

Hilton hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

the clean but sometimes stark face of corporate America, most notably in the 46-story slablike

New York Hilton Midtown The New York Hilton Midtown is the New York City hotels, largest hotel in New York City and List of tallest hotels in the world, world's 101st tallest hotel. The hotel is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and managed by Hilton Worldwide. At 1,929 ...

near

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

Biography

Tabler was born in

Momence, Illinois Momence is a city and capital of Momence township, Illinois it is located in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,310 in 2010. It is part of the Kankakee– Bradley Metropolitan Statis ...

, and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard. In 1939 he joined the Chicago firm

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

, where he worked on his first big hotel project, the 1,000-room

Statler Hotel The Statler Hotel company was one of the United States' early chains of hotels catering to traveling businessmen and tourists. It was founded by Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler in Buffalo, New York. Early ventures In 1901, Buffalo hosted the ...

in Washington, D.C. After serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he became head of Statler's in-house architecture department in 1946. He formed his own practice, William B Tabler Architects, in 1955. Tabler's designs affected generations of travelers after World War II when downtown hotels began to look more and more like the office buildings around them. Tabler designed the 2,153-room Hilton New York near

in 1963 with David P. Dann for a partnership called Rock-Hil-Uris for its principals: Laurance S. Rockefeller, Conrad Hilton, and Percy Uris and

Harold Uris Harold D. Uris (May 26, 1905 – March 28, 1982) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Percy Uris, the Uris Buildings Corporation. Biography Uris was born to a Jewish family, the son of ...

. Tabler died at his home in Upper Brookville, New York at the age of 89. His son, William B. Tabler Jr., is also an architect and continues the architectural practice in Manhattan.

Buildings

* The Statler Hilton Dallas (1956) *

Pittsburgh Hilton Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown (formerly the Hilton Pittsburgh) is a hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh, with a prominent position in the Golden Triangle area adjacent to Point State Park, the Fort Pitt Museum and the Cultural District. Hilton annou ...

(1959) * El Ponce Intercontinental (1960-1975) *

New York Hilton The New York Hilton Midtown is the largest hotel in New York City and world's 101st tallest hotel. The hotel is owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and managed by Hilton Worldwide. At 1,929 rooms and over 150,000 sq ft of meeting space, the hote ...

(1963) * London Hilton (1963) * San Francisco Hilton (1964) *

Washington Hilton The Washington Hilton is a hotel in Washington, D.C. It is located at 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., roughly at the boundaries of the Kalorama, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. The Washington Hilton, located on the former site of ...

(1965) * Inter-Continental Dacca (1966) *

Grand Hyatt Cairo The Grand Nile Tower Hotel is located on Roda Island in Cairo, Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a ...

(2000)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabler, Willaim B. 1914 births 2004 deaths Harvard University alumni 20th-century American architects Architects from Illinois People from Momence, Illinois People from Upper Brookville, New York