Benjamin F. McAdoo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) McAdoo in 1946 | |
| Born | October 29, 1920 Pasadena, California, United States |
| Died | June 18, 1981 (aged 60) Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Education | Pasadena Junior College, University of Southern California, University of Washington |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Years active | 1946–1981 |
| Style | Modernist, Northwest Regional style |
| Spouse |
Alice Thelma Dent (m. 1942) |
| Children | 3 |
Benjamin Franklin McAdoo Jr. (October 29, 1920 – June 18, 1981) was an American architect. McAdoo designed a number of residential, civic, and commercial structures in the Seattle area in a modernist aesthetic influenced by the Northwest Regional style. Born in Pasadena, California, he attended college in South California, where he was inspired by the work of Paul R. Williams and began to pursue architectural training. After working as a draftsman for local architectural firms and the United States Marine Corps, he pursued his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating in 1946. He became the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Washington, and after a brief period designing remodels and alterations, he began to receive commissions to design private residences.
Favorable coverage in The Seattle Times by architecture journalist Margery Phillips boosted his career. A residence designed by McAdoo in Burien was declared the "Home of the Year" by The Seattle Times in association with the American Institute of Architects. After designing a number of low-income houses and apartments throughout the 1950s, including around eighty of his single-family "Houses of Merit", he was hired by the Agency for International Development to design modular houses in Jamaica. He returned to the United States after eighteen months in Jamaica and briefly worked for the Department of State and the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., where he aided Edward Durell Stone in designing the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He returned to Seattle in 1964, where he pursued public and civic architectural commissions. In addition to his architectural work, he participated in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, hosted a weekly radio show on racial issues for several years, and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Washington House of Representatives.