David Hyer
Encyclopedia
David Burns Hyer was an American
architect
who practiced in Charleston
, South Carolina
and Orlando, Florida
during the first half of the twentieth century, designing civic buildings in the Neoclassical Revival and Mediterranean Revival styles.
at the Charleston Navy Yard and for many Southern railways, before opening his own private architectural practice in Charleston. Hyer’s Charleston office was located in the People's Building.
David Hyer married Sally Yeadon Mazyck, daughter of James Mazyck, in June 1904; they had four children: David B Hyer Jr., Yeadon Mazyek Hyer, Robert Payne Hyer and Helen Hyer
Active in Charleston (see partial list of works below) Hyer was a member of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
(AIA). By the early 1920s the Hyers established a home in Orlando. Hyer worked in association with Daytona and Winter Park architect John Arthur Rogers (father of architect James Gamble Rogers II
); he also listed his architectural business in the Orlando city directories. As such, it was one of only 10 architectural firms listed in 1926, the others including: Frank L. Bodine
, Fred E. Field
, Murry S. King
, Maurice E. Kressly
, George E. Krug
, Howard M. Reynolds
, Frederick H. Trimble
. Ryan and Roberts (Ida Annah Ryan
and Isabel Roberts
) and Percy P. Turner
. It was one of 12 firms so listed in Orlando in 1927. During the 1920s Hyer maintained Orlando offices first in the Rose Building and later in the Phillips Block on South Orange Avenue.
Hyer's best and most visible Orlando work is the Grace Phillips Johnson Estate on Edgewater Drive. The grand Mediterranean Revival home is on a narrow isthmus
between Lake Adair and Lake Concord, with sweeping views across Lake Concord to downtown Orlando. The house once had three murals by Florida artist Sam Stoltz, only one remains, a peacock.
James Gamble Rogers II
managed David B. Hyer's Orlando office in 1934; by 1935 Hyer had moved back to Charleston permanently. Hyer continued to practice architecture in South Carolina as late as 1941. Hyer died on December 11, 1942, in Charleston, South Carolina.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who practiced in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
during the first half of the twentieth century, designing civic buildings in the Neoclassical Revival and Mediterranean Revival styles.
Biography
David Burns Hyer was born on May 21, 1875, in Charleston SC, the youngest son of John Henry Hyer, Jr. and Elizabeth "Ella" Saphronia Zachary. Hyer served as a civil engineerCivil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
at the Charleston Navy Yard and for many Southern railways, before opening his own private architectural practice in Charleston. Hyer’s Charleston office was located in the People's Building.
David Hyer married Sally Yeadon Mazyck, daughter of James Mazyck, in June 1904; they had four children: David B Hyer Jr., Yeadon Mazyek Hyer, Robert Payne Hyer and Helen Hyer
Active in Charleston (see partial list of works below) Hyer was a member of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects 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 support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
(AIA). By the early 1920s the Hyers established a home in Orlando. Hyer worked in association with Daytona and Winter Park architect John Arthur Rogers (father of architect James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II was a celebrated American architect practicing primarily in Winter Park, Florida in the middle years of the twentieth century. He is noted for suavely elegant residential and commercial work, in the Spanish Revival, Mediterranean Revival, French Provincial and Colonial...
); he also listed his architectural business in the Orlando city directories. As such, it was one of only 10 architectural firms listed in 1926, the others including: Frank L. Bodine
Frank L. Bodine
Frank Lee Bodine was an American architect who practiced in Asbury Park, New Jersey and in Orlando, Florida in the first four decades of the twentieth century....
, Fred E. Field
Fred E. Field
Frederick E. Field was an American architect who practiced in Providence, Rhode Island, and Orlando, Florida, in the period between 1883 and 1927.Frederick E Field was born November 7, 1861. His professional training took place at Cornell University...
, Murry S. King
Murry S. King
Murry S. King was Florida's first registered architect, a noted American architect with a successful practice in Orlando, Florida, in the 1910s and 1920s....
, Maurice E. Kressly
Maurice E. Kressly
Maurice E. Kressly was an American architect practicing in Pennsylvania and central Florida in the middle years of the twentieth century. Kressly was well known as a school architect in both states, as well as for designing romantic Mediterranean Revival and Tudor Revival residences in the...
, George E. Krug
George E. Krug
George Edward Krug was an American architect who practiced in Greater New York City , Sao Paulo, Brazil and Orlando, Florida....
, Howard M. Reynolds
Howard M. Reynolds
Howard Montalbert Reynolds, Sr. was an American architect practicing in Orlando, Florida in the 1920s. He designed gracefully proportioned, notable public buildings in the prevailing fashionable styles of the 1920s, including Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial, Egyptian...
, Frederick H. Trimble
Frederick H. Trimble
Frederick H. Trimble was an American architect practicing in Central Florida from the early 1900s through the 1920s, working in the Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie Style....
. Ryan and Roberts (Ida Annah Ryan
Ida Annah Ryan
Ida Annah Ryan was a pioneering United States woman architect. She was born on November 4, 1873 at Waltham, MA, one of five children of Albert Morse Ryan and Carrie S. Jameson. Albert Morse Ryan was a Waltham city employee and historian who also ran a milk business. She graduated from the Waltham...
and Isabel Roberts
Isabel Roberts
Isabel Roberts was a Prairie School figure, member of the architectural design team in the Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and partner with Ida Annah Ryan in the Orlando, Florida architecture firm, “Ryan and Roberts”. It is fair to say that Roberts is an under-appreciated member of Wright’s...
) and Percy P. Turner
Percy P. Turner
Percy Pamorrow Turner was an American architect who, in the 1920s-1950s practiced in Baltimore Maryland, Houston, Texas, Orlando, Florida and Miami, Florida.-Early years:...
. It was one of 12 firms so listed in Orlando in 1927. During the 1920s Hyer maintained Orlando offices first in the Rose Building and later in the Phillips Block on South Orange Avenue.
Hyer's best and most visible Orlando work is the Grace Phillips Johnson Estate on Edgewater Drive. The grand Mediterranean Revival home is on a narrow isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
between Lake Adair and Lake Concord, with sweeping views across Lake Concord to downtown Orlando. The house once had three murals by Florida artist Sam Stoltz, only one remains, a peacock.
James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II
James Gamble Rogers II was a celebrated American architect practicing primarily in Winter Park, Florida in the middle years of the twentieth century. He is noted for suavely elegant residential and commercial work, in the Spanish Revival, Mediterranean Revival, French Provincial and Colonial...
managed David B. Hyer's Orlando office in 1934; by 1935 Hyer had moved back to Charleston permanently. Hyer continued to practice architecture in South Carolina as late as 1941. Hyer died on December 11, 1942, in Charleston, South Carolina.
Architectural Work – Partial Listing
- Garden Theater, 371 King Street, Charleston, SC – C. K. Howell and D. B. Hyer - 1918
- Y.W.C.A., Charleston, SC - 1918
- Buist School, 103 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC - 1920
- Charleston High School, Charleston, SC - 1921
- St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, 45 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC – 1922
- King Street Apartments, Charleston, SC - 1922
- First National Bank Building, Holly Hill, SC - 1922
- Trustees School, North Charleston, SC - 1922
- Andrew B. Murray Vocational SchoolAndrew B. Murray Vocational SchoolThe Murray Vocational School is located at 3 Chisolm Street, Charleston, South Carolina. The school was built by the City of Charleston and opened in 1923 as the Murray Vocational School, named in honor of philanthropist Andrew Buist Murray. Murray, who had grown up in a Charleston orphanage,...
, 3 Chisolm Street, Charleston, SC - 1923 - Grace Protestant Episcopal Church, 98 Wentworth Street, Charleston, SC - 1923
- Winyah Indigo School, Georgetown, SC - 1924
- Grace Phillips Johnson Estate; 1005 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL - 1928
- Pounds Motor Company Building, 162 W. Plant St., Winter Garden, FL - 1925
- A. E. Arthur One-Stop Service Station, Orlando, FL - 1929
- Old Station 9, 1095 King Street, Charleston, SC - 1933
- Charleston County CourthouseCharleston County CourthouseCharleston County Courthouse is a Neoclassical building in Charleston, South Carolina designed by Irish-born American architect James Hoban...
(original 1792 Statehouse) additions, 84 Broad Street, Charleston, SC - 1941