Frederick Heath (architect)
Encyclopedia
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...
responsible for numerous projects in Tacoma, Washington. He worked out of his own office and as a senior partner at architectural firm
Architectural firm
An architectural firm is a company which employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture.- History :Architects have existed since early in recorded history. The earliest recorded architects include Imhotep and Senemut . No writings exist to describe how these...
s. He was involved with Spaulding, Russell & Heath (with Ambrose J. Russell
Ambrose J. Russell
Ambrose J. Russell was an architect in Tacoma, Washington. He was Scottish and was born in the East Indies. He was trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he was a classmate of Bernard Maybeck....
), and Heath & Gove (later Heath, Gove & Bell). His work included designs for several historic and notable schools, churches, stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
s, and commercial properties.
Background
Heath was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and raised in MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, where he attended Powell's Academy. His father was William Heath and his mother Elizabeth Noyes. He was of English ancestry and his ancestors included General William Heath
William Heath
William Heath was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War....
who served on the staff of General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
Career
Heath started off as a printer before working on architectural drafts in the office of Warren H. HayesWarren H. Hayes
Warren Howard Hayes was a leading designer of churches in the United States and Canada during the late 19th century. Hayes' work holds a significant place in its association with the "Social Gospel" movement...
, where he was chief draftsman, for ten years. He helped design many buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. He also worked on a large number of churches in the U.S. and many schools.
Work in Tacoma
Heath was the City of Tacoma's official school architect. He also designed the Masonic temple in North Yakima along the lines of interpretive reconstructions of King Solomon's Temple. He planned the 18-story National Realty Building in Tacoma— at the time the tallest building west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
— as well as a number of schools, such as Stadium High School
Stadium High School
Stadium High School is a 100-year-old high school in Tacoma, Washington and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building burned to a shell while it was still a partially...
(the original building designed by Hewitt & Hewitt of Philadelphia was burned, leaving just a shell), Lincoln High School, Central School
Central School
-United Kingdom:* Central School of Speech and Drama * Central School of Art and Design, now Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design -United States:...
, and Oakland Alternative High School. Heath's work also includes St. Patrick's, First Church of Christ Scientist, and First Lutheran, First Baptist. He is credited alone with the Forbes P. Haskil, Jr. residence at 521 North Ainsworth (1906).
His designed the 1914 public library on Railroad Avenue and Fifth, Stadium Bowl
Stadium Bowl
The Stadium Bowl, originally known as Tacoma Stadium, is a 15,000-seat stadium located in Tacoma, Washington. The stadium plays host to the American football teams for both Woodrow Wilson High School and Stadium High School. The stadium is located next to Stadium High School with views of...
in Tacoma, and Paradise Inn at Mount Ranier.
Heath was known as the "Father of the Stadium" for his work on Stadium Bowl in Tacoma, one of his best-known projects. Fellow architect Ambrose J. Russell
Ambrose J. Russell
Ambrose J. Russell was an architect in Tacoma, Washington. He was Scottish and was born in the East Indies. He was trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts where he was a classmate of Bernard Maybeck....
worked in his Tacoma office.
He designed the Nereides Baths, which were located in Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, the Camp 6 Logging Museum, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock for...
between 1906 and 1931. The "eclectic building was constructed of logs and somewhat resembled a Swiss chalet
Chalet
A chalet , also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, native to the Alpine region, made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof with wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.-Definition and origin:...
". It was an attraction for the area that included Tacoma's first indoor swimming pool. Heath served as president of the park board from 1911 until 1916. His "600 projects in the Northwest and in Tacoma" included Tacoma's St. Patrick's, First Church of Christian Scientist, First Lutheran and First Baptist. He also completed store designs for "the old" Rhodes and Bon Marche department stores on Broadway. Heath continued to work until two weeks before he died in March 1953, "just a month shy of his 92nd birthday." Heath also worked on designs for the Greek Theater (Los Angeles) in Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Heath married Mabel Fallensbee in January 1885, and had a daughter and two sons.
Heath, Gove & Bell
Legacy
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and the building was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1987.
Pythian Temple
Pythian Temple (Tacoma, Washington)
The Pythian Temple, built in 1906 for Commencement Lodge Number 7 of the Knights of Pythias, is an historic building located on Broadway in the Theater District of Tacoma, Washington...
was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on August 23, 1985.
Stadium High School
Stadium High School
Stadium High School is a 100-year-old high school in Tacoma, Washington and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building burned to a shell while it was still a partially...
, featured in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You
10 Things I Hate about You
10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film. It is directed by Gil Junger and stars Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, and Larry Miller...
, underwent a two-year $80 million renovation starting in 2004. The work won several awards.
In 2008, plans for restorations and renovations of historic Tacoma schools, including several designed by Heath and his firm Heath & Gove, were discussed.
Stadium High School and the Pythian Temple, housing the fraternal Order of the Knights of Pythias, were featured by the Society of Architectural Historians
Society of Architectural Historians
The Society of Architectural Historians is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide....
Marian Dean Ross Pacific Northwest Chapter in their summer 2008 newsletter. The group reported that the Pythias order remains active and is working to preserve its 1906 building and received grants for work on the Knight's of Castle Hall, a "two-story hall, completely hidden within the building's interior, is a rich confection of early 20th Century woodwork, plaster, lighting, murals and carpeting."
Some of Heath's completed projects
- Pythian TemplePythian Temple (Tacoma, Washington)The Pythian Temple, built in 1906 for Commencement Lodge Number 7 of the Knights of Pythias, is an historic building located on Broadway in the Theater District of Tacoma, Washington...
(1906) Listed on the National Register of Historic Places - Stadium High SchoolStadium High SchoolStadium High School is a 100-year-old high school in Tacoma, Washington and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building burned to a shell while it was still a partially...
(1906) - Tacoma Grocery Co. building, 2108-12 Pacific Avenue (1906)
- Morris-Miller Co. building, 2102-06 Pacific Avenue (1906)
- Bowes Building (1907) in Tacoma
- McKinley Elementary School at 3702 McKinley Ave. (East Side) (1908)
- Barlow Annex at 3012 S. 59th St. (South Tacoma) (1910)
- Fern Hill Elementary at 8442 S. Park (South Tacoma) (1911) A Heath and Gove project.
- Central SchoolCentral School-United Kingdom:* Central School of Speech and Drama * Central School of Art and Design, now Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design -United States:...
at 601 South 8th Street (New Tacoma) (1912) A Heath and George Gove project. - Oakland Alternative High SchoolOakland Alternative High SchoolOakland Alternative High School is an alternative secondary school in Tacoma, Washington. It was built in 1912 by a prominent local architectural firm and is located at 3319 South Adams Street .-Campus:...
at 3319 South Adams Street (South End) (1912) A Heath and Gove project. - Park Avenue School at 6701 S. Park Ave. (South End) (1912) A Heath and Gove project.
- Public library on Railroad and Fifth
- Paradise Inn at Mount Ranier (1915)
- National Realty Building (once home to Heritage Bank and Puget Sound National Bank Building) (1911) (16 floors) (1119 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma, Washington (Heath, Gove & Bell)
- First Church of Christ ScientistFirst Church of Christ, Scientist (Tacoma, Washington)First Church of Christ, Scientist is a historic Christian Science church building located at 902 Division Avenue at the corner of I Street in Tacoma, Washington. Designed in the Classical Revival style by noted as well as prolific Tacoma architect Frederick Heath, it was built at a cost of $45,000...
(1908–1911) (across the street from Wright Park) in Tacoma, Washington
Parks
Heath drew up plans for an open air 10,000 seat amphitheater that was proposed for Mount Rubidoux in Riverside, CaliforniaRiverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
in 1918. The theater was to be used for convention
Convention (meeting)
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
s and the "established" Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
sunrise service
Sunrise service
Sunrise service is a worship service on Easter. It takes the place of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran tradition of the Easter Vigil, and is practised mainly by Protestant churches...
.
- Nereides Baths (1906) located in Point Defiance Park between 1906 and 1931
- Greek Theater in Griffith ParkGriffith ParkGriffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
External links
- Image of two buildings Heath designed from Tacoma Public Library. "Tacoma Grocery Co. building, 2108-12 Pacific Ave., built in 1906 and designed by Frederick Heath. To the far right is the Morris-Miller Co. building, 2102-06 Pacific Ave., also built in 1906 from a design by Frederick Heath. In 2000, these three turn of the century warehouses were purchased and remodeled into 150,000 square feet of office space called the Horizon Pacific Center by Oakland, Ca. developer Michael Bartlett. Mr. Bartlett and his firm, Horizon Partners, designed the space to attract high tech companies from costlier real estate areas such as Seattle and Bellevue"
- Archival photo of First Lutheran Church
- Masonic Home in Zenith, Washington