Harold H. Fisher
Encyclopedia
Harold H. Fisher was an American church architect
. He has been described as "a genius who designed over 500 churches with order, unity and beauty reflecting the majesty and transcendence of God".
, to Charles and Emma (McCoy) Fisher. He had a difficult childhood, being partially raised in an orphanage when his father was forced to leave the family to look for work and his mother could not feed her children.
Fisher was a precocious student who enjoyed drawing and painting.
He earned $2 a day as an apprentice, working six-day weeks and studied Beaux-Arts courses at night and on weekends at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in New York
. From there, he taught at Atelier Fulton in Pennsylvania
for six years.
In 1922 he and a colleague, Charles Hines, started their own architectural office in Hagerstown, Maryland
, but had to close his company after only a year and go back to Uniontown to work for Fulton until the Depression, when that office closed.
In the early 1940s he tried to establish his own firm once again but the war started. So he began working for the Austin company and Conover Engineering, supervising the conversion of Detroit's factories for wartime production. At the war's end, he finally fulfilled his dream by establishing Harold H. Fisher & Associates, an architectural firm devoted entirely to church architecture. That office is run by his sons.
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. He has been described as "a genius who designed over 500 churches with order, unity and beauty reflecting the majesty and transcendence of God".
Early life
Fisher was born in 1901 in Uniontown, PennsylvaniaUniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
, to Charles and Emma (McCoy) Fisher. He had a difficult childhood, being partially raised in an orphanage when his father was forced to leave the family to look for work and his mother could not feed her children.
Fisher was a precocious student who enjoyed drawing and painting.
Early professional years
Fisher was prolific in drawing and painting. His childhood oil paintings of biblical events attracted the attention of architect Ray Fulton who designed churches in forty-three of the then forty-eight states. In the fall of 1916, Fulton invited the fifteen-year-old Fisher to work as an apprentice draftsman in his Uniontown, Pennsylvania office for $2 per day. Although he presented his age as 27 so he could be hired.He earned $2 a day as an apprentice, working six-day weeks and studied Beaux-Arts courses at night and on weekends at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. From there, he taught at Atelier Fulton in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
for six years.
In 1922 he and a colleague, Charles Hines, started their own architectural office in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
, but had to close his company after only a year and go back to Uniontown to work for Fulton until the Depression, when that office closed.
In the early 1940s he tried to establish his own firm once again but the war started. So he began working for the Austin company and Conover Engineering, supervising the conversion of Detroit's factories for wartime production. At the war's end, he finally fulfilled his dream by establishing Harold H. Fisher & Associates, an architectural firm devoted entirely to church architecture. That office is run by his sons.
External links
- http://greenthu.iserver.net/primetime/Primetime2001/winners/aowbio.html
- http://www.hesstonrecord.com/web/isite.dll?1031792362689
- http://www.hhfisher.com/progressive.htm
- http://www.hhfisher.com/background.htm
- http://www.hhfisher.com/cam.htm
- http://www.tripennucc.com/sermon011223.htm
- http://greenthu.iserver.net/primetime/Primetime2001/newsdec10.html