Howard Dwight Smith
Encyclopedia
Howard Dwight Smith was an architect
most known for his designs of the Ohio Stadium
(completed in 1922) for which he was awarded the American Institute of Architects
Gold Medal for Public Building Design.
Dwight Smith was born in Dayton, Ohio
in 1886, the third child of Andrew Jackson Smith and Nancy Evaline Moore, and was named after the evangelist Dwight Moody. His father, a Civil War
Hundred Days Man
, had been a farmer (in Logan County, Ohio and Kansas), a teamster and salesman for a flour milling company (in Dayton), and minor political figure (elected to the Dayton Board of Education).
Dwight Smith was graduated from Steele High School in Dayton and then was graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Civil Engineering in Architecture in 1907. He studied architecture at Columbia University
. In 1909, he worked for one year as an architectural draftsman in the Office of the Supervising Architect
in Washington, DC before returning to Columbia to receive his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1910.
At Columbia, he won the $1,100 Perkins Traveling Fellowship and traveled and studied in Europe for 10 months in 1911, mainly in Italy. He had associated with the firm of John Russell Pope
after graduation, and returned from Europe to rejoin Pope's firm in November 1911 where he became the chief designer, working on the Vanderbilt mansion on Long Island and the New York Fifth Avenue mansion of Henry Clay Frick
of Carnegie Steel Company
.
He continued his association with Pope until he was persuaded to come to Columbus, Ohio
to design the new football stadium about 1917. While he was designing and overseeing the construction of Ohio Stadium
, he was also a Professor of Architecture at Ohio State for three years from 1918 to 1921. Ohio Stadium was then the largest two level, open ended stadium in the world. He then took a position as chief architect for the Columbus Public Schools. Later he returned to Ohio State where he served as University Architect from October 1929 to June 1956.
As his mentor Pope had done at Yale University
, Smith revised a long term campus master plan for The Ohio State University. He proposed to extend the campus beyond the Olentangy River
. Over his career as University Architect at Ohio State, especially in the post-World War II years, he designed or oversaw design and planning of some thirty University buildings, including the expansion of the landmark William Oxley Thompson
Memorial Library, which dominates the main University landscape on the Oval. Among these were Hughes Hall (music), the Alpheus W. Smith Laboratory (physics), the Agricultural Laboratories, the optometry building, and especially the St. John Arena
and French Field House. The task of designing and overseeing the construction of so many new buildings in those years became such that some outside architects were engaged for the purpose as, for example, with the Ohio Union, Mershon Auditorium, and most of those in the Medical Center complex. Smith Hall is named in his honor.
Smith was in continual demand as a consultant for various agencies or on specific projects including Wittenberg College, the Upper Arlington Board of Education, the Columbus and Springfield Y.M.C.A.’s, the Deshler Hotel (Columbus), the million-dollar First Congregational Church, Columbus (where he represented the John Russell Pope office), the Springfield Masonic Temple, the Marietta and Columbus City Halls and Columbus West High School.
Dwight Smith married Myrna Cott of Columbus, Ohio, January 29, 1912. They had five children. After the death of his first wife, he married Mary Edith Thompson Gramlich, a widow with two daughters, January 17, 1936. He resided in New York City from 1908 to 1917 and in Upper Arlington, Ohio
until his death. An enthusiastic Buckeyes
football fan, for years he had seats in Ohio Stadium in the row behind fellow Daytonian Orville Wright, another enthusiastic fan. Smith's grandchildren include the motion picture actress Beverly D'Angelo
and the jazz musician Jeff D'Angelo. He is the father-in-law of Gene D'Angelo, former president of WBNS stations in Columbus, Ohio.
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...
most known for his designs of the Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...
(completed in 1922) for which he was awarded 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...
Gold Medal for Public Building Design.
Dwight Smith was born in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
in 1886, the third child of Andrew Jackson Smith and Nancy Evaline Moore, and was named after the evangelist Dwight Moody. His father, a Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Hundred Days Man
Hundred Days Men
The Hundred Days Men was the nickname applied to a series of volunteer regiments raised in 1864 for 100-days service in the Union Army during the height of the American Civil War...
, had been a farmer (in Logan County, Ohio and Kansas), a teamster and salesman for a flour milling company (in Dayton), and minor political figure (elected to the Dayton Board of Education).
Dwight Smith was graduated from Steele High School in Dayton and then was graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Civil Engineering in Architecture in 1907. He studied architecture at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. In 1909, he worked for one year as an architectural draftsman in the Office of the Supervising Architect
Office of the Supervising Architect
The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939....
in Washington, DC before returning to Columbia to receive his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1910.
At Columbia, he won the $1,100 Perkins Traveling Fellowship and traveled and studied in Europe for 10 months in 1911, mainly in Italy. He had associated with the firm of John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...
after graduation, and returned from Europe to rejoin Pope's firm in November 1911 where he became the chief designer, working on the Vanderbilt mansion on Long Island and the New York Fifth Avenue mansion of Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
of Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
.
He continued his association with Pope until he was persuaded to come to Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
to design the new football stadium about 1917. While he was designing and overseeing the construction of Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...
, he was also a Professor of Architecture at Ohio State for three years from 1918 to 1921. Ohio Stadium was then the largest two level, open ended stadium in the world. He then took a position as chief architect for the Columbus Public Schools. Later he returned to Ohio State where he served as University Architect from October 1929 to June 1956.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Smith revised a long term campus master plan for The Ohio State University. He proposed to extend the campus beyond the Olentangy River
Olentangy River
The Olentangy River is a tributary of the Scioto River in Ohio.It was originally called keenhongsheconsepung, a Delaware word literally translated as "stone for your knife stream", based on the shale found along its shores. Early settlers to the region translated this into "Whetstone River"...
. Over his career as University Architect at Ohio State, especially in the post-World War II years, he designed or oversaw design and planning of some thirty University buildings, including the expansion of the landmark William Oxley Thompson
William Oxley Thompson
William Oxley Thompson, D.D. , born in Cambridge, Ohio, was the fifth President of The Ohio State University. Thompson was educated at Muskingum College and Western Theological Seminary. An ordained minister, Thompson spent the first half of his career in Presbyterian ministry...
Memorial Library, which dominates the main University landscape on the Oval. Among these were Hughes Hall (music), the Alpheus W. Smith Laboratory (physics), the Agricultural Laboratories, the optometry building, and especially the St. John Arena
St. John Arena
St. John Arena is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The arena was named for Lynn St. John, who served as Ohio State's men's basketball coach and athletic director until 1947....
and French Field House. The task of designing and overseeing the construction of so many new buildings in those years became such that some outside architects were engaged for the purpose as, for example, with the Ohio Union, Mershon Auditorium, and most of those in the Medical Center complex. Smith Hall is named in his honor.
Smith was in continual demand as a consultant for various agencies or on specific projects including Wittenberg College, the Upper Arlington Board of Education, the Columbus and Springfield Y.M.C.A.’s, the Deshler Hotel (Columbus), the million-dollar First Congregational Church, Columbus (where he represented the John Russell Pope office), the Springfield Masonic Temple, the Marietta and Columbus City Halls and Columbus West High School.
Dwight Smith married Myrna Cott of Columbus, Ohio, January 29, 1912. They had five children. After the death of his first wife, he married Mary Edith Thompson Gramlich, a widow with two daughters, January 17, 1936. He resided in New York City from 1908 to 1917 and in Upper Arlington, Ohio
Upper Arlington, Ohio
Upper Arlington is a suburban city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The population was 33,686 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
until his death. An enthusiastic Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
football fan, for years he had seats in Ohio Stadium in the row behind fellow Daytonian Orville Wright, another enthusiastic fan. Smith's grandchildren include the motion picture actress Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly Heather D'Angelo is an American actress and singer.-Early life:D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla , a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. She is of part Italian ancestry...
and the jazz musician Jeff D'Angelo. He is the father-in-law of Gene D'Angelo, former president of WBNS stations in Columbus, Ohio.