Max Abramovitz
Encyclopedia
Max Abramovitz was an 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...
best known for his work with the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
firm Harrison & Abramovitz
Harrison & Abramovitz
Harrison & Abramovitz was an American architectural firm based in New York and active from 1941 through 1976, a partnership of Wallace Harrison and Max Abramovitz....
.
Life
Abramovitz was the son of RomanianRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
immigrant parents. He graduated in 1929 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
School of Architecture. He later received an M.S. from 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...
's architecture school in 1931. He also was the recipient of a two-year fellowship at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to the US and becoming partners with Wallace Harrison
Wallace Harrison
Wallace Kirkman Harrison , was an American architect.-Career:Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center...
from 1941-1976. In 1961, he won the Rome Prize
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
.
Abramovitz died in September 2004 in Pound Ridge, New York
Pound Ridge, New York
Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,104 at the 2010 census.The town is located in the eastern corner of the county, bordered by New Canaan, Connecticut, to the east, Stamford, Connecticut, to the south, Bedford, New York, to the west and...
, at the age of 96. His drawings and archives are held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is one of twenty-five libraries in the Columbia University Library System and is located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the City of New York. It is the largest architecture library in the world...
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...
. Abramovitz also received an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois in 1970.
Work
- for work from 1941 through 1976, also see Harrison & AbramovitzHarrison & AbramovitzHarrison & Abramovitz was an American architectural firm based in New York and active from 1941 through 1976, a partnership of Wallace Harrison and Max Abramovitz....
- Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
(at Lincoln Center, originally the Philharmonic Hall), New York City, 1962 - three buildings for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including the 1963 Assembly Hall ($8.5M), at its time the world's largest edge-supported dome, which is 400 feet in diameter and rises 128 feet above the floor, the 1969 Krannert Center for the Performing ArtsKrannert Center for the Performing ArtsKrannert Center for the Performing Arts was built in 1969 in Urbana, Illinois, USA, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an educational and performing arts complex. Herman C...
, and the HillelHillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus LifeHillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
building - Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance BuildingPhoenix Mutual Life Insurance BuildingThe Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Building, locally called the "Boat Building", is a notable modernist office building located on Constitution Plaza in Hartford. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the world's first two-sided building.The building was designed by...
, Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, 1963 - Temple Beth ZionTemple Beth Zion (Buffalo, New York)Temple Beth Zion is a Reform synagogue located at 805 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1850, Temple Beth Zion is the largest Jewish congregation in Western New York and one of the oldest and largest reform congregations in the nation. The circular building features 10 scallop...
, Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, 1967 images - the U.S. Steel TowerU.S. Steel TowerU.S. Steel Tower, also known as the Steel Building , is the tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh, the fourth tallest building in Pennsylvania, and the 37th tallest in the United States. Completed in 1970, the tower has 64 floors to and has of leasable space. Its original name was the U.S. Steel...
(aka USX Tower) PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe 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...
, 1970 - National City TowerNational City TowerNational City Tower is a skyscraper in Downtown, Louisville, Kentucky, United States, and located at 101 South Fifth Street. Completed in 1972, the 40-story, high structure was designed by architects Wallace Harrison and Max Abramovitz based on the timeless designs of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe...
, Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, 1972 - the Tour GanTour GanTour Gan is an office skyscraper located in La Défense, the high-rise business district situated west of Paris, France. It was designed by celebrated American architect Max Abramovitz....
, La DefenseLa DéfenseLa Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France, 1974 - the Learning Research and Development CenterLearning Research and Development CenterThe Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh is an interdisciplinary center focused on describing, understanding, improving, and researching various aspects of human cognition, learning in order to improve and reform instruction and training in schools, the...
building, University of PittsburghUniversity of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, 1974 - One SeaGateOne SeaGateFifth Third Center at One SeaGate is the tallest building in Toledo, Ohio. Until 2006, the building served as the world headquarters for Owens-Illinois. In 2007, Fifth Third Bank moved their Northwest Ohio headquarters to the building.- Building features :...
, Toledo, OhioToledo, OhioToledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, 1982 (as Abramovitz, Harris & Kingsland) - AEP BuildingAEP BuildingThe AEP Building is a 456ft tall skyscraper in Columbus, Ohio. It was completed in 1983 and has 31 floors. Abramovitz, Harris & Kingsland designed the building, which is the 8th tallest in Columbus. It has served as the headquarters of the American Electric Power Company since they relocated from...
, Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus 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...
, 1983 (as Abramovitz, Harris & Kingsland) - Capitol SquareCapitol SquareCapitol Square is a tall skyscraper in Columbus, Ohio. It was completed in 1984, has 26 floors, and of floor space. Abramovitz, Harris & Kingsland designed the building, which is the 13th tallest building in Columbus....
, Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus 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...
, 1984 (as Abramovitz, Harris & Kingsland) - the Hilles Library, a new home for the Radcliffe CollegeRadcliffe CollegeRadcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
Library at HarvardHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country... - the Three Chapels at Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
External links
- Obituary from New York Times, 15 Sep 2004
- New York Architects Profile
- Information on Harrison, Abramovitz, & Abbe - from Emporis.com
- Information on Harrison & Abramovitz (the firm's earlier incarnation) - from Emporis.com
- Max Abramovitz Architectural Records and Papers, 1926-1995. Held in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York City
- Architect Max Abramowitz, Designer of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Dies (Architectural Record, September 17, 2004)