Ralph Oscar Yeager, AIA

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...

, (August 16, 1892–1960) was a German-American architect active from in early to mid-twentieth-century Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. He was a partner in the locally renowned Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

 architectural firm of Miller & Yeager

Miller & Yeager

Miller & Yeager was a locally renowned German-American architectural firm, established in 1925 by partners Miller and Ralph Oscar Yeager, AIA, . It was one of the predecessor firms of Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager....

 and the Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 architectural firm of Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager

Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager

Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager was an architectural firm active in mid-twentieth-century Indiana. The firm was organized in 1946 as a partnership between the surviving partners of three Indiana firms: Kurt Vonnegut Sr...

 (formed 1946).

Early life and education

Yeager was born August 16, 1892 in Danville, Illinois

Danville, Illinois

Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...

, where he graduated from high school. He then attended the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois for two years (1911–1913) and then earned a bachelor's of science degree in architecture for the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, class of 1915.

Early career

Yeager supervised construction on the U.S. Post Office Building (1915–1917) for Yeager & Sons, Contractors, served as a second lieutenant in the army during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 (1917–1918), and was variously employed architectural offices in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Terre Haute, and Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

. In 1922, he established his own practice in Chicago before returning to Terre Haute the next year (1923) to became parter in the firm Miller & Yeager.

Miller & Yeager

Miller & Yeager, located at 402 Opera House Building, Terre Haute, Indiana, was responsible for many landmarks in Indianapolis and greater Indiana, and a number have been listed on 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...

.

In 1946, he was the sole surviving partner of Miller & Yeager and merged the firm with Vonnegut, Bohn & Mueller and Pierre & Wright

Pierre & Wright

Pierre and Wright was a locally renowned Indianapolis, Indiana architectural firm, established in 1925 by partners Edward D. Pierre, AIA and George Caleb Wright, AIA,...

, both of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Professional organizations

He was the president of the Indiana Society of Architects in 1937, 1945–1946, the Indiana chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1945-1946, member of the Indian Society of Architects from 1923 and chapter of the AIA since 1926 (the two merged in 1946), director of the Great Lakes District of the AIA in 1946-7.

Works by Miller & Yeager Architects

• Coca Cola Company Building, Terre Haute, Indiana
  Terre Haute, Indiana
  Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
  
  , built for $200,000.
• Terre Haute Post Office and Federal Building
  Terre Haute Post Office and Federal Building
  The Terre Haute Post Office and Federal Building is a historic structure in Terre Haute, Indiana.The first post office and federal building at this site opened in 1887. When this building was demolished in 1933, work began on the current structure...
  
  , built for $450,000.
• Terre Haute City Hall, built for $250,000.
• Woodrow Wilson Junior High School (Terre Haute, Indiana)
  Woodrow Wilson Junior High School (Terre Haute, Indiana)
  Woodrow Wilson Junior High School or Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Terre Haute, Indiana was built in 1927 for approximately $750,000. Designed by the firm of Miller & Yeager Architects, the structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.The interior of the school's main...
  
   (1927), built for $750,000.
• First Church of Christ Scientist (Terre Haute, Indiana), built for $175,000
• Young Men's Christian Association (Terre Haute, Indiana), built for approximately $275,000
• Zorah Shrine (Terre Haute, Indiana), built for $300,000
• Union Hospital (Terre Haute, Indiana), built for $375,000

Works by Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager

• Stalker Hall
  Stalker Hall
  Stalker Hall is the current home of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana State University. Originally named the Education & Social Studies Building upon completion in 1954, it was renamed Stalker Hall in 1966 in honor of Francis Marion Stalker, a long-member of the Faculty from...
  
  , Indiana State University
  Indiana State University
  Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
  
  , built in 1954 for $920,000 (renovated 2004-2006)