16 Facts About Nathaniel Owings

1.

Nathaniel Owings's reputation rested on his ability to be what he called "the catalyst, " the person in his firm who ironed out differences among clients, contractors and planning commissions.

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2.

Nathaniel Owings continued his education at Cornell University, earning a degree in 1927.

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3.

Hood's recommendation led to a job Nathaniel Owings worked as an architect on the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago .

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4.

Nathaniel Owings had been hired by his brother-in-law, Louis Skidmore, the chief architect for the exposition.

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5.

Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings moved easily in the world of the business establishment.

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6.

Nathaniel Owings became especially adept in encouraging corporate CEOs to award commissions to SOM.

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7.

Nathaniel Owings described the SOM he helped to build as "the King Kong" of architectural firms.

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8.

Nathaniel Owings was a leading figure in the team which developed the preliminary design during more than a year of closely guarded, top-level work.

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9.

Nathaniel Owings was chairman of the Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue, and he was named to the Permanent Commission as well.

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10.

Nathaniel Owings advocated returning portions of the National Mall to pedestrian use and restricting further developmental growth in that region.

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11.

Nathaniel Owings was a member of the Secretary of the Interior's Advisory Board for National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D C, and later as Chairman of that Board .

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12.

Nathaniel Owings was honored for his service on or contribution to the California Advisory Committee on a Master Plan for Scenic Highways, the Monterey coast master plan, the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, and the President's Council on Pennsylvania.

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13.

Nathaniel Owings built a unique A-frame home at Big Sur, California in 1958 on the site where he proposed to his second wife Margaret Wentworth Nathaniel Owings.

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14.

Nathaniel Owings's memory is commemorated in the Nathaniel Owings Memorial Redwood Grove at Big Sur.

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15.

In later years, Nathaniel Owings kept a home near Nambe Pueblo, New Mexico; and in due course, he came to be known as an active preservationist in the Santa Fe region.

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16.

Nathaniel Owings was survived by his second wife, Margaret Wentworth Owings.

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