Charles A. Smith (architect)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Ashley Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1866 |
| Died | 1948 (aged 81–82) |
Charles Ashley Smith (March 22, 1866 – 1948),[1] was an American architect who worked mainly in Kansas City, Missouri.[3]
He is given credit for architectural innovations in schools that improved ventilation and cleanliness, and which were adopted widely elsewhere.[1]
He was born in Steubenville, Ohio. His father Augustine L. Smith was a building contractor. Charles worked for architect william F. Hackney of the firm Bell & Hackney in Des Moines, Iowa.[4][5] In 1898, Smith became the official architect for Kansas City's School Board.[4]
The firm of Smith, Rea & Lovitt has been a major contributor to the creation of some of Kansas City's important buildings, since their formation in 1910. The firm initially consisted of Charles A. Smith, Frank S. Rea and Walter U. Lovitt Jr.
As senior partner of the firm, Smith distinguished himself as an architect of national repute. Following Smith's arrival in Kansas City in 1893, he became a junior partner with William F. Hackney, architect for the School District of Kansas City. Smith acquired the position as School Board Architect, following Hackney's death in 1898. For nearly forty years until his retirement in 1936, Smith designed all of the school buildings in the city, whose innovations, particularly in ventilation and sanitation, were adopted by other school systems throughout the country.
In approximately 1902, Smith was joined by architect Frank S. Rea and later, in about 1910, by architect Walter U. Lovitt Jr. During the ten years of the firm's existence, Smith, Rea & Lovitt designed such notable Kansas City buildings as the Rialto Building, the Ridge Arcade, the Ivanhoe Temple, the Isis Theater/Wirthnam Building, the Firestone Building and the Rothenberg & Schloss Company Building. All of these structures still survive.
The firm of Smith, Rea &, Lovitt dissolved in 1920. Afterwards, Smith practiced alone, outliving Rea and Lovitt. Smith died in Kansas City in 1948.[2]
