Arthur T. Brown

Arthur Thomas Brown (April 20, 1900 – October 24, 1993) was an American architect who is remembered as “Tucson’s pioneer of solar design.”^[1]

Biography

Brown was born in Takio, Missouri, and studied at Ohio State University, graduating in 1927. He worked at the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago in 1932 and 1933. Both a fine art painter and trained architect, Brown arrived in Tucson in 1936 and opened his own architectural firm by 1941. He was a member of the exclusive Tucson Palette and Brush Club and the Tucson Fine Arts Association. He is recognized as a "pioneer" in the development of passive solar heating and passive cooling.^[2][3]

His buildings have only recently gained recognition. Many of his works have been lost including: Tucson General Hospital, Tucson Biltmore Motor Hotel and Tucson’s Carnegie Free Library (Tucson Children’s Museum) wall. His residential projects are scattered throughout Tucson’s post World War II mid-century expansion district.

Many of his buildings remain in Tucson including: the First Christian Church at 740 E. Speedway Boulevard, Faith Lutheran Church, 5th street. Delectables Restaurant on N 4th Avenue is also Brown's. It was built in the late 1940s for the Harley-Davidson dealership. The changes made were primarily interior.

Buildings

• 1946: Rosenberg House (Tucson)^[4][5][6][7]
• 1947: Clifford Goldsmith House (Tucson)
• 1948: Rose Elementary School (Tucson)^[8]
• 1949: Hirsch house (Tucson)
• 1950: Ball-Paylore House (Tucson)^[9]
• 1952: Tucson Chamber of Commerce building
• 1953: G.C. Trego house^[10]
• 1956: 4535 N. Osage Drive, Edmonson house (Tucson)
• 1959: 2928 N Orlando Avenue (Tucson)
• 1963–70: Tucson General Hospital (later destroyed)^[11]
• 1966: 4315 N. La Linda Rama (Tucson)

Awards and honors

• American Institute of Architects College of Fellows (FAIA), 1961

Patents

• Design For A House (US Patent 135609, filed 1943, granted 1943)
• Lightweight Building Construction (US Patent 2440843, filed 1943, granted 1948)
• Method Of Producing A Shell Roof Structure (US Patent 3200026, filed 1960, granted 1965)
• Method Of Producing Shell Roof Structure (US Patent 3263322, filed 1959, granted 1966)
• Conduit System For Structures Having Masonry Walls And Door Frames (US Patent 3303616, filed 1963, granted 1967)

References

1. Nequette, Anne M.; R. Brooks Jeffery (2002). A Guide to Tucson Architecture. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
2. Denzer, Anthony (2013). The Solar House: Pioneering Sustainable Design. Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0847840052.
3. Denzer, Anthony; Novikova-Kinney, Polina, "Arthur T. Brown: Pioneer of Passive Solar Architecture" (PDF), 2010 ASES National Solar Conference
4. Progressive Architecture, June 1947 Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. Progressive Architecture, October 1948 Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. House and Garden, July 1956 Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. Fine Homebuilding, October–November 1982 Missing or empty |title= (help)
8. Architectural Record, August 1956 Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt0s20289g/
10. Arizona Highways, September 1953 Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. http://www.pbase.com/bearpaw/image/31123666

• Wayne, Kathryn M., Arthur T. Brown, FAIA, Vance Bibliographies, 1987.
• Tucson Home Magazine, Arthur T. Brown, Architects of Influence, 2008.

External links

• "Arthur T. Brown Resources". solarhousehistory.com.