Roscoe DeWitt

American architect

Roscoe DeWitt

F.A.I.A.

DeWitt in 1914

Born|

Roscoe Plimpton DeWitt

February 18, 1894

Dallas, Texas, U.S.

Died| November 2, 1975(1975-11-02) (aged 81)

Dallas, Texas, U.S.

Burial place| Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery
Education| Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Occupation| architect

Roscoe DeWitt F.A.I.A. (February 18, 1894 – November 2, 1975) was an American architect. He designed many buildings in Texas, including houses, libraries, hospitals, schools, churches and several buildings on the campus of Southern Methodist University.

## Early life[edit]

Roscoe Plimpton DeWitt was born February 18, 1894, in Dallas, Texas.[1][2] He was the first student enrolled at the school that eventually became St. Mark's School of Texas,[3] graduating in 1910. He graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1914 and received his MA in architecture from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1917.[1]

## Military[edit]

During the First World War, DeWitt served as a captain in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps.[1] During the Second World War, he served as a major in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, safeguarding historical buildings in the French countryside.[1] Their efforts were described in the book, Monuments Men.

## Architecture[edit]

The Sam Rayburn Library and Museum, designed by DeWitt.

DeWitt designed the hospital in Marshall, Texas, in 1927.[4] He designed the Sam Rayburn Library and Museum in Bonham, Texas, in the Classical Revival architectural style in 1955.[5] In the latter part of his career, DeWitt helped restore the original Senate and Supreme Court buildings and the James Madison Memorial Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.[1] He also helped design the Dallas neighborhood of Wynnewood, under the direction of businessman Angus G. Wynne.[6]

Together with Mark Lemmon, DeWitt designed the Sunset High School, the Woodrow Wilson High School, some buildings on the campus of Southern Methodist University, and the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.[1][7][8]

Together with Arch Berry Swank Jr., DeWitt designed buildings of the Parkland Memorial Hospital, two Neiman Marcus stores, Stanley Marcus's private residence, all in Dallas.[1] Additionally, in Jacksonville, Florida, they designed the St. Vincent's Medical Center.[1]

## Affiliations[edit]

DeWitt served on the Boards of Directors of the Dallas Opera and on the Advisory Board for the Texas Commission on Arts and Humanities.[1] Additionally, he was a member of the Dallas Historical Society, the Texas Philosophical Society, the Royal Society of Arts, the American Federation of Arts, the Harvard Club of New York City, and Cosmos Club, a gentlemen's club in Washington, D.C.[1]

DeWitt was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and was president of the institute's Texas and Dallas chapters.[9]

## Death[edit]

DeWitt died on November 2, 1975, in Dallas, at age 81.[1][9]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Roscoe Plimpton DeWitt ( 1894–1975 ), Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art
2. ^ Who's Who in America. Vol. 1 (39th ed.). Marquis Who's Who, Inc. 1976\. p. 798\. ISBN 0-8379-0139-1.
3. ^ "Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 12, Number 2, Fall, 2000". 2000.
4. ^ "$200,000 Structure To Be Erected Here By The T.&P. Railway". The Marshall Messenger. Marshall, Texas. July 27, 1927. p. 1 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Sam Rayburn Library Near Reality; Bids to be Opened". Grand Prairie Daily News. Grand Prairie, Texas. October 25, 1955. p. 11 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Wilonsky, Robert (November 7, 2008). "A Coffee-Table Tribute to Those Who Built This City (Not on Rock and Roll)". The Dallas Observer. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
7. ^ Winters, Willis, “Mark Lemmon,” Texas Architect, November–December 1989
8. ^ Robert Wilonsky, As Marcus House Works Its Way Toward Historic Designation, Lessons Learned, Dallas Observer, January 21, 2010
9. ^ a b Dinan, Dennis Allen; Ross, May Bishop; Hier, Joan Lovejoy, eds. (February 1976). "Dartmouth Alumni Magazine". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. 68 (6).

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