Principia at Mid-Century: From Maybeck to Modern and the Legacy of William E. Morgan Jr.

The transition from traditional to modern architecture at Principia College parallels mid-twentieth century development in school design at educational institutions across the country and reflects varied, but often comparable, influences. At Principia, where prominent St. Louis school architect William B. Ittner designed traditional buildings on the school's first urban campus and where Bernard Maybeck famously designed the college (first built in the 1930s at Elsah, Illinois and now a National Historic Landmark), a major shift from traditional to modern occurred in the 1940s and 1950s. Principia hired California architects Risley and Gould to design a new K-12 country campus on a rolling undeveloped site west of St. Louis. For Principia, the new campus represented a significant shift from Maybeck to modern.

During the post-war period, new construction was directed on both campuses by William E. Morgan Jr., son of the school's founder and younger brother of Frederic E. Morgan who had served as Maybeck's client contact. William E. Morgan Jr.'s contribution to Principia's architectural development has been little appreciated.

The catalyst for the transition to modern was a change in administration as well as economic constraints due to soaring postwar construction costs. The continuing advancement of idealistic plans by Maybeck's successor, Henry Gutterson, to continue in the Maybeck spirit, were rejected as overly ambitious. Finally, modernism was further encouraged by a visit to the school by Walter Gropius at the very moment planning for the new K-12 campus began.

Thus, William E. Morgan Jr. stewarded a distinct shift to modern architectural design on both campuses; the college library, classroom buildings, and dormitories built at Elsah during the 1950s and 1960s by Risley and Gould and others were distinctly modern in style but less distinguished. Designed and executed by Risley and Gould with landscape by Butler Sturtevant, the St. Louis K-12 country campus, known as Principia School, is a little recognized but highly significant mid-century modern architectural ensemble, comparable to the best post-war modern school design in the region.