Donald Barthelme: Architecture and the Road to La Mancha

Donald Barthelme: Architecture and the Road to La Mancha STEPHENJAMES I n the 1950s, Houston architect Donald Barthelme (1907-1996) was one ofthe city's best-known and most widely published designers (Fig. 1). 1 Recognized nationally for his schools, he retired suddenly at the peak of his career, amid controversy. Barthelme achieved great distinction as an architect and educator but failed to reach the heights to which he seemed destined. Many blamed his complex personality, but that was only a syi:nptom of an internal conflict that he never resolved. He was an idealist who refused to accept less than the best, but his obsessive quest for perfection alienated others to such an extent that his career and relationships suffered. It is thus a fundamental contradiction that his idealism empowered him to do great things but prevented him from Fig. 1. Donald Barthelme, 1956. (Donald Barthelme, Sr. Architectural Papers, SpecialCollections andArchives, University of Houston Libraries, '13arthelme Papers"; by permission of Estate ofDonaldBarthelme, Sr.) achieving them. His lifelong but elusive search for truth by doing things the "right" way and the many conflicts it provoked with others was nothing if not "quixotic." His romantic pursuit of the unobtainable recalls Don Qyixote, Cervantes's literary hero. Barthelmewasaphenomenon,anarchitectural celebrity at the beginning of Houston's boom years. His files bulged with the usual record of projects underway, and he was mentioned regularly in newspaper society pages and by influential columnists. He bought a flashy new convertible every year and cultivated the image of Howard Roark from The Fountainhead-the loner who did things his way and refused to compromise his principles. 2 He thus did much to create his own myth.3 56 ARRIS Volume Sixteen STEPHEN JAMES Fig. 2. HallofState, Texas Centennial Exposition, Dallas, 1936. (From the collections of the Texas/ Dallas History and Archives Division, Dallas Public Library) Humanist Concerns A native of Galveston, Barthelme studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania under the French master Paul Philippe Cret, graduating in 1930. He returned to Texas and by 1936 was the lead designer ofthe Hall ofState at the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas (Fig. 2). This was his first important building and is considered a masterpiece of Art Deco. 4 Thus, despite his Beaux-Arts training, he wasted little time in adopting the principles of modernist design. Mter moving to Houston, his career finally took off in 1949 when his St. Rose of Lima Church and School won an award from the American Institute ofArchitects (Figs. 3, 4). 5 Many influences shaped Barthelme's work, and he never tried to develop a signature style; as a result, each project looked different. Yet all were clean and spare, from the austere beauty of his brick masonry church to the intimate courtyards of his elementary schools. While he was not a formgiver,he had a greater facility with the style ofhis time than many ofhis peers. His designs often featured the scalloped canopies and butterfly roofs that marked the era, but then Barthelme was-without apologies-a master of mid-century modern. Living in a large city guaranteed Barthelme media attention, but he made his reputation on projects built in small towns. For several years he had done small jobs for the West Columbia Independent School Districtin Brazoria County, a rural area south of Houston. In 1948, flush with bond money and a mandate from voters to improve its decrepit buildings, the school district turned to Barthelme to design additions and new facilities. The neighboring town of Sweeny soon hired him, as well. Over the next decade his school designs for these two districts earned national and international awards and appeared in numerous publications. His best-known project, and arguably his best work, was the West Columbia Elementary School (1951) (Fig. 5). Winning many design awards, it appeared in exhibitions by the Museum ofModern Art, the American Institute of Architects, and others. It was published not only in the architectural press but also in popular magazines, such as Time, Life, and Fortune. It was acclaimed for its elegant use of industrial materials,whichprovidedastylishyeteconomical solution to the needs of the school district.6 More than any other, the West Columbia Elementary School...