Male, US, born 1902-10-27, died 1959-09-11

Associated with the firms network

Dinwiddie and Hill, Architects; Dinwiddie, Hill, and Joseph; Dinwiddie, John Ekin, Architect; Hobart, Lewis P., Architect; McCall, Charles W., Architect; Mendelsohn, Dinwiddie and Hill, Architects


Professional History

Résumé

Draftsman, York and Sawyer, Architects, New York, NY, 1926.

Draftman, Bliss and Fairweather, Architects, San Francisco, CA, c. 1927.

Designer, Lewis P. Hobart, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1928.

Designer, Charles W. McCall, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1930-1931.

Principal, John Ekin Dinwiddie, Architect, Oakland, CA, 1931-1938, c. 1948-1952; in 1934, Dinwiddie had his office at 2815 Oak Knoll Terrace, Room B. (See Oakland, California, City Directory, 1934, p. 860.)

Senior Partner, Dinwiddie and [Albert Henry] Hill, Architects, 1938-c. 1940.

Partner, Dinwiddie, Hill, and [Phillip Emile] Joseph, Architects, c.1940-1942.

Partner, [Erich] Mendelsohn, Dinwiddie, and Hill, Architects, 1945-1947.

Principal, John Ekin Dinwiddie, Architect, San Francisco, 1948-1952. In 1951, Dinwiddie had his office at 461 Market Street, Room #900. (See Polk's San Francisco City Directory, 1951, p. 1568.)

Principal, John Ekin Dinwiddie, Architect, New Orleans, LA, 1953-1959.

Teaching

Visiting Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), 1951-1952. Dinwiddle lectured here during one of Dean William Wurster's first years at UCB. Wurster may have recommended Dinwiddie to his successor at MIT, Dean Pietro Belluschi for the next year.

Visiting Critic, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 1953.

Visiting Critic, University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Philadelphia, PA, 1953.

Dean, School of Architecture, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 1953-1959; the Dinwiddie Family had connections with Tulane, as Dr. Albert Bledsoe Dinwiddie (1871-1935), served as Professor of Mathematics (1906-1918) and President of Tulane University from 1918-1935. (See "Albert Bledsoe Dinwiddie [April 3, 1871-November 21, 1935],"Accessed 08/04/2011.)

Professional Activities

Architect, State of Louisiana, Department of Institutions, 1954-?; in 1956, Dinwiddie was a Registered Architect in CA and LA and was NCARB Certified; Member, New Orleans Chapter, American Institute of Architects, New Orleans, LA, 1953-?;

Education

College

B.S., Architecture, University of Michigan (U of M), Ann Arbor, MI, 1925. At Michigan, Dinwiddie worked with the Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950).

College Awards

Elected to Tau Sigma Delta, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1923.

Recipient, Booth Traveling Scholarship, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1927 for a design he did of a "State Historical Commission Building"; with this scholarship he traveled to England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Italy; Dinwiddie served as President of his class at the University of Michigan and as the President of the architectural student organization there in 1924.

Personal

Relocation

John Ekin Dinwiddie was born in Chicago, IL, on 10/27/1902.

In 04/1910, the Dinwiddie Family lived at 177 Franklin Street, Bloomfield Township, NJ.

Ten years later, it had moved to CA, living in a residence it owned at 2943 Avalon Drive, Berkeley, CA; according to the US Census of 1920, the family employed an 19-year-old Irish cook, Grace Dooney at this time. In 1956, Dinwiddie lived at 9412 Stroelitz Street, New Orleans, LA 70118-1944;

He was buried at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto, CA.

Parents

His parents were William Stewart Dinwiddie, (born 08/16/1871 in Clarksville, TN-d. 12/13/1932 in San Francisco, CA) and Helen Starrett Dinwiddie (born 04/14/1872 in Lawrence, KS- d. 08/22/1962 in Contra Costa County, CA). Her parents came from PA, his from VA. They married c. 1895.

William S. Dinwiddie founded the Dinwiddie Construction Company in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1911. (In the wake of the San Francisco Earthquake of 04/18/1906, abundant construction work was to be had in the Bay Area.) In 1920, he held the title of Dinwiddie Construction's President. Throughout the course of the twentieth century, it would become one of the largest construction firms on the West Coast, before merging with the E.A. Hathaway and Company construction firm on 10/01/1996.

John had four brothers: William Starrett Dinwiddie (b. 1896 in LA-d. 1928), Goldwin Carrington Dinwiddie (b. 1898 in LA-d. 1957), James, (born 01/04/1908 in Berkeley, CA-d. 1994) and William Stewart Dinwiddie (born c. 09/1915 in OR-d. 1966); four of the five brothers had been born in different states, indicating that the family moved a great deal. It is likely that William S. Dinwiddie's construction projects forced this periodic relocation.

Spouse

He married twice, first to Frances Fredericka Matthews Dinwiddie Keating (1904–1993) in 1939.

He then wed Evelyn Sanderson Dinwiddie (1899–1987), in 1955.

Biographical Notes

John and his brother, James, traveled from London, UK, to New York, NY, between 05/05/1928-05/14/1928 aboard the S.S. Minnewaska. Both lived at 2815 Oak Knoll Terrace in Berkeley, CA, at the time.



Associated Locations

  • Chicago, IL (Architect's Birth)
    Chicago, IL

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  • New Orleans, LA (Architect's Death)
    New Orleans, LA


PCAD id: 282