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Male, born 1883-06-29, died 1954-12-19
Associated with the firms network
Mallis and De Hart, Architects; Mallis, DeHart and Hopkins, Architects; Mallis, William, Architect; Pacific Coast Company, Building Contractors
Résumé
Draftsman's Apprentice, Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, c. 1900-1904. An obituary in the Pacific Architect and Builder noted: "A native of Scotland, Mallis learned architecture during a 4-year apprenticeship to an estate and conservatory architectural firm at Perth." (See "Deaths," Pacific Architect and Builder, vol 61 no. 1, 01/1955, p. 16.)
Building Superintendent / Draftsman, John H. Felt and Company, Saint Joseph, MO/Kansas City, MO, 1912-1917. Felt had an office in Room #721 of Kansas City, MO's Shukert Building (built in 1903, razed in 1967) on Grand Avenue in 1910. (See Kansas City, Missouri, City Directory, 1910, p. 1020.) In 1915, Felt had an office at at 800 Grand Avenue in Kansas City, MO, perhaps the same location, although the Shukert Building was listed as having occupied 1113-1119 Grand. (See Kansas City, Missouri, City Directory, 1915, p. 1335.)
Structural Draftsman, Pacific Coast Coal Company, Seattle, WA, 1918-1919. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Washington; Registration County: King Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 07/14/2025.)
Principal, William Mallis, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1919-1947. Mallis operated in Room #409 of the Lyon Building in 1922. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1922, p. 1115.) He worked with Joseph DeHart by at least 04/26/1942, as the latter was listed as his permanent contact on Mallis's World War II draft registration card. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 130, accessed 07/14/2025.)
Partner, Mallis, [Joseph H.D.] DeHart and Hopkins, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1947-1951.
Partner, Mallis and DeHart, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1953-1954. Mallis worked for 35 years in various offices in the Lyon Building, Seattle. In 1923, his office was in Room 409. The firm continued to be named "Mallis and DeHart" for some time after Mallis's death, at least until 1959.
According to architect and historian, Larry Johnson, "William Mallis...was one of the most prolific school designers in Washington State." (See
Relocation
Mallis was born in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, to a prosperous household on 06/29/1883. (His 1916 US naturalization document indicated his birthdate to have been 06/29/1884.) The family lived on the north side of Hight Street, in Castle Brae, a neigbhorhood of Auchterarder as reported by the 1891 Scottish Census. His father William Mallis, also died in this neighborhood in 1915. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Parish: Auchterarder; ED: 5; Page: 9; Line: 15; Roll: CSSCT1891_107 Source Information: 1891 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 07/11/2025.) In both the 1891 and 1901 Scottish Censuses, the Mallis household employed two domestic servants, indicating that they had a comfortable standard of living.
As the last-born son, he enjoyed some benefits from being the youngest in a prosperous family. On the plus side, he, unlike his elder brothers James and John, could avoid working in the family shoe business and select his own profession. Due to the 1908 death of his eldest brother James, who may have received the largest share of the inheritance, his father's estate of 485 pounds, 8 shillings and 4 pence, a modest amount, was distributed in 1916 to his mother Catherine, two brothers Donald, John and himself. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Scotland, National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry Operations, Inc., 2015, accessed 07/11/2025.)
Mallis first visited the U.S. in early 04/1905, when he sailed aboard the S.S. Astoria from Glasgow to New York, NY. The "Manifest of Alien Passengers" indicated that he came to visit a friend who resided in Columbus, OH, and stated that he worked as a draughtsman. He returned permanently to live in the US about three years later, on 06/06/1908 aboard the Anchor Liner, S.S. California, sailing between Glasgow and New York, NY. (The S.S. California replaced the S.S. Astoria in the Anchor Line fleet.) On this 1908 trip his final destination was also Columbus, OH. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85, accessed 07/14/2025.)
A William Mallis resided in Reno, KS, about thirty miles due west of Kansas City, MO, on 04/23/1910, as noted by the US Census of that year. He lived as a boarder in the McKee Household, and appears to have worked as an architect. By 1915, at the time of the dispersal of his father's estate, William lived in Kansas City, MO. The architect was naturalized an American citizen on 07/03/1916 in the US District Court of Kansas City, MO. According to this naturalization document, he entered the US on 06/13/1908 in New York, NY. Witnesses for the procedure included his employer architect John Henry Felt (1867-1938) and Dick B. Foster, both of Kansas City, MO. His address during 1915 and 1916 was 4025 Virginia Avenue in the South Hyde Park neighborhood of Kansas City. (See Kansas City, Missouri, City Directory, 1915, p. 1335 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at Kansas City; Kansas City, Missouri; Naturalization Index for the Western District of Missouri, compiled 1930 - 1950, documenting the period ca. 1848 - ca. 1950; Record Group Title: Records of the District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: RG 21, accessed 07/14/2025.)
World War I draft registration records indicated that Mallis lived in Seattle, WA, on 09/12/1918, and lived in an apartment at 1726 15th Avenue in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. He worked as a structural draftsman for the Pacific Coast Company. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Washington; Registration County: King Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 07/14/2025.) Mallis and his wife Jane Barber continued to inhabit the apartment building at 1726 15th Avenue in Seattle, WA (Apartment #21), according to the 1920 US Census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: T625_1928; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 197, accessed 07/14/2025.) The pair preferred living in apartments over single-family dwellings during their time in Seattle, although they likely resided in a house at 9321 47th Avenue South in 1922. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1922, p. 1115.) They moved with regularity during the 1918-1954 period.
A 1923 U.S. passport application indicated that he came to America in 1908. (Mallis needed a passport as he planned to travel to visit relatives in Great Britain in 09/1923.) The U.S. District Court (Western Division) at Kansas City, MO, naturalized him on 07/03/1916. The passport application of 08/17/1923 noted that he had lived in MO, KS and WA, in the years between 1908-1923. (He also resided in Fallon, NV, for a short time, c. 1918.) Varying dates were recorded on official documents regarding the date of Mallis's immigration to the US. According to the US Census of 1920, he arrived in 1908 and was naturalized in 1916, while that of 1930, noted that he immigrated in 1906 from Scotland. The Canadian passenger manifest for the ship S.S. Caledonia from 10/03/1906, indicated that a William Mallis traveled from Glasgow, Scotland to New York via Montreal, QC.
As noted in the 1930 US Census, William and Jane Mallis lived in rented apartment at 1727 16th Avenue in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 0111; FHL microfilm: 2342232, accessed 07/14/2025.)
He and Jane relocated to an apartment at 723 Federal Avenue in Capitol Hill by 1940. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: m-t0627-04378; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 40-139A, accessed 07/14/2025.)
On 04/26/1942, Mallis resided in the Tuscany Apartments at 1215 Seneca Street in Seattle's First Hill area. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 130, accessed 07/14/2025.)
The architect passed away at Swedish Hospital in Seattle from a heart attack on 12/29/1954. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Washington Death Index, 1940-2017, accessed 07/14/2025.)
Parents
His father, also William Mallis (born c. 1830 in Blackford, Perthshire, Scotland-d. on either 10/07/1915 or 10/17/1915 in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland), lived and worked in Perthshire, Scotland, a large county due north of the main population centers or Glasgow and Edinburgh. (This county was combined in 1975 with a neighboring one, Kinross-shire, to create the present "Perth and Kinross County.") As recorded on the Scottish Census of 1851, William Mallis, the elder, lived with his mother, three siblings, one brother-in-law and a lodger in the town of Blackford, Perthshire. He earned a living as a shoemaker at this time, working perhaps on his own, perhaps apprenticed to another established man. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Parish: Blackford; ED: 7; Page: 9; Line: 14; Roll: CSSCT1851_72; Year: 1851 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1851 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006, accessed 07/11/2025.)
The elder William prospered significantly during his lifetime in shoemaking. By 1871, he worked as a master shoemaker, "employing 30 Men & 4 Boys & 3 Girls." As per the 1881 Scottish Census, this boot and shoe-making enterprise had grown to have 37 Men, 7 Boys and 7 Women by 1881. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Parish: Auchterarder; ED: 5; Page: 15; Line: 9; Roll: cssct1881_99 Source Information Ancestry.com. 1881 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 07/11/2025.) He continued to own a boot-making factory in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, in 1891 and 1901, according to the Scottish Censuses of those years. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Parish: Auchterarder; ED: 5; Page: 9; Line: 15; Roll: CSSCT1891_107 Source Information: 1891 Scotland Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 07/11/2025.)
The Mallises were property owners in Perthshire. In 1896, Scottish tax records showed that the elder William Mallis owned a leather storehouse and workshop, additional storehouse, engine house and gardens for his manufacturing plant and a residence rented to a shoemaker, Alexander Johnstone. His son James Mallis owned a house and shop and an additional house and garden, rented to a painter, William Taylor. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Perth and Kinross Council Archive; Valuation Register for Perth and Perthshire, 1896-1897; Roll: SCPERa022_040Vr18961897, accessed 07/11/2025.)
William Mallis, the elder, married Catherine B. Turner (born c. 1845-d. 07/29/1929 in Auchterarder, Scotland), on 12/25/1868 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information: Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561-1910 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, accessed 07/11/2025.) Catherine Turner managed the household and bore at least eight children in Auchterararder, who included: James Mallis (born 02/21/1870 in in Auchterarder, Scotland-d. 12/04/1908 in Auchterarder, Scotland), Christina Bell Mallis (born 12/26/1871 in Auchterarder, Scotland), Catherine Eadie Mallis (born 06/18/1873 in Auchterarder, Scotland), Mary Mallis (born c. 1876 in Auchterarder, Scotland-d. 07/04/1960 in Auchterarder, Scotland), Helen Mallis (also called Nelly) (born c. 1878 in Auchterarder, Scotland), Donald Turner Mallis (born c. 1880-d. 04/1956 in Lougheed, AB, Canada) and John Mallis (born 04/06/1881 in Auchterarder, Scotland-d. 06/1953 in Scotland). William was the youngest son of William and Catherine. At various times, elder brothers James, Donald and John worked with their father in the family business.
John served in the British Army's Army Service Corps during World War I. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Army Medal Office (In the Care of the Western Front Association Website); London, England; Wwi Medal Index Cards, accessed 07/11/2025.)
His elder brother Donald also emigrated from Scotland, arriving in Montreal, QC, Canada, on 01/09/1906, and obtained a homestead farm, Drumochy Farm, in Lougheed, AB, Canada, during February-April of 1908. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Library and Archives Canada; Form 30A Ocean Arrivals (Individual Manifests), 1919-1924; Rolls: T-14939 - T-15248, accessed 07/11/2025 and Ancestry.com, Source Information: Alberta, Canada, Homestead Records, 1870-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 07/11/2025.)
Spouse
William Mallis's wife, Jane Barber Mallis, (born c. 11/1882 in Humboldt, KS), was 9 months older than the architect. Her parents, according to the US Census of 1930, came from IL (father) and IN (mother). William and Jane married c. 1914. The 1920 US Census indicated that Jane Barber worked as a teacher in the Seattle Public Schools. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: T625_1928; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 197, accessed 07/14/2025.)
Biographical Notes
Architectural historian David Rash has done research on Mallis and noted factual errors in birth and death dates listed in PCAD (before 01/15/2010) for Mallis. Previous dates of 05/04/1894 and 02/03/1989 were incorrect. According to Rash, Mallis was born in Scotland in 1883, and died on 12/19/1954. (E-mail correspondence between Rash and Alan Michelson, 01/12/2010.) Subsequent research has indicated a birthdate of 06/29/1883 for Mallis.
On his World War I draft registration card of 09/12/1918, Mallis was described as being of medium height and build, having blue eyes and gray hair. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Washington; Registration County: King Source Information: U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 07/14/2025.) At age 58, his World War II draft registration card listed him as Caucasian, with a light complexion, blue eyes and gray hair. He stood 5-feet, 8-inches tall. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 130, accessed 07/14/2025.)
Between 02/06/1924-02/13/1924, William and Jane Mallis traveled aboard the S.S. Berengaria from Cherbourg, France, to New York, NY.
PCAD id: 3989
| Name | Date | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Washington School District #414, Lake Washington High School #1, South Rose Hill, Kirkland, WA | 1949-1950 | Kirkland | WA |
| Monroe Union High School Board, Monroe Middle School and Wagner, George, Auditorium, Monroe, WA | 1938-1939 | Monroe | WA |
| Seattle Pacific University (SPU), Crawford Music Building, Queen Anne, Seattle, WA | 1959-1960 | Seattle | WA |
| Seattle Public Schools, Eckstein, Nathan, Junior High School, Seattle, WA | 1949-1950 | Seattle | WA |
| Shoreline School District #412, Shorecrest High School, Shoreline, WA | 1960-1961 | Shoreline | WA |
