Résumé

Senior Urban Designer, City of New York, Office of Midtown Planning and Development, New York, NY, 1972-1976. His obituary said of his time working for Mayor Lindsay's administration in New York: "They moved to New York where Don worked for Mayor John Lindsay in the Office of Midtown Planning and Development as a Senior Urban Designer. Projects there included the Madison Mall and Broadway Plaza (Times Square). Don was a founding board member of Project for Public Spaces (PPS) in New York and Seattle, dedicated to making urban spaces attractive and accessible for pedestrians. Don was a successful and talented architect, a pioneer of urban design, and an inspiration to many in his field. He was a leader on the design of many neighborhood plans, transit hubs and public spaces in Seattle and around the country. He believed that environments designed to serve the needs of the people who use them are meaningful and valuable, saying, “Environments should accommodate the needs of those who use them to make cities livable, exciting places to be.'" (See DignityMemorial.com, "Obituary: Don Miles, 1942-2021," accessed 02/09/2023.)

Principal, Don Miles Associates, Architects and Planners, Seattle, WA, 1976-1989. His family summarized his independent career: "Don opened his own firm, Don Miles Associates, in Pioneer Square when he returned to Seattle in 1976. Some of his local projects included the Master Plan for the Washington State Capitol Campus, Everett Station, the Union Station District Master Plan in Tacoma, and the Bellevue Pedestrian Corridor." (See DignityMemorial.com, "Obituary: Don Miles, 1942-2021," accessed 02/09/2023.)

Partner, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca (ZGF) Partnership, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1989-2010. He retired from ZGF's Seattle office in 2010. For ZGF, Miles contributed to the large-scale King Street Station Restoration and the Union Station redevelopment. He also worked on the design and construction of Stadium Place in Seattle.

Professional Activities

Member, Queen Anne Community Council, Land Use Review Committee, Seattle, WA. As per his obituary, Miles, "...was involved in developing design guidelines for the Queen Anne neighborhood." (See DignityMemorial.com, "Obituary: Don Miles, 1942-2021," accessed 02/09/2023.)

Member, Picture Perfect Queen Anne, Seattle, WA.

Professional Honors

Recipient, Fellow of the American Institute of Architect (FAIA), 1992.

College

Graduate, Olympia High School, Olympia, WA, c. 1960.

B.Arch., University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Seattle, WA, c. 1960-1965. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity at UW. His obituary noted of his time at UW: 'While at the UW, he was awarded a fellowship to travel in Scandinavia and study architecture. In 1966, he worked for his University of Washington professor, Astra Zarina, in her office in Rome, leading to his life-long love of Italy." (See DignityMemorial.com, "Obituary: Don Miles, 1942-2021," accessed 02/09/2023.)

M.Arch. and Master of City Planning in Urban Design, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design (GSD), Cambridge, MA, 1971.

College Awards

Graduate with Honors, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Seattle, WA, c. 1965.

Relocation

Donald Clifford Miles was born at Fort Knox, KY, while his father Donald Miles served in the US Army. After military service, his parents returned to live in Washtucna, WA, on a farm owned by the family of his mother, Katherine Gray. His obituary stated: "[Donald] spent his early years on the Gray family farm in Washtucna, WA, a seminal event in his life. He loved his time there, growing up with his aunts and uncle, and spending time with his grandparents. Throughout his youth he returned to spend summers on the farm." (See DignityMemorial.com, "Obituary: Don Miles, 1942-2021," accessed 01/26/2023.)

Don Miles, the architect's father, worked in Olympia, WA, while Donald attended Olympia High School. He matriculated at the University of Washington in about 1960 and remained here until the mid-1960s. He traveled in Europe, including Scandinavia, during the 1960s and worked in Rome for the UW Professor of Architecture Astra Zarina in 1966.

Between about 1969 and 1971, Miles earned Master of Architecture and Master of City Planning in Urban Design degrees from Harvard University. He got married in 1972 and he and bride Pamela moved to New York City, where he became a city planner in Mayor John Lindsay's dynamic administration. They remained in New York until 1976, when they decided to return his home state to raise a family.

Beginning in 1976, Miles relocated to the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, WA. Over the years, he was very active in Queen Anne community affairs, and lived there until well after 2000. In later years, Miles owned a condominium at White Pass, in the Cascade Mountains about 145 miles southeast of Seattle, where he and his family could ski avidly.

The architect passed away in Bellevue, WA, at Overlake Hospital on 12/02/2021.

Parents

His father was also Donald Miles (born c. 1920 in WA). who worked, in 1950, as a lawyer. His mother was Katherine E. Gray (born c. 1921 in WA), who grew up on a family farm near Washtucna, WA.

Spouse

He wed Pamela Wait (born 02/05/1947) in 1972 in Cambridge, MA.

Children

Donald and Pamela had three daughters: Katherine Miles Diers, Lesley Miles Robinett and Nicole Miles Dunn.

Biographical Notes

Founding member, Project for Public Spaces, Board, Seattle, WA, 1975.

Founding member, Seattle Children's Museum, Seattle, WA, c. 1980.

Miles, like many architects active in the 20th century, was an expert watercolorist.

Member, Plymouth Congregational Church, Seattle, WA.

• Overlake Hospital, Bellevue, WA (Architect's Death)
  1035 116th Avenue NE
  Overlake Hospital, Bellevue, WA 98004

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