John Gaw Meem
| John Gaw Meem | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Gaw Meem IV November 17, 1894 Pelotas, Brazil |
| Died | August 4, 1983 (aged 88) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Virginia Military Institute |
| Occupation | Architect |
John Gaw Meem IV (November 17, 1894 – August 4, 1983) was an American architect based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival style. Meem is regarded as one of the most important and influential architects to have worked in New Mexico. He also donated much of the land for St. John's College in Santa Fe, where he went on to serve on the Board of Visitors and Governors.
Meem was born in 1894 in Pelotas, Brazil, the eldest child of parents who were missionaries of the Episcopal Church. In 1910 he traveled to the United States to attend Virginia Military Institute, where he obtained a degree in civil engineering. After graduating, he worked briefly for his uncle's engineering firm in New York before being called up for military service. Having spent the duration of World War I at a training camp in Iowa, Meem was hired by the National City Bank of New York and sent to Rio de Janeiro. Soon after arriving in Brazil, however, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Like many other tuberculosis patients of his time, Meem decided to seek the cure in the dry desert climate of New Mexico. He arrived at the Sun Mount Sanatorium in Santa Fe in the spring of 1920.
While at Sunmount, Meem gradually developed an interest in architecture. His initial curiosity was fueled by members of the nascent art community that was studying and preserving the adobe buildings of not only the ancient inhabitants of pueblos but also the Spanish missionaries in New Mexico. In particular he gravitated to the painter Carlos Vierra, who was a fellow patient at Sunmount. Both men found inspiration in the landscape and buildings of the old southwest. Meem also developed an interest in the preservation of historic buildings, a pursuit that would occupy him throughout his career.
...
Wikipedia