Born in Chatham, Illinois in 1923, Albert Orin Bumgardner graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. degree in architecture in 1949. Upon graduation he moved to Seattle, drawn to the city by seeing the published works of local architects Paul Thiry, Paul Hayden Kirk, and Fred Bassetti. Upon his arrival he worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, and then took a job with the architectural firm of Ralph Burkhart & Associates.

With practical experience at hand, in 1953 he started his own independent practice. Over the next 30+ years, Bumgardner produced many local, regional, and national award-winning projects. Bumgardner and/or his firm received Seattle AIA Honor Awards on a regular basis from 1954 to 1975. Among his more notable early projects were the Chester Bartholomew House (1960 Seattle AIA Home-of-the-Year Award), the A.O. Moore House, the Thomas Graham House (1956 Seattle AIA Home-of-the-Year Award), the Wallace Reed House (1959 Seattle AIA Home-of-the-Year Award), and the Bracher House. In February 1958, announcing his position as architectural advisor to Pacific Architect & Builder (PA & B) magazine, the architectural publication featured the Graham House in order to “help familiarize our readers with Bumgardner’s work.” Such publication of Bumgardner’s work continued on a regular basis with PA & B and his work was featured in Sunset Magazine numerous times.

As his practice expanded, in 1957 he hired his first employees, two young architects from the University of Washington, Al Dreyer and Peter Parsons. The practice worked out of Bumgardner’s home on E. Broadway and became a close-knit office. In 1960, Dreyer and Parsons became partners and the name of the firm was changed to the Bumgardner Partnership in 1967. Among their important first commissions was to design a new office building for the Pacific Architect & Builder in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood in 1960.

Widely published, the commission brought additional commercial and institutional work. Later projects included the Evergreen State College Residence Halls (1971-1972) and Seminar Building (1972) in Olympia, the Port Ludlow Beach Club (1972), the South Campus Center at the University of Washington (1974), the Tulalip Community Center (1974), and the Summit Tower Apartments (1974).

The increased workload also brought new talent into the firm including David Wright, Mark Simpson, David Hoedemaker, David Fukui, and Jennie Sue Brown. During the 1980s the firm, by then called “Bumgardner Architects,” secured many large urban mixed-use projects in Seattle, including Market Place North (1982), Waterfront Place (1983), and Watermark Tower (1983). The Bumgardner Partnership also supervised the renovation of the former Globe Navigation Building to become the Alexis Hotel (1982).

Active in a variety of local and civic affairs, Bumgardner had a big impact on young architects. In the early 1950s, he was recruited by the Seattle chapter of the AIA to organize a series of professional development seminars for early-career practitioners. The series was a huge success and he continued to be involved with the AIA, acting as Seattle Chapter Treasurer in 1956 and 1957, and later becoming President in 1963.

In 1971, Bumgardner was elected as a Fellow of the AIA and in 1987 he received the AIA Seattle Gold Medal. During the early 1970s, Bumgardner became active in a variety of import local preservation and urban revitalization efforts. As chairman of the Joint Commission of the Planning Commission and the Commission on Historic Zoning, he directed the drafting of the ordinance that created the Pioneer Square Historic District. Recognizing his influence, then Mayor Wes Uhlman then named him to head Seattle’s first Design Commission. Other activities included membership in key local cultural organizations, including Allied Arts, Historic Seattle, and Environmental Works Community Design Center.

Bumgardner passed away in Seattle in 1987.

Listen to 1986 interview with Bumgardner courtesy of the Seattle Public Library.

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– Michael C Houser