John S. Detlie

Detlie, John S.

(1908 – 2005)

Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on December 23, 1908, John Stewart Detlie attended primary school in the deep south. He received an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Alabama and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1933. After graduation, he spent a short time working in the office of architect Albert Kahn, then for the firm of Zantzinger, Borie & Madacy in Philadelphia. Detlie then moved to Hollywood and spent seven years working for the movie industry. In 1940, he was nominated for an Oscar for his work as production designer on the film, Bittersweet Among his art-director credits were A Christmas Carol and “Captains Courageous. He also notably married the Hollywood star Veronica Lake during this period. They later divorced.

While serving in the Army, in 1942 he left Hollywood’s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios to manage a camouflage project in Seattle. To confuse enemy bombers, the Boeing Company goal was to hide the nearly twenty-six acre B-17 plant from the air. Detlie would use his skills as a set designer to cover Boeing’s Plant 2 with three-dimensional wire, and plywood and canvas structures that were made to look like a town, which included trees, houses and schools. After the war, in 1946, Detlie decided to stay in Seattle and joined the architecture firm of Young & Richardson. He became a full partner in 1952.

Under the name Young, Richardson, Carleton & Detlie, the firm produced a wide variety of projects. Among their more notable work is Gaffney’s Lake Wilderness Lodge, which received a National AIA Honor Award in 1952; Terry-Lander Hall (1953, 1957) and McCarty Hall (1963) at the University of Washington; the Seattle Parks Department Administration Building (1948); and the Seattle Children’s Orthopedic Hospital (1953).

Detlie left the firm in 1956 and formed a partnership with Raymond H. Peck. After Detlie left the Young Richardson & Carleton firm, it became  known as The Richardson Associates, and today is known today as TRA.

Projects under this Detlie & Peck partnership include the American Optical Company (1957); a house at 3879 51st Ave NE (1958); the Tradewell Store – Sandpoint Branch (1958); the Lakeview Lanai Apartments (1958); the Bellevue Christian Church (1959); the Mercer Vista Apartments (1959); the General Cable Corp. Office & Warehouse (1960); MacPherson’s Real Estate Office – Lakewood Branch (1959); and the Alpha Mu Chapter of Zeta Bata Tau Fraternity House (1960).

In 1964 Detlie left Seattle and moved to Los Angeles. While there he worked for noted architectural firm of Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall before retiring near Palm Springs. While in Seattle, Detlie was a pioneer in the Seattle arts movement and helped form the Allied Arts Club of Seattle, becoming their first president.

Detlie passed away in Westlake Village, California on November 30, 2005.

– Michael C Houser

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