Luther Emmett McCoy was born August 30, 1895 in Pocahontas, Arkansas and came to the Pacific Northwest after World War I. In the 1920s, he worked as a cabinet maker for the Oregon Doors Company in Portland. In the 1930s, he became a draftsman and cabinet maker for the Universal Woodworking Company. Reportedly, McCoy’s formal architectural education was via correspondence school, graduating in 1931.

After World War II, McCoy opened an architectural practice in Vancouver in 1946 and received his architectural license by reciprocity in 1949. T. Drexel Scott served as an associate of the firm. In 1952, McCoy formed a partnership with fellow architect Keith Bradbury. Practicing as McCoy & Bradbury until 1964, the firm’s designs include structures at Clark College in Vancouver and several buildings for the Clark County Public Utility District, including their headquarters building, scattered throughout southwest Washington. Other notable designs include Methodist Church (1950 in Drain, Oregon, an addition to the McAuley Hospital in Coos Bay, Oregon (1953), the North Bend Medical Center in North Bend, Oregon (1954). the Sara Anderson Elementary School (1955) in Vancouver, Holy Rosary Church (1955) in Edmonds (1955), St. Rita’s Catholic Church (1957) and Schwary’s Shopping Center in Portland, the Onalaska Elementary School (1958), the Independent Bank of Vancouver (1960), and a Lutheran church (1960) in Vancouver.

In 1965, McCoy formed a short-lived partnership with architect Gordon Hoops from Portland. McCoy, who was a Fellow of the Society of Registered Architects and National Vice President of the organization, passed away in Portland on June 18, 1968 at the age of 73.

– Michael C Houser