Laird and Cret

• American

Warren Powers Laird and Paul Phillippe Cret, both professors in the School of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, served together as consultants to many states, cities and private parties during the early twentieth century. Laird (1851-1941) was born in Minnesota and educated at Cornell University. After a period of supplementary training with various firms in Boston and New York, Laird attended an atelier in Paris. In 1891 Laird assumed directorship of the newly established School of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, becoming a leading figure in architectural education in the United States. Cret (1876-1945), was born in Lyons, France, studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and accepted a position as assistant professor of design at the University of Pennsylvania in 1903. Cret was promoted to full professor in 1907, at which time he retired from active participation in academia to initiate his architectural career, although he maintained his association with the University of Pennsylvania until 1937. Laird and Cret are associated with a number of buildings on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus, including the Central Heating Station (1908), the Stock Pavilion (1908), Lathrop Hall (1910), the Argricultural Chemistry building (1912), the Home Economics building (1913), Wisconsin high School (1914), and Sterling Hall (1916). Cret was an internationally prominent architect who won wide recognition during his professional career. His most notable designs include the Pan American Union building (1907-1910), designed with Albert Kelsey and located in Washington, DC; the Detroit Institute of Fine Arts (1921), a collaboration with Zantziger, Borie and Medary; and the Folger Shakespeare Memorial Library (1932), also located in the nation's capital. - NRHP