Architect Otho McCrackin

Hutchinson, Kansas architect Otho McCrackin (1893-1962) attended Washington University before serving as a pilot in the balloon division during the First World War. His drawing skills were utilized in the creation of strategic bird's eye views.(1)

After the war, he was associated first with the short-lived Curtis & McCrackin firm in Paris, Texas, and then joined the Hutchinson-based Mann & Company as a draftsman. In 1927, with encouragement from A.R. Mann, McCrackin submitted drawings to the West Coast Woods Architectural Competition. The jury awarded him $2,000 for his frame residence incorporating four Pacific Northwest woods: Douglas fir, West Coast hemlock, Sitka spruce and Western red cedar.

Unusual for a trade competition, McCrackin's West Coast Woods House was actually constructed in Portland, Oregon. In 1928, The American Lumberman reported that 10,000 prospective visitors were turned away the first week it opened due to the high demand.(2)  Photographs of the award-winning design graced such publications as Pencil Points, American Architect and Better Homes and Gardens. It is now a private residence.

Later in life, McCrackin partnered with Russell H. Heit and became a mentor to Kansas State University architecture graduate Leon Quincy Jackson (B.S. Arch. 1950).



(1)"Awards in West Coast Woods Architectural Competition." Pencil Points VIII:10 (October 1927): 635.

(2)"Prize Home Built at Portland, Ore." The American Lumberman (1928).

Images Above:  Otho McCrackin. Pencil Points VIII:10 (October 1927): 635.

Otho McCrackin, architect. "First Prize Design for A Residence and Garage." Pencil Points VIII:10 (October 1927): 634.

Otho McCrackin, architect. "House in Portland, Oregon, Built from Plans Submitted in the 1927 Competition Sponsored by the West Coast Lumber Bureau." The American Architect CXXXIV (20 July 1928): 131.

New Orleans Business Archive: Friede & Goldman

The New Orleans firm of Friede and Goldman, Ltd. was established by Jerome L. Goldman (1924-2013, shown left above) and Commander Vladimir M. Von Der Friede in 1949. Friede (1895-1966) had been a Russian naval officer prior to the revolution, and joined the U.S. Navy during the Second World War. Goldman was a 1944 University of Michigan School of Naval Architecture graduate who had worked for Andrew Jackson Higgins during the war.

The partners quickly established a firm of international renown. They designed ships and offshore rigs. In 1957, they collaborated with Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. and Bryant Boats (Bayou LaBatre, AL) to introduce all-aluminum welded towboats for work in marshland oil fields.(1) Three years later, the marine engineers developed a number of new vessels for the Delta Steamship Line, including:

Del Rio (Avondale Shipyards, Inc., 1960)
Del Sol (Avondale Shipyards, Inc., 1960)
Del Oro (Avondale Shipyards, Inc., 1960)

These three ships were originally planned for Delta's West African trade routes. The S/S Del Rio was the largest vessel ever built on the Mississippi River when it launched in July 1960. Friede and Goldman departed from traditional ship design in placing the superstructures in the forward part of the ship. The "Dels" were designed for a speed of 18 knots.

After Friede retired in February 1962, Goldman continued to manage the firm. Under his direction, the company designed five new Delta cargoliners:

Delta Argentina (Ingalls Shipyard Division of Litton Industries, 1968)
Delta Brazil (Ingalls Shipyard Division of Litton Industries, 1968)
Delta Paraguay (Ingalls Shipyard Division of Litton Industries, 1968)
Delta Uruguay (Ingalls Shipyard Division of Litton Industries, 1968)
Delta Mexico (Ingalls Shipyard Division of Litton Industries, 1968)

The S/S Delta Argentina was the first to launch. The 1968 ships featured centralized control stations in the engine rooms and on the bridge, as well as "bulbous" bows that were intended to increase speed (designed for 20 knots) and economize fuel.(2)

In 1969, Goldman introduced the world's first LASH (lighter aboard ship), the M/S Acadia Forest. This new transportation system was constructed at the Equitable-Higgins Shipyards on the Industrial Canal. The Port of New Orleans became the embarkation point for modern containerization techniques.

For more maritime history see the Mariners' Museum website.

For more about Avondale Shipyards, consult the University of New Orleans' Earl K. Long Library.

(1)"Aluminum Towboat for Bayou Work Is Planned." The Times-Picayune 17 February 1957.

(2)"Delta Inc. Ship on Maiden Voyage." The Times-Picayune 20 April 1968.

Image above: Jerome L. Goldman and Avondale Shipyards exec. vice president Henry Z. Carter at the Launching of S/S Del Rio. Chamber of Commerce News Bulletin LI:29 (15 July 1960): p. 2. Louisiana Research Collection, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

The Monolithic House (1946)

Before there was Lustron, New Orleans entrepreneur Andrew Higgins sought to manufacture a porcelain-coated steel building system. Invented by California architect Maury I. Diggs  and further developed by Higgins' research department, the ferro-enamel product could be utilized to build a house for as little as $3,000. Higgins hoped that he could re-purpose the Michaud plant to manufacture his trademarked Thermo-Namel to meet the nation's demand for affordable post-war housing.

Diggs visited New Orleans in March 1946 to help erect the first Thermonamel structure at Higgins' Industrial Canal site (press photograph above). The prefabricated enameled low carbon iron sheets were set up hollow with a 2.5" cavity that was later filled with Thermo-Con, a cellular concrete insulation that Diggs also invented. Once the Thermo-Con hardened, the building was "cemented" into place. Both Higgins and Diggs referred to the resultant structure as "monolithic."(1)

The completed demonstration house had a flat roof that extended beyond the exterior walls. Diggs designed the small residence and its surrounding garden walls, all comprised of Thermonamel. The material was also used for trim, rounded corners, gutters, shingles and floor tiles. Window openings were ordinary casements sealed in rubber and installed after the Thermo-Con pour. A unique feature was a circular tub, shown in the lower right-hand corner room above.(2)

The Higgins family acquired lots in the new Lake Vista subdivision with the intent to build their own Thermonamel residences. World War II veteran M.J. McLaney hoped to construct a Thermonamel Steak House on Air-Line Highway, and enlisted New Orleans architects Sporl & Maxwell to design an automobile-friendly scheme.


(1)"1st Higgins House Now Being Built." New Orleans States 20 March 1946.

(2) Hartshorn, Richard. "Higgins Building First New House." The Times Picayune 20 March 1946.

Image above:  Unidentified photographer. Going Up. Press photograph. March 1946. Visual Materials Collection, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Happy Home (1923)

Architect-builder Edwin L. Markel (1888-1956) completed a new residence for his family in 1923 and invited the public to visit his "Happy Home." Located at 4416 South Galvez Street, the house featured Celotex insulating lumber as an interior plaster base and as a sheathing under the exterior stucco and brick. Markel selected Celotex after visiting J.W. Thompson's Building Material exhibit (shown below) in the Weis Building (830 Common Street).

In November 1922, realtor Meyer Eiseman announced that Louisiana would soon boast the only town in the world to be built of bagasse. Located on the former Ames Farms tract, the celotex houses were intended to lodge plant workers after the company invested $1,000,000 in the West Bank riverfront property.(1)

The Celotex Corporation recognized the model home as an effective marketing device. It hired New York architects Henry Otis Chapman, Jr. (1898-1967) and Harold W. Beder (1876-1967) to design its demonstration house (shown below) for the 1939 New York World's Fair's "Town of Tomorrow".

Claiming Celotex products to be completely termite- and dry rot-resistant, the company published brochures and souvenir books for fair-goers. Savings and Loan Day was held on September 30, and the Celotex House hosted hundreds of association delegates who came to view the structure and its grounds.

After the Second World War, Celotex heavily promoted its ominous-sounding product, "Cemesto."(2) Precision-Cut Homes was a local builder that established a fireproof concrete block industrial plant mobilized for Cemesto prefabricated construction. It launched its model homes first in Jefferson Parish, at Cross and Second Streets.(3) The company could supply homes to qualified veterans for a mere $5,500 and offered dealer franchises to those located within a 300-mile radius. Precision-Cut was a short-lived venture: its 2500 Calliope Street plant was advertised for sale in August 1947.


(1)"Builders to Use Cane Pulp Board." The Times-Picayune 7 November 1922. Cambridge landscape architect John Nolen planned the Celotex "Farm City" of Clewiston, Florida for the company (1923-24).

(2)Celotex had launched Cemesto-Board in 1931.For more on Cemesto, see Jack Breihan, "Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company." DOCOMOMO_US Newsletter (Summer 2008): p. 7. URL: http://www.docomomo-us.org/files/DOCONewsSummer08.pdf

(3)"New Plant for Pre-Fab Houses." The Times-Picayune 19 May 1946.

Images above:  Top:  "Celotex Insulating Lumber." Advertisement. The Times-Picayune 4 February 1923.

Center and Bottom:  The Celotex Corporation. "Thanks for Dropping in to see the Celotex House." Brochure. Chicago: The Company, 1930. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Concrete & Steel (1946-50)

After World War II, there was a considerable amount of experimentation with building materials. Industrial plants that had been mobilized for war were converted to fuel the high demands for affordable residential architecture. Various commercial enterprises sought to capitalize on federal incentive packages.

For example, Andrew J. Higgins built a Thermo-namel demonstration house at his Industrial Canal plant in 1946 (shown above). Utilizing a technique developed by Oakland, California architect Maury I. Diggs, Higgins boasted that his "package homes" could be customized for any floor plan or color scheme. As we have mentioned in previous posts, a national steel shortage forced Higgins to abandon Thermo-namel and to develop Thermo-Con. 

Higgins resided in one of two Thermo-Con demonstration homes (constructed 1947) located at the intersection of Havana Street and North Broad Avenue (Sanborn Atlas 1963 image shown above), until his grander cellular concrete home was completed in the Lake Vista neighborhood in 1949.

Gunnison Homes, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel, developed porcelain-enameled steel prefabricated residences after the war. The Champion, shown above, was its low-cost model. Introduced in metropolitan New Orleans in 1949, the model was available in two sizes and multiple colors. Authorized dealer J. Burrows Johnson opened a demonstration home at 2811 Hamilton Street,situated in a neighborhood that came to feature a number of steel residences. The house is no longer extant.

Olin J. Farnsworth, who owned the Lustron franchise in New Orleans, opened his demonstration house in May 1949 at 3700 Cherry Street. The "surf blue" Westchester was outfitted with furnishings supplied by Kirschman's and was quickly joined by its De Luxe twin at number 3704 (Sanborn Atlas image above, 1961).

Between 1949 and 1950, Farnsworth built a number of Lustron Westchesters in the Crescent City.(1) He apparently utilized Lustron for a double bungalow, located at 9412-9414 Stroelitz (Sanborn Atlas image above, 1961). New Orleans architect and educator George A. Saunders briefly lived in the rear unit while teaching courses at Tulane University. Saunders worked for Bolt and Beranek, who served as acoustical consultants to Lustron.(2)

Baton Rouge also had its post-war neighborhoods. A large number of concrete block residences were built on Carleton Drive and North 39th Street between 1946 and 1947 (Sanborn Atlas image above, 1963). These typically included steel joists, flat roofs, curved facade elements and small carports. Many of these remain with minor modifications.

Historic Sanborn fire insurance atlases can help make the process of identifying new building materials easier. Lustrons, constructed of prefabricated steel frames and sheathing, appear as solid grey masses on historic Sanborns; Thermo-Cons, cast of cellular concrete on site, appear as gold masses marked "fire-proof." Concrete block structures are frequently indicated in blue with the abbreviation "C.B." and steel- and iron-clad frame structures typically have yellow centers with grey surrounds.

(1)These included:

Lustron Model Home, 3700 Cherry Street [Westchester model, surf blue, 1949]
3704 Cherry Street [Westchester model, 1949]
Joseph Gibson Residence, 3623 Livingston Street [Westchester model, 1949]
3629 Livingston Street [Westchester model, maize yellow, 1949]
3635 Livingston Street [Westchester model, 1949]
Julius Reese Residence, 4940 St. Roch Street [Westchester model, surf blue, c. 1949-50]
Merrill Ferrara Residence, 4969 St. Roch Street [Westchester model, c. 1949-50]
Stroelitz Double (?), 9412-9414 Stroelitz Street [Circa 1949-50]
John Warren Residence, 57 Egret Street [1950]
James T. Skelly Residence, 26 Bluebird Street [Westchester model, 1950]
Robert Smith Residence, 57 West Park Place [Westchester model, 1950]
128 Central Park Place [Westchester model, surf blue, 1950]

(2)Early Lustron owners complained about structure-borne and air-borne noise, and the company sought possible solutions from Bolt and Beranek.

Images above: "RFC Authorizes $9,000,000 Loan to Higgins for House Materials." The Times-Picayune 11 February 1947.

Square 1723. New Orleans. Sanborn Atlas. 1963.Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

"Champion Model." Gunnison Homes Catalog 1950.  As viewed 18 Mary 2015. URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenosale/sets/72157627624319138/

Square 601. 1961 sheet. New Orleans. Sanborn Atlas. Corrected to 1963. Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Square 567.  1961 sheet. New Orleans. Sanborn Atlas. Corrected to 1963. Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Squares 11 & 17. Baton Rouge. Sanborn Atlas. Corrected to 1963. Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Ben Shahn in the SEAA

In 1949, United States Gypsum Company art director Ione Shriver hired social-realist artist Ben Shahn (1898-1969) to illustrate its promotional journal, Popular Home. The late spring issue was dedicated to "small homes" and to suggest that theme, Shahn painted two carpenters putting up framing. The painting became the basis for the cover image shown above. The son of a carpenter, Shahn began to work as a commercial artist after the Second World War.

U.S. Gypsum distributed its journal to various regional dealers, including the E.A. Enochs Lumber Company in Natchez, Mississippi. The Southeastern Architectural Archive's copy was printed for Enochs and mailed to the Monteigne Plantation.

After the Second World War, the U.S. Gypsum Company leased 15 acres from the Dock Board along the Industrial Canal. In 1956, it built a $40 million plant on the site. Utilizing calcium hydrous sulphate imported from Jamaica, the New Orleans operation produced sheet rock wallboard, Rocklath plaster base and gypsum sheathing.

Images above: Front and back cover. Popular Home: Small Homes Review Issue  6:3 (Late Spring 1949). Architectural Trade Catalogs, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

William S. Wiedorn

William “Bill” Shaffrath Wiedorn (1896-1990) was a prominent landscape architect and town planner. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he graduated from Waterbury High School (CT), and then served in the United States Army during World War I as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry division’s machine gun section. After receiving his Bachelor of Science (1919) and while completing his Master of Landscape Design (1921) degree at Cornell University, Wiedorn was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). During this period, he also worked as an assistant designer for the Olmsted Brothers in Brookline, Massachusetts. In their employ, he contributed to the development of large estate subdivisions and park design. Most notably, he devised the planting and grading of the Rolling Rock Country Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


Image above:  William S. Wiedorn, landscape architect. New Orleans City Park Administration Building and the Climatron Area. [Detail].  George J. Riehl, chairman, Technical Advisory Committee. 16 June 1965.

From Oakland to New Orleans

In February 1946, Andrew Jackson Higgins, Jr. announced to Dallas businessman his latest venture, the development of an inexpensive solution to America's post-War housing shortage. Invented by Oakland, California architect Maury I. Diggs (1886-1953) in 1941, the ferro-enamel product could be utilized to build a house in three days for as little as $3,000. Higgins' research department further experimented with the product, trademarking it as Thermo-namel. The heat-fused porcelain enamel could be shipped to a building site and erected on a standard foundation. Thermo-namel sheets of equivalent size were then spaced apart to form a wall.  Once this sheathing was up, another Diggs innovation, a cellular concrete that Higgins trademarked "Thermo-con," was poured into the space between the Thermo-namel sheets.

Higgins claimed that Thermo-namel could be customized for any floor plan or color scheme, and that this flexibility would silence any objections to prefabricated construction. He felt his product could be used to build anything from garden furniture to skyscrapers. Seeking to attract Texas investors, he proclaimed the insulating Thermo-con to be "tornado-proof, earthquake-proof, dust-proof, vermin-proof and fireproof." Higgins hoped to build a $1 million plant in Dallas that would be exclusively geared towards providing affordable housing for veterans.

A national steel  shortage forced Higgins to abandon Thermo-namel and instead promote Thermo-con as the means of delivering homes to the masses. The earliest Thermo-con homes were built in New Orleans, designed by Sporl and Maxwell.

Read more:  "Higgins Proposes $3,000 Homes of Steel and Enamel." Dallas Morning News 14 February 1946.

Image above:  Designing for the Thermo-Con Cellular Concrete System. New Orleans: Higgins Inc. Thermo-Con Division, Undated. Circa 1950. Architectural Trade Catalogs, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries. Digitized via the Internet Archive's Building Technology Heritage Library.

NEW! Louis Goldstein Finding Aid

The Southeastern Architectural Archive recently finalized the processing of the Louis Goldstein Office Records and Papers. For researchers interested in Louisiana’s contributions to World War II, the history of Dillard University and the Goldstein family, this collection will prove noteworthy. As a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, Goldstein participated in the liberation of the Philippines, and his papers include photographs of structural damage to buildings, local residents and soldiers engaged in everyday activities and posed group portaits.  Architectural drawings reflect Goldstein’s contributions to Goldstein, Parham and Labouisse firm projects at Dillard University, including the Lawless Memorial Chapel and the Art Center.  Biographical information extends beyond his architectural training, for correspondence files consist of personal letters and cards, essays and notes taken while attending public lectures, as well as legal documents pertaining to Goldstein’s relationship with his architect-father.

Read more here.

Special thanks to Tulane University Libraries' Candace Maurice for all her assistance helping the SEAA launch its new finding aids!

Image above:  Louis Goldstein (center) in the Philippines. 1946.  Louis Goldstein Office Records and Papers, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.