R. H. Hunt

Reuben Harrison Hunt (February 2, 1862 – May 28, 1937), also known as R. H. Hunt, was an American architect who spent most of his life in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[1] He is considered to have been one of the city's most significant early architects.[2] He also designed major public building projects in other states. He was a principal of the R.H. Hunt and Co. firm.

Reuben Harrison Hunt
Born(1862-02-02)February 2, 1862
Elbert County, Georgia
DiedMay 28, 1937(1937-05-28) (aged 75)
Chattanooga, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
PracticeR. H. Hunt Company
BuildingsSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium
Elbert County Courthouse photographed in 2012
The Tabernacle (formerly Tabernacle Baptist Church) in Atlanta, Georgia, photographed in 2009

He came to Chattanooga in 1882 and within four years had established a successful architectural firm. Hunt designed a number of Chattanooga's homes and public buildings, including the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium (1922), the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (1934) with Shreve, Lamb and Harmon,[3] the Hamilton County, Tennessee Courthouse (1912), the James (1907) and Maclellan (1924) buildings, the Carnegie Library (1905) and the St. John's Hotel (1915).

Hunt also designed churches throughout the South. This included well-known Chattanooga churches such as Second Presbyterian Church and First Baptist Church,[4] as well as The Tabernacle in Atlanta.[5] Numerous works by Hunt are preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places,[6] 21 of which are covered in one 1979 survey study.[7]

The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee, built 1932-1933, was Hunt's last major work. Hunt designed every major public building constructed in Chattanooga between 1895 and 1935. He was also the architect of local churches, hospitals, and private office buildings, as well as similar public and private buildings throughout the South.[8] In 1938 the Chattanooga building was recognized by the American Institute of Architects as one of the 150 finest buildings constructed in the previous twenty years in the United States, and it was featured in an AIA photographic exhibit in America and Europe.[8]

Works

Projects credited to Hunt or his firm include (with attribution):

  • Alexandria Hall-Louisiana College, Louisiana College, Pineville, LA (Hunt, R.H., Co.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Austin Avenue Methodist Episcopal South Church, 1300 Austin Ave, Waco, TX (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Brainerd Junior High, 4201 Cherryton Dr., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Courthouse in Cadiz Downtown Historic District, Cadiz, KY (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Central United Methodist Church, 201 E. Third Ave., Knoxville, TN (Hunt, R.H. and Co.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Chattanooga Bank Building, 8th St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Chattanooga Car Barns, 301 Market St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Chattanooga Electric Railway, 211-241 Market St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Court Street Baptist Church, Portsmouth, VA.[9]
  • Elbert County Courthouse, Courthouse Sq., Elberton, GA (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • First Baptist Church, 538 Linden Ave., Memphis, TN (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • First Baptist Church, 418 E. Bute St., Norfolk, VA (Hunt, Reuben H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • First Baptist Church, 119 29th St., Newport News, VA NRHP-listed
  • First Baptist Church Education Building, 317 Oak St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • First Methodist Church of Greenwood, 310 W. Washington St., Greenwood, MS (Hunt, Reuben Harris) NRHP-listed[6]
  • First Presbyterian Church, AR 79B, Fordyce, AR (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • First Presbyterian Church, 300 E. Main, El Dorado, AR (Hunt, R. H., & Associates) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Fountain Square, 600–622 Georgia Ave. and 317 Oak St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Grove, E. W. Henry County High School, Grove Blvd., Paris, TN (Hunt, R. H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Hamilton County Courthouse, W. 6th St. and Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Henderson Hall, Tennessee Technological University, Dixie Ave., Cookeville, TN (Hunt, Reuben H.,& Co.)
  • Henry County Courthouse, Court Square, Paris, TN (1896)
  • Highland Park Methodist Episcopal Church, Bailey Ave., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • James Building, 735 Broad St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Rueben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Hunt, R.H., Shreve, Lamb and Harmon) (1934)
  • Kimsey Junior College, 244 TN 68, Ducktown, TN (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Lander College Old Main Building, Stanley Ave. and Lander St., Greenwood, SC (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Lawrence County Courthouse, N. side Broad St. between Jefferson and Washington Sts., Monticello, MS (Hunt, Reuben) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Lookout Mountain Hotel (1927), now Carter Hall on Covenant College campus. NRHP-listed in 2019.
  • Maclellan Building, 721 Broad St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • McFarlin Memorial Auditorium, 6405 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas, TX (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Medical Arts Building (Chattanooga, Tennessee), McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Miller Brothers Department Store, 629 Market St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Montgomery Hall, Mississippi State University campus, Starkville, MS (Hunt, R.H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Municipal Building, E. 11th St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Nathan L. Bachman School, 281 Anderson Pike, Walden, TN (Hunt, R.H. & Co.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • North Alexander School, North Alexander Avenue, Washington, GA 30673
  • Northside Presbyterian Church, 923 Mississippi Ave., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed, the one known Greek Revival work by Hunt in Hamilton County[6][7]
  • Old Library Building, 200 E. 8th St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Polk County Courthouse, Bounded by US 411 and Ward, Commerce and Main Sts., Benton, TN (Hunt, R.H. & Co. et al.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Polk Street Methodist Church, 1401 S. Polk St., Amarillo, TX (Hunt, R.H., Co.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Second Presbyterian Church, 700 Pine St. Chattanooga TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium, McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6] (1922)
  • Third Baptist Church, 527 Allen St., Owensboro, KY (Hunt, R.H.) 1896
  • Tivoli Theater, 709 Broad St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, McCallie Ave. Chattanooga TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Frances Willard House, 615 Lindsay St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Wisteria Hotel, Central Ave., Winona, MS (Hunt, R.H. & Co.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • Wyatt Hall, 865 E. Third St., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • One or more works in Missionary Ridge Historic District, N. and S. Crest Rd. from Delong Reservation to 700 S. Crest Rd., Chattanooga, TN (Hunt, Reuben Harrison) NRHP-listed[6]
  • One or more works in Paris Commercial Historic District, Along sections of E. and W. Wood, W. Washington, N. and S. Poplar, N. and S. Market, Fentress and W. Blythe Sts., Paris, TN (Hunt, Rueben H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • One or more works in South Main Street Historic District, 200–422 S. Main St., Pikeville, TN (Hunt, R. H.) NRHP-listed[6]
  • One or more works in Winona Commercial Historic District, Roughly bounded by Magnolia St., Central Ave., Carrollton St. and Sterling Ave., Winona, MS (Hunt, R. H.) NRHP-listed[6]

References
  1. Butler, Sara A., "TN Encyclopedia: REUBEN HARRISON HUNT", Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, retrieved 2009-01-29
  2. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Buildings in Hamilton County Designed by R. H. Hunt, 1980
  3. Townsend, Gavin (2010). "Chattanooga, Tennessee: A City Transformed" (PDF). Newsletter of the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians. Society of Architectural Historians. 27 (2).
  4. Wilson, John (March 7, 2004), "Architect R.H. Hunt's "References"", The Chattanoogan, archived from the original on June 3, 2009, retrieved April 9, 2010
  5. "Plans Accepted for Tabernacle; Work Will Begin", The Atlanta Georgian and News, VI (82), p. 7, November 8, 1907, retrieved April 8, 2010
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  7. M. A. Carver (February 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Thematic Group: Buildings in Hamilton County Designed by R. H. Hunt".
  8. "GSA - Find a Building". Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Chattanooga, TN: Building Overview. U.S. General Services Administration. 2009-08-24.
  9. Ruegsegger, Bob. "Court Street Baptist Church unveils historic marker". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
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