Find more New Haven Museum Events and Community & Culture events in New Haven
Description
Did you know that the White House was nearly torn down during the Truman administration? New Haven architect Douglas Orr was instrumental in saving much of it. New Haven Museum will celebrate National Preservation Month focusing on the work of architect and visionary Douglas Orr. “Douglas Orr: Connecticut and Beyond,” with Cynthia Wrightsman and Douglas Orr Logan, will be held on May 22, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. The free event will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
Orr designed the World War One Memorial Flagpole on the New Haven Green, and the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library in Branford, Connecticut. He went on to receive national acclaim. "A talented and prolific architect, Douglas Orr, of Stony Creek, Branford, Connecticut, was active in his community and built a national legacy." says Wrightsman. She notes that two of Orr’s buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places: The New Haven Lawn Club, and the former Southern New England Telephone Company headquarters on Church Street, New Haven.
Orr began designing houses in the 1920s, soon after he graduated from Yale University. In 1926 he opened his own firm in New Haven. Between the 1920s and 1950s, Orr’s architectural firm had a huge impact on New Haven. He had his hand in everything, from municipal buildings, low-income housing, Yale University building additions and alterations, hospitals, churches, and homes.
Logan notes that Orr’s motto was: "To specialize is to fossilize." He adds that Orr was a humanist architect by nature, and his preferred styles lay in the old school. “But he was excited about new forms, materials, and building techniques,” Logan says. “ He was not the chief designer for all of the projects that came out of his office, but he worked with clients and encouraged his associates and partners to try everything from Beaux Arts to Art Deco to Brutalism.”
In 1949, Orr became vice chairman of the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion (The White House) Working with President Truman, Orr was the only architect on the commission.
About Cynthia Wrightsman
Cynthia Wrightsman is the archivist for the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library in Stony Creek, Connecticut. She formerly worked as a research historian investigating Superfund sites, and other environmental issues for corporate clients.
Douglas Orr Logan
Logan began his career as a book editor in New York, focusing on U.S.-Soviet relations and Cold War topics. He went on to spend 35 years in the marine publishing field, writing and editing articles about boats, nautical gear, and the sea. He's the author of “BoatSense,” and “Two Things: A Cold War Publishing Story” an electronic memoir. He lives in Stony Creek, Connecticut.
About the Whitney Library
The Whitney Library in the New Haven Museum is open to anyone interested in the past of the city of New Haven. With tens of thousands of documents, books, and archives, the Whitney Library is the most expansive collection of New Haven texts in the city.
About the New Haven Museum
The New Haven Museum has been collecting, preserving and interpreting the history and heritage of Greater New Haven since its inception as the New Haven Colony Historical Society in 1862. Located in downtown New Haven at 114 Whitney Avenue, the Museum brings more than 375 years of New Haven history to life through its collections, exhibitions, programs and outreach. As a Blue Star Museum, the New Haven Museum offers the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, free admission all year. For more information visit http://newhavenmuseum.org or @NewHavenMuseum or call 203-562-4183.
Photo: The interior of the White House during renovation efforts under the Truman administration. Douglas Orr, as president of the American Institute of Architects at the time, was instrumental in the preservation of the building itself.
Date & Time
Thu, May 22, 2025 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Venue Details
New Haven Museum
114 Whitney AvenueNew Haven, Connecticut 06510
