DAHL, GEORGE LEIGHTON (1894-1987)
BIOGRAPHY
George L. Dahl, architect, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 11, 1894, the son of Norwegian immigrants Olaf G. and Laura (Olsen) Dahl. He studied architecture at the University of Minnesota and received his bachelor's degree in 1920. After earning a master's degree from Harvard in 1923, he spent two years in Rome as a fellow at the American Academy. He returned to the United States in 1925 and worked briefly for architecture firms in New York and Los Angeles before moving to Dallas in 1926 to work for Herbert M. Greene's company, a large firm that at the time was constructing a number of buildings for the University of Texas. Dahl eventually became a partner in the firm and designed two dozen buildings for the university over the next two decades.
During the 1920s he also designed a number of large commercial buildings for clients in Dallas, including the Volk Brothers Building, the Titche-Goettinger Company Building, and the Neiman-Marcus store. In contrast to contemporaries O'Neil Ford and Howard R. Meyer, who developed their own unique styles, Dahl, as critic David Dillon noted, remained a stylistic chameleon who produced works to suit the needs and tastes of his clients. His early works ranged from Renaissance Revival to Second Empire and Spanish Colonial. Dahl's beaux-arts education and training strongly influenced his predilection for classically-inspired proportions and axial, balanced and symmetrical plans and elevations.
Dahl is best known for his work on the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park in Dallas, a complex of twenty-six Art Deco-style buildings designed by ten firms. He oversaw the planning and construction of the entire fair, which was completed in the astonishingly brief period of only nine months. The complex is now recognized as one of the best preserved assemblages of depression-era architecture and in 1986 was designated a national historic landmark.
Dahl was among the first Texas architects to have a nationwide practice and was among the pioneers in fast-track design, which allowed for actual construction to begin even before the design was finished. He is also credited with designing the nation's first drive-through bank, the Hillcrest State Bank in University Park (1938). By the time he retired in 1973, Dahl's firm had produced about 3,000 projects-over 100 of them in Texas-with an estimated value of over $2 billion. Among his best-known later works in Texas are the Dallas Methodist Hospital, Owen Art Center at Southern Methodist University, the Dallas Morning News building, and the LTV Aerospace Center. His work also included thirty-two stores for Sears, Roebuck and Company and fifteen prisons for the Texas Department of Corrections.
Dahl was married twice-in 1921 to Lillie E. Olsen, with whom he had one daughter, Gloria Dahl Akin; and again in 1978 to Joan Renfro. He was a Presbyterian, president of the Dallas Rotary Club (1936-37), director and a leading patron of the Dallas Opera for many years, a member of the Dallas City Advisory Committee from 1943 to 1945, and a member of the Greater Dallas Planning Council from 1948 to 1956. He contributed articles to Architectural Forum, American Architect, and other professional journals and was the author of Portals, Doorways and Windows of France (1925).
Dahl died of cancer on July 18, 1987, at the age of ninety-three at his home in Dallas.
SUBSTANTIAL WORKS:
The University of Texas at Austin master plan
THE FUTURE VISION OF THE LIFE AND ART OF GEORGE L. DAHL
A LETTER FROM ADRIENNE AKIN FAULKNER
A few years ago, I was rummaging around in my parents' storage locker and found my grandfather's mask collection lying patiently in boxes. I dug further to find his library books consisting of many design and architecture books and several treasures including scrapbooks that meticulously detailed all the facets of his life. As I poured over all these unusual treasures from airplane photos from the war in 1917, to amazing sketches and photos from his fellowship trip around the world in 1922-24, to his Centennial memorabilia, photos, diaries, letters and catalogues, it dawned on me that this man was highly unique, different, and more needed to be uncovered.
The more I looked the more I found, until it also dawned on me that the world needed to catch a glimpse of this true 20th century Renaissance man. George L. Dahl was a student, a teacher, a scholar, an altruist to our city and community. He was a military pilot in WWI, while in the same turn he was playing the role of lover and sending beautifully illustrated notes back to his girl Lillie, who was later to be my grandmother. He was a CEO that built the largest architectural firm in the country at one time and a leader of many people, events and organizations. He was so very well traveled at such a tender age. He was an artist and an amazing one at that. He was an inventor, having invented the first drive-through bank and never patenting it. It led to drive-throughs of all kinds. He had vision, faith, and the ability to carry these forward. Unfortunately I never knew him very well personally. I was quite young and he quite elderly. Yet, I have learned many things through his collections, his passion, and his work.
His architectural body of work has made a huge impact on not only our city's historical heritage, but statewide as well. Fair Park alone is only one of two National Historical landmarks in this city. It is the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world. It was only designed to stand for 9 months, yet it is still standing 65 years later. It is one of the anchors to our city's identity and future growth. He designed schools and campuses like UT Austin- 22 buildings out of the 33 that exist. From industrial sectors to Hotels to Corporate headquarters to manufacturing plants. He did not specialize, he diversified. There were government buildings, banks, high rise condos like the Goldcrest on Turtle Creek, and many prominent homes.
My vision is to see a cohesive professional exhibit culminate in "The life and art of George L. Dahl", which highlights all the different roles that he played which is finally exemplified by his collection of masks and his fascination of faces. Thanks to 500 Inc., we have set out a vision for a five year exhibit at the Hall of State, once a year during Artfest, honoring the different facets of his life. We have tried to give you a glimpse into the wealth of interesting collectibles that we have found. I would like to see the restoration and preservation of the original centennial renderings as well as many other collectibles. We have exhibited Giclee reproduction prints because, unfortunately, the originals are in such poor condition and need several thousand dollars for restoration and preservation. Many of his scrapbooks are in great danger of being destroyed and need to be restored and preserved for their historical significance.
We would like support, either physical or financial, to help to make our dream a reality. To see that in the age of technology and impersonal methods of communication, we honor the times of writing letters, of slowing down, of connecting with people and living life to the fullest. Not only will our friends and neighbors get to the see something of a dying art, a dying age, but we also work to preserve pieces of our heritage for our children and our children's children.
With Warmest Regards,Adrienne Akin Faulkner
CEO and Chief Creative Officer
Faulkner Design Group, Inc.
