Walter Ferris Price (August 31, 1857 – May 22, 1951) was an American architect. He was known as a designer and restorer of Quaker meeting houses. His brother was an architect William Lightfoot Price. He was also a co-founder and teacher of Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
Walter Ferris Price | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 31, 1857 |
| Died | May 22, 1951 (aged 63) |
| Education | Haverford College, BA 1881 and MA 1882 Harvard University, MA 1884 |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | W. L. and F. L. Price Walter Ferris Price |
Early life
editPrice was born on August 31, 1857 in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.[1][2] His parents were Sarah (née Lightfoot) and James Martin Price.[3] His family was Quaker, descendeds from Quakers who were amongst the first to arrive in Pennsylvania.[2] He spent his childhood in the Wallingford, Pennsylvania area.[4]
Price went to the Westtown School and the Friends Select School.[1] He then attended Haverford College, graduating with a bachelor's degree in classical studies in 1881 and a master's degree in classical studies in 1882.[3][5][2]While at Haverford, he was a member of the varsity baseball and football teams.[2]
Later, he went to Harvard University, receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1884.[3]
Career
editPrice and Isaac Sharpless founded the Haverford Grammar School in Haverford, Pennsylvania; Price taught classics there from 1884 to 1891.[4][3] He became interested in Italian architecture after several trips to Europe and decided to change careers.[4] Price went to Philadelphia where he studied architecture with Cope and Stewardson.[3]
Price joined W. L. and F. L. Price, the architectural firm of his brothers, Francis "Frank" L. Price and William Lightfoot Price, working there for nearly ten years.[1][6][3] By 1902, he formed his own practice.[1] He received a commission for Haverford College.[1] He also designed houses for Milton W. Young in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]
Price formed the practice Price & Walton with his cousin William McKee Walton in 1923, continuing until 1935.[4][1] He designed the Westtown School meetinghouse, which led to Price & Walton's commission for the Friend Meeting House on Florida Avenue in Washington, D.C., at the request of Lou Henry Hoover.[4][2] Price became "authority on the design and restoration of Friends' meetinghouses".[1]
Price also designed buildings for East Coast colleges, including Alumnae Hall at Mount Holyoke College, Haverford Union at Haverford College, and the Philips Memorial at West Chester State College.[1][4][2] He also designed three hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and many houses in the Philadelphia area.[4]
Price was a member of the American Institute of Architects.[2]
Personal life
editPrice married Felicia Thomas of Phildelphia on December 8 1906.[4][7] The couple purchased and remodeled a farmhouse in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.[4] In 1916, they moved to Moylan, Pennsylvania, where he designed a new house based on the farmhouse.[1]
Price was a photographer and watercolorist.[4] He collected a large library of art and photography books that he bound by hand.[4] Price was a member of the Friends' Historical Society and the Welsh Society.[2] He joined the T-Squared Club in 1892.[4]
Price died in the Friends Hospital in Frankford, Pennsylvania on May 22, 1951, at the age of 93 years.[1][2][8] He was buried in the Concord Friends Burial Ground in Concordville, Pennsylvania.[8]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Tatman, Sandra L. "Price, Walter Ferris (1857-1951)". Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Walter Price, 93, Architect, is Dead; Expert on Old Meeting Houses Had Designed Buildings and Schools for the Friends". The New York Times. 1951-05-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Walter F. Price papers". Philadelphia Area Archives. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Walter Ferris Price". The Rose Valley Museum at Thunderbird Lodge. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ↑ "Haverford College". Chester County Village Record. West Chester, Pennsylvania. June 24, 1882. Retrieved March 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Bishir, Catherine W.; Boney Jr., Charles (2009). "Price, William L. (1861-1916)". North Carolina Architects & Builders. North Carolina State University Libraries. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
- ↑ "Price-Thomas". Daily Local News. West Chester, Pennsylvania. December 7, 1906. Retrieved March 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Service Conducted for Walter F. Price". Chester Times. May 26, 1951. Retrieved March 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.