| Lawrence B. Anderson of Lincoln, who was called the dean of Boston architects, died of heart
and kidney failure Wednesday in Emerson Hospital in Concord. He was 87.
Though Mr. Anderson was an educator who taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 46 years, his designs had wide influence within the architectural community. In. 1940, he designed Alumni Gymnasium at MIT, a swimming pool complex that was one of the first significant modern works in the United States. As an advisor to the Boston Government Center Commission, he managed the competition that resulted in the modernistic design of Boston's City Hall. In a review of an exhibit of Mr. Anderson's life's work at MIT on Nov. 6, 1990, Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell noted that Mr. Anderson was the "recognized dean of living Boston architects, the Grand Old Man - a title he would surely detest." Born in Geneva, Minn., Mr. Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts at the University of Minnesota in 1927 and a degree in architecture from the same school in 1928. He taught architectural design at the University of Virginia for two years before earning a master's degree in architecture at MIT in 1930. While studying at MIT, he was awared the prestigious Paris Prize for postgraduate study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He returned to MIT as assistant professor of architecture in 1933, became a full professor in 1944 and head of the department of architecture in 1947. He became dean of the school of architecture and planning in 1965, the job from which he retired in 1972. During his stewardship, he added studies of illumination, solarheating, mobile housing and the applications of plastics in constructionto the school's curriculum. He was a partner in the Cambridge architecural firm of Anderson, Beckwith and Haible. In 1978, he received a joint award from the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture for lasting achievement in architecture education. In 1984, he was the first recipient of both the Boston Society of Architects Award and the St. Botolph Club Foundation Award for excellence in architecture. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Institute of Architects and past president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. In 1957 he was appointed Fulbright Lecturer to the Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. In his retirement, he found joy in painting watercolors. "About 30 years ago, I discovered the coast of Maine," Mr. Anderson told the Globe's Campbell in 1990. He painted scenes from Stonington,Vinalhaven and Mount Desert, Maine, that, according to Campbell "seem to grow, even freer, looser and more vividly colorful as the years pass." Mr. Anderson also enjoyed carpentry, cooking and playing the violin. He leaves two daughters, Judith Lawler of South Nyack, N.Y., and Karen Cantine of Edmonton, Alberta; a son, Lawrence S. of Whitehouse, Ohio; and seven grandchildren. Burial will be private. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow in First Parish Church in Lincoln." -- Boston Globe |
ChronologicalBy RelationshipFamily StoriesFamily PhotographsOrphan Photographs MapsContact UsResourcesFamily ForumWhat's New