George O. Rogers ============================= George O. Rogers, from the Pittsburgh Press, 1929 ##### George O. Rogers, from the Pittsburgh Press, 1929 George O. Rogers was born in Omaha, moved with his family to England when he was still a child, set up his first architectural practice in Birmingham (England), and seems to have traveled most of the British Empire before finally landing in Pittsburgh by way of Toronto. Here he continued his specialty of industrial housing, but also designed several substantial apartment buildings. A biography was printed in [*History of Pittsburgh and Environs*, Biographical Volume 1, p. 308](https://archive.org/details/historyofpittsbu05flem/page/308/mode/2up), by George Thornton Fleming and Special Contributors and Members of the Editorial Staff (New York and Chicago: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1922). We reprint it here. > GEORGE O. ROGERS, JR., architect, builder and housing expert, since 1907 has been actively identified with building operations in a large territory adjacent to Pittsburgh, having designed and erected scores of residences, churches, theatres, and industrial and manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania and neighboring states. Mr. Rogers was born in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 2, 1867, son of George O. and Sarah Ann (Dawson) Rogers, his family line related to that of the Rogers of Shropshire, England, which borders on Wales. > > George O. Rogers, Sr., architect, engineer and builder, came to America in 1863, and was identified with many great construction operations in various sections of the country. He was engaged with the engineering department of the Union Pacific railway, the first of transcontinental railways, with headquarters in Omaha, when his son, George O., Jr., was born. Mr. Rogers' business occasioned a score of trips between Great Britain and the United States, and in 1876 he took his family to England, making their home in Birmingham. George O. Rogers, Sr., died in London, in 1887. > > When Birmingham, England, became the family home, George O. Rogers, Jr., entered King Edward's Grammar School, and was there a student until his fourteenth year, when he became apprenticed to an architect, and so served until attaining his majority. As a young man of twenty-one years he went to London, and was successful in passing the rigid examinations of the London Association of Architects. Returning to Birmingham, he opened an office, and for four years was there engaged in professional practice. The succeeding ten years were spent in different parts of England in the execution of professional commissions, his specialty having become the solution of housing problems in congested industrial districts. The years 1903 to 1905 were spent in a world tour, embracing Italy, Indo-China, New Zealand, South Africa, and other parts of the British Empire, and in 1905 he arrived at San Francisco. At this time he visited numerous places in America, including Omaha, Neb., his birthplace, and then located in Toronto, Canada, where professional duties occupied him until 1907. In this year he came to Pittsburgh and began what has proved an exceptionally successful career that has placed him among the leaders of his profession in this district. Mr. Rogers has designed and erected hundreds of buildings devoted to church, residence, amusement, business, and manufacturing purposes, but the work to which he has given most intensive study and for which he is best known is the planning of housing projects for the employees of large industrial organizations. The chief problem in this department of his profession is the furnishing of modern homes built for a maximum of comfort and convenience at minimum cost. > > During Mr. Rogers' thirty-three years' practice he has done work in great industrial centers in Great Britain, South Africa, Canada, and the United States, and has gained a host of friends in world-wide associations. Reared and professionally educated in an environment where architecture held place among the fine arts, Mr. Rogers early learned to combine utility and beauty with the result that many of his structures, even of industrial character, take place among the better local specimens of architecture. Mr. Rogers is a member of the Soho Board of Trade, and the Oakland Welsh Presbyterian Church. > > Mr. Rogers married, in Pittsburgh, in 1907, Margaret Ann Williams, a native of Bethesda, Wales. Their home is at No. 2039 Fifth avenue, and Mr. Rogers' offices are at No. 708 Penn avenue. Rogers continued to be successful, and by 1929 he had a side job as “Chairman of The Press Approved Home Committee.” In an article published in the Press on November 24, 1929 (from which we take his photograph above), Rogers gives his opinions on the Dutch Colonial style of home architecture. He is a poor writer, and it is sometimes hard to follow his train of thought, but we print the whole article here as a specimen of his taste and aesthetic principles. ----- ## Dutch Colonial Home Design Misunderstood, Rogers Says ### Prominent Local Architect Describes Changes Made Since Introduction. #### By GEORGE ROGERS. Dutch Colonial building design and construction is, in the opinion of the writer, very much misunderstood, much of it being confused with the German as brought over by the early emigrants. As time advanced, the term— Dutch Colonial—was taken for a very costly home incorporating the long living room with the open staircase, at one end of which was the square newel and balustrades. Square trimmed openings from room to room were very elaborate. Draperies were usually placed and in the most elaborate homes of the type, square paneled beam ceilings in dining rooms and halls were found. The exteriors of the early type were usually very wide. Beveled sidings extended to the second floor level. The roof, with its deeply pitched rafters housed the second floor sleeping quarters, which were, of course, very irregular as to shape. Aside from the window openings, which were constructed in the roof itself, there was also a provision made for storage boxes. And of course there was a certain amount of economy for the reason that practically every inch of space was used. It is needless to say, that when properly decorated, the second floor rooms presented a very artistic appearance. #### Fireplaces Widely Used. Steam heat in the early days was very limited commodity, most buildings, regardless of type, being heated by wide open fireplaces which were placed as near the center of a room’s end as possible, so there would be radiation of heat throughout the structure. Many of the earlier Dutch Co- lonial homes remain standing today and have been modernized. Steam heat, tiled baths and hardwood floors are but a few of the improvements which, to the writer's mind, have taken away the original atmosphere and placed in its stead dignity and refinement. Present day construction of this type of architecture brings out a more lavish order of things, bespeaking the business man's modern mind, whereas the early type bespoke the mind of the owner of an earlier era, when homes radiated good cheer, hospitality and home cooking. The latter type of home was the very foundation of our country; the one place where hard-working husbands collected to discuss the needs of their community and be attended by the housewife with her ever-ready delicacies to enhance her prestige with her neighbors. #### Modern Factors Enter. With the advent of the telephone, telegraph, steam heat, elevators and more rapid transportation our entire mode of living has changed. It has become more costly. In the older order of life, our forefathers had to depend on their immediate locality for the greater part of their needs. But today we depend on various vast organizations for them, who supply us with whatever item we may wish, be it food, clothing or whatnot. From the foregoing it is easily understood why a Dutch Colonial home of today must be lavish. Social prestige and success demands it. There must be many large porches and sun-rooms, many baths, various and sundry appliances and conveniences, even to disappearing beds and stairways. #### New Combination Design. The modern type of Dutch Colonial home has a splattering of the old German in its commanding piers and heavy cornices; a little of the older English in the irregular shaped roof; American modernistic in metal sash and casements and only real Dutch in the arched effects of the interior with crafted walls and decorations. For a truly exemplified Dutch Colonial home, a spacious lawn must be well kept. Great care must be shown hedges; a fair amount of hardy annuals must be in evidence; rustic seats and a pergola is imperative. ----- *A few buildings known to be by Rogers:* Terrace at 1255–1263 Arkansas Avenue, Dormont (1923) Penn Aiken, Garfield, at Penn Avenue and Aiken Avenue (1923) Garage and dance hall, 139 Grant Avenue, Millvale (1923) Charles Apartments, Academy Avenue, Mount Lebanon (1929)

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