William E. Lescaze
Born in Onex, Switzerland in 1896, William Edmond Lescaze received his formal education at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, graduating in 1919. He emigrated to the United States in 1920, and worked at the Cleveland, Ohio architectural firm Hubbel & Benes before establishing his own practice in New York City in 1923. A major break came in 1929 when George Howe, a Philadelphia architect, invited Lescaze to form a partnership; their firm became Howe & Lescaze. Not long after, the pair began working on a commission for the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building. The downtown Philadelphia structure was completed in 1932 and is largely recognized as the first International Modernist... more.
![A graphite drawing on white tracing paper, for multiple iterations, of a three-quarter view of an interior of a theater. A built installation shows the multiple stepped stage on the left having a gently curved outer platform in the center that juts out into an extreme curve on the right supporting an elliptical glass enclosed booth bearing a flat roof with two people inside. The above architecture reflects the round curves of the booth with built in designs on two levels where the drawing employs value shading to show the illusion of volume, depth and realism with high open space between the ceiling and said design. The adjacent wall displays a sketch of a large, high archway and the beginning of another to the right with less detail. The round curved built-in design meets an intersecting low wall with rounded left edge overlapping the right stage edge and is articulated with [CBS] letters atop and a [C] on the wall with outstretched arms inclusive of [ON THE AIR] in the top arm, and [STAND BY] in the bottom arm with a round clock in the inner curvature of the [C]. Returning to the inner stage, we are met with a built-in back wall that curves inward on the top and meets with a dropped ceiling consisting of several planks parallel to the ceiling with spaces in between. A rectangular built awning placed on an upward slant is placed outward from the planks. One can speculate as to the function of this configuration. Writing is apparent on the lower left of the image: [#398 sign 30] in a circle [37] with two words beneath that are illegible. The drawing has a small rip on the lower left edge and possible tape damage on the bottom right. [3-55-9874] is written in the lower left corner.](https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/57284_9bdda8553b939de0_n.jpg "Drawing, Design for Alteration of the Avon Theater")
