{{Short description|American architect (1870–1944)}}
{{Infobox architect | name = Benjamin Wistar Morris III | image = Benjamin Wistar Morris 1925.jpg | image_size = | caption = Morris in 1925 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1870|10|23|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1944|12|4|1870|10|23|mf=yes}} | death_place = New York City, New York, U.S. | burial_place = Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) | alma_mater = Columbia University | occupation = Architect | spouse = Alice Fenwick Goodwin | children = 2 }} '''Benjamin Wistar Morris''' (sometimes III or Jr.; October 23, 1870 – December 4, 1944) was an American architect from Oregon who worked primarily in New York City.<ref name=Ritz>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Ritz |first= Richard Ellison |title= Morris, Benjamin Wistar, III |encyclopedia= Architects of Oregon: A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries |location= Portland, Oregon |publisher= Lair Hill Publishing |year= 2002 |pages=288–289 |isbn=0-9726200-2-8}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Morris was born in Portland, Oregon on October 23, 1870, to Benjamin Wistar Morris, Episcopal Bishop of Oregon and Washington, and his wife Hannah.<ref name=Ritz/><ref name=Cedar>{{cite web |url= http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/benjamin-wistar-morris/ |title= Benjamin Wistar Morris (1870 – 1944) |publisher= Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation |accessdate= June 26, 2011}}</ref> He attended the Bishop Scott Academy in Oregon, and then St. Paul's Preparatory School in Concord, New Hampshire.<ref name=Ritz/> Intending to become a minister, he attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, but he later decided to become an architect and graduated from Columbia University in 1894.<ref name=Ritz/> In 1895 and 1896 he continued his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.<ref name=Ritz/> Upon his return to the United States, Morris joined the firm of Carrère and Hastings, where he assisted in preparing the successful entry for the design of the New York Public Library.<ref name=Ritz/>
==Professional life== [[File:Historic Wells Fargo Building - Portland Oregon.jpg|thumb|Morris designed the Wells Fargo Building, the first skyscraper in Portland, Oregon]] Morris started his own practice in 1900.<ref name=Ritz/> He later formed the firm of Morris, Butler and Rodman, but soon withdrew from the practice and worked alone until 1910, when he formed a partnership with Christopher Grant LaFarge as LaFarge & Morris.<ref name=Ritz/> That firm lasted until 1915.<ref name=Ritz/> Morris later formed Morris & O'Connor with his son-in-law, Robert B. O'Connor.<ref name=Ritz/><ref name=OConnorObit>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/17/obituaries/robert-b-o-connor-architect-dies-at-97.html |title= Robert B. O'Connor, Architect, Dies at 97 |date= November 17, 1993 |work= The New York Times |accessdate= June 26, 2011}}</ref> Morris worked with O'Connor until Morris' death in 1944.<ref name=Ritz/><ref>Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 549.</ref>
In 1913, Morris was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), serving as president of the New York chapter.<ref name=Ritz/> He also served on the New York City Art Commission, and was a member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1927 to 1931.<ref name=Ritz/> Morris became a full Academician in the National Academy of Design in 1941.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalacademy.org/academy/national-academicians/?na=M |title= National Academicians: M Past Academicians |publisher= National Academy of Design |accessdate= January 18, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130923133210/http://www.nationalacademy.org/academy/national-academicians/?na=M |archive-date= September 23, 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref>
==Works== In his native Portland, Morris designed the Wells Fargo Building in 1907.<ref name=Ritz/> It is considered the city's first skyscraper.<ref name=PBJ>{{cite news |url= http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/11/19/focus2.html |title= Portland's first skyscraper passes the century mark |last= Culverwell |first= Wendy |date= November 18, 2007 |work= Portland Business Journal |accessdate= June 26, 2011}}</ref> He designed many important buildings in Connecticut and New York, including the Cunard Building (with Carrère and Hastings), the Union League Club of New York, and 48 Wall Street, as well as the interiors of the ''Queen Mary''<ref name=Ritz/> and the Harmonie Club. In addition, he designed residences in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn and Long Island for watch case manufacturer Joseph Fahys.<ref name="MacKayBaker1997">{{cite book|last1=MacKay|first1=Robert B.|last2=Baker|first2=Anthony K.|last3=Traynor|first3=Carol A.|title=Long Island country houses and their architects, 1860-1940|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIXc9ES8qcAC&pg=PT187|accessdate=31 October 2011|date=11 April 1997|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-03856-9|pages=187–}}</ref>
==Later life and death== Morris died on December 4, 1944, in New York City; he was survived by his wife, Alice Fenwick Goodwin, daughter Mary Wistar O'Connor, and son Benjamin.<ref name=Ritz/><ref name=Cedar/><ref name=OConnorObit/> He was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.<ref name=Cedar/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Benjamin W.}} Category:1870 births Category:1944 deaths Category:Architects from New York (state) Category:Architects from Portland, Oregon Category:Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) Category:Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Category:Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Category:St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni