Bruce McCarty


Bruce McCarty, FAIA was an American architect, founder and senior designer at McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects of Knoxville, Tennessee. During a career that has spanned more than a half-century, he designed some of the city's iconic landmarks, and was the city's most dedicated champion of Modern architecture. Buildings designed or co-designed by McCarty include the Lawson McGhee Library, Knoxville City County Building, University of Tennessee Humanities Complex, Clarence Brown Theatre, and University of Tennessee Art and Architecture Building. McCarty was also the Master Architect for the 1982 World's Fair.

Biography

Early life

McCarty was born in South Bend, Indiana, the third of four sons to Earl H. and Hazel B. McCarty. Bruce McCarty was raised in Kenosha and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Earl McCarty was president of the Nash Motor Company during the 1930s.
McCarty attended Princeton University in the early 1940s, where he studied sculpture under noted sculptor and boxer, Joe Brown. Following the outbreak of World War II, he left Princeton and joined the US Army Air Force. He first arrived in Knoxville for military training in 1943, and was later stationed in California as a P-38 pilot. On April 5, 1945 McCarty married Julia Elizabeth Hayes of Knoxville in Santa Rosa, California. They have three children; Bruce Hayes McCarty, Sarah Elizabeth McCarty, and Douglas Hayes McCarty.

Career

Following the war, McCarty worked as a draftsman at the Knoxville architectural firm, Barber & McMurry. He earned a BA from Princeton upon returning from the war in 1946. From 1947 to 1949, McCarty attended the University of Michigan and earned a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. During this period, he became enamoured with Modern architecture, especially the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. He, Elizabeth, and son Hayes spent several weeks during 1948 driving around Michigan and Wisconsin, seeking out houses designed by Wright. He also attended Wright's lectures, and visited Wright's home, Taliesin. His other influences included Edward Durrell Stone, I.M. Pei, and Louis Kahn.
Following graduation, McCarty returned to Knoxville to work as a designer and draftsman for the firm Rutherford and Painter. McCarty became a partner in the firm in the mid-1950s. In 1953, McCarty designed a concrete house, sponsored by Southern Cast Stone and published in several national magazines. This led to several new clients involved in post-war medium priced housing, including the National Broadcasting Company, the Hotpoint Company, Union Carbide, Knox Homes, and the Zeckendorf Corporation. During the 1950s and 60s, the firm also designed a number of custom houses, in addition to commercial and public projects such as the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum and the Humanities Social Sciences Complex at the University of Tennessee.
In 1965, McCarty and Robert Holsaple formed Bruce McCarty and Associates. In the following five years, the firm designed the Mountain View Garages, Broadway Baptist and Westminster Churches, Virgin Islands St. Croix Condominiums, the University of Tennessee Clarence Brown Theatre, and the University of Tennessee Administration Building.
In 1970, McCarty and Associates merged with another Knoxville architectural firm to form McCarty Bullock Church and Holsaple. Partner Robert Church died in 1972 while serving as acting dean of the University of Tennessee School of Architecture, and the firm thus became McCarty Bullock Holsaple. MBH designed notable buildings such as the Knoxville City-County Building, and the UT Art and Architecture Building, the latter design chosen in a statewide competition over 53 other submissions.
McCarty was chosen to be the Master Architect for the 1982 World's Fair, and his firm was not only responsible for the projects's overall design, but also designed many of the buildings, including the Tennessee Amphitheater, Holiday Inn, 1982 Convention Center, and the adjacent office building. Following partner Glenn Bullock’s resignation in 1983, Bruce's son, Doug, who had been working with the firm since the mid-1970s, became president, and the firm changed its name to McCarty Holsaple McCarty. Under Doug's leadership, the firm's work over the subsequent two decades included UT's Hodges Library and law school, the 14-story Bank of America Building, the Ijams Nature Center visitor center, and the Knoxville Convention Center. The firm also oversaw planning for Knoxville's waterfront, and designed expansions for Neyland Stadium and McGhee Tyson Airport. McCarty Holsaple McCarty provided the renovation plans for the Tennessee Theatre, completed in 2006.

Legacy and recognition

In 1965, McCarty helped establish the University of Tennessee's College of Architecture. The school has since named the auditorium in its Art and Architecture Building for the McCarty family. McCarty was also instrumental in the establishment of the East Tennessee Community Design Center, which advises communities in the region on appearance and functionality.

Honors

Designed by Painter, Weeks, and McCarty
Designed by Bruce McCarty & Associates
Designed by McCarty Bullock Church Holsaple or McCarty Bullock Holsaple
Designed by McCarty Holsaple McCarty
NameLocationCompletedStatusOther informationImageReference
Tom and Betty Kesterson ResidenceKnoxville, Tennessee1951Standing
Bruce and Elizabeth McCarty Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1952Altered
Mrs. E. H. McCarty ResidencePittman Center, Tennessee1952Standing
Concrete House Knoxville, Tennessee1953StandingModern house in West Hills
Harkness HouseKnoxville, Tennessee1953StandingModern house in West Hills
Bon AirGatlinburg, Tennessee1954Altered
Hotpoint Living-Conditioned House Knoxville, Tennessee1954AlteredDesigned as a demonstration home for a Living for Young Homemakers promotional campaign; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010
NBC House Knoxville, Tennessee1957StandingModern house in Cumberland Estates. Slated to be featured on NBC's "The House That Home Built," but never aired
George Bridges Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1958Standing
Tennessee Valley Branch BankKnoxville, Tennessee1958Altered
Bruce and Elizabeth McCarty Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1958Standing
NAHB Research House Knoxville, Tennessee1959StandingModern house in Cumberland Estates
Steve Wing Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1959Altered
Ralph Brooks ResidenceKnoxville, Tennessee1962Altered
Arnold Kramer Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1963Standing
Mrs. E. H. McCarty ResidenceWinter Park, Florida1963Standing
Charles Davis Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1960Standing
Wilson Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1964Altered
Pedestrian Bridge Knoxville, Tennessee1966Standing
Westminster Presbyterian Church Knoxville, Tennessee1966Standing
Harry Brooks Residence Knoxville, Tennessee1967Standing
James White Civic ColiseumKnoxville, Tennessee1967Standing
Humanities Building Knoxville, Tennessee1969Standing
Clarence Brown Theatre Knoxville, Tennessee1970Standing
Lawson McGhee LibraryKnoxville, Tennessee1970Standing
Reef CondominiumsSt. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands1968Standing
Veterinary Hospital Knoxville, Tennessee1976Standing
TVA TowersKnoxville, Tennessee1978Standing
City-County BuildingKnoxville, Tennessee1979Standing
Art and Architecture Building Knoxville, Tennessee1981Standing
1982 World's Fair Master PlanKnoxville, Tennessee1982AlteredMcCarty's firm also designed the Tennessee Amphitheater
Hodges Library Knoxville, Tennessee1987StandingWith Lindsay & Maples Architects and Cooper & Perry Architects
Bank of America BuildingKnoxville, Tennessee1990Standing
Ijams Nature CenterKnoxville, Tennessee1991Standing
McGhee Tyson Airport Blount County, Tennessee1998StandingWith HNTB Architects
Knoxville Convention CenterKnoxville, Tennessee2002StandingWith Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates Architects
Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, Tennessee2006StandingTheatre constructed in 1928; with Westlake Reed Leskosky Architects