Frederic Hutchinson "Bunk" Porter, Sr., sometimes referred to as Frederick Hutchinson Porter, was an American architect based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was active from 1911 to approximately 1965. He designed many of Cheyenne's most important public and commercial buildings and also designed several buildings at the University of Wyoming, including War Memorial Stadium and the Agriculture Building. A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places.
Biography
Porter was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1890. He attended the Wentworth Institute in Boston and also studied at the Architectural Club Ateliers in St. Louis and Boston. He served as an apprentice in an architect's office in Denver starting in 1905. He was married in December 1913 to Grace Geneva Wastfield in a ceremony held in Denver. As of May 1917, he was living in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was employed as an architectural draftsman by J. N. Jamieson of St. Louis. Porter began his own architectural practice in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he designed many of Cheyenne's most important public and commercial buildings. A number of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He worked in partnership with other architects as Baerreson & Porter, by himself, and as Porter & Bradley. He was one of four Wyoming architects to receive state licensing as an architect by "grandfathering" in 1951, the year when state licensing exam was first required and an exam was first offered; he was one of three appointees to the new Wyoming State Board of Architects itself. He also served as an instructor of architectural engineering at the University of Wyoming. He became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1961. Porter lived in Cheyenne until his death in July 1976 at age 85. Porter's son, Frederic Hutchinson Porter, Jr., was also an architect. He worked for his father's firm, Porter & Bradley, starting in 1950. Porter's papers are kept at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming.
Works
Works in Cheyenne
Boeing/United Airlines Terminal Building, Hangar and Fountain, also known as Old Airport Terminal Building and Building No. 14, 200 E. 8th Ave., Cheyenne, Wyoming, NRHP-listed
One or more works in Moore Haven Heights Historic District, between Bent Ave. on the W., E. side of Central Ave. on the E., W. 8th Ave. on the N., W. Pershing Blvd on the S., Cheyenne, Wyoming, NRHP-listed
Park Addition School, also known as Chaplin School, 1100 Richardson Court, Cheyenne, Wyoming, NRHP-listed
Storey Gymnasium, aka Cheyenne High School Gymnasium, 2811 House Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, all new buildings from 1944 to 1956, including the War Memorial Stadium, Field House, Library Building, Agriculture Building, and College of Education Building, all attributed to Porter's partnership with R. W. Bradley, "Porter & Bradley"
