James Alphonso Wetmore

Background

Wetmore, James Alphonso was born on November 10, 1863 in Bath, New York, United States. Son of Justus Ford and Cornelia O. (Brownell) Wetmore.

Education

Bachelor of Laws, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, 1896.

Career

Wetmore is frequently and incorrectly described as the "architect" of the many federal buildings that bear his name. By 1896 he was working for the United States Treasury Department and had received his law degree from George Washington University. In 1911 he moved into a position as executive assistant to Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor, which put him in charge of all non-technical operations of the office, and he himself took over as acting head of the office in 1915, expecting it to be temporary.

Eighteen years later he retired to Florida.

Through the extensive building programs of the early 1930s New Deal era, nearly 1,700 government draftsmen were employed in the Supervising Architect"s office. Wetmore"s name appears on some 2,000 cornerstones of federal buildings, including:

United States Court House (Des Moines, Iowa), 1928

Federal Building and United States Courthouse (Albuquerque, New Mexico), 1930

United States. Post Office and Courthouse (Baltimore, Maryland), 1930

Alaska State Capitol, Juneau, Alaska, 1931

United States. Post Office (Medina, New York), 1931-1932

Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1933.

Achievements

• James Alphonso Wetmore has been listed as a notable architect by Marquis Who's Who.

Membership

Member: Federation Bar Association. Masons; Shrine; Scottish Rite, 33°. Clubs: Red. Argyle Country.

Connections

Married Hattie V. Blye, July 26, 1883. Married second, Anna Polk Boush, April.

Father:

Justus Ford Wetmore

Mother:

Cornelia O. (Brownell) Wetmore

Spouse:

Hattie V. Blye

Spouse:

Anna Polk Boush