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Berla & Abel

(Redirected from Abel & Weinstein)

Berla & Abel, later known as Berla, Abel & Weinstein and Abel & Weinstein, was an American architectural firm active in Washington, D.C. from 1941 to 1996. The named partners were Julian E. Berla FAIA (April 7, 1902 – February 16, 1976), Joseph H. Abel FAIA (May 20, 1905 – November 25, 1985) and Jesse Weinstein AIA (May 20, 1919 – November 17, 2007). Berla and Abel were major figures in the introduction of modern architecture to Washington.

Berla & Abel
Berla, Abel & Weinstein
Abel & Weinstein
Practice information
PartnersJulian E. Berla; Joseph H. Abel; Jesse Weinstein
FoundersJulian E. Berla; Joseph H. Abel
Founded1941
Dissolved1996
LocationWashington, D.C.
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Boston House in Washington, D.C., designed by Berla & Abel and completed in 1950.

History

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Berla & Abel was formed in 1941 as the merger of the practices of architects Julian E. Berla and Joseph H. Abel, who had been in private practice in Washington since 1937 and 1932, respectively. Both had focused on the design of apartment buildings.

Building upon their previous experience, Berla & Abel developed a busy practice based on the design of large apartment buildings. As the public face of the firm, Berla was an uncompromising advocate for modern architecture and the partners were financially rewarded for it as their expertise placed them in an enviable position in the immediate post-World War II population boom, which necessitated extensive housing construction.[1] Their reputation as uncompromising modernists attracted a number of young architects to the firm, including Arthur H. Keyes, Francis D. Lethbridge, Nathaniel Satterlee and Chloethiel Woodard Smith. In 1951 these established their own firm, Keyes, Smith, Satterlee & Lethbridge. This firm and its two successors, led by Keyes and Smith, became Berla & Abel's most successful competitors in the ensuing decades.[2] Their departure left an opening for another senior employee, Jesse Weinstein, who was made an associate in 1947 and a partner in 1963. In 1969, as Berla approached retirement, the firm was renamed Berla, Abel & Weinstein to reflect Weinstein's growing role.[3] Berla retired from the partnership in 1971,[4] followed by Abel in 1974. Weinstein continued the firm under the name of Abel & Weinstein in Washington until 1977 and in Chevy Chase until the firm's dissolution in 1996.[5] Though the firm's influence began to wane in the 1960s, they continued to be considered for major projects into the 1980s. Later employees included Weinstein's daughter, architect Amy Weinstein, who was later credited by local architectural historian G. Martin Moeller Jr. with the reintroduction of polychromy into Washington architecture in the 1980s.[6]

Berla & Abel's works comprised some of the largest privately owned buildings in the Washington area at the time. Their Bender Building (1959) was at the time of construction the largest private office building in Washington,[7] and the Rosslyn Metro Center (1979) held the same distinction in Arlington. Their James Apartments (1960) had the city's first rooftop pool and the Towers (1960) still includes the city's largest penthouse apartment.[8]

Partner biographies

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Julian E. Berla

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Julian Emerson Berla FAIA (April 7, 1902 – February 16, 1976) was born in Newark, New Jersey. He was educated in the Newark public schools and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with an SB in architecture in 1923. He worked for New York City architects Edward S. Hewitt, Goodhue Associates and Mayers Murray & Phillip until opening his own office in 1930. In 1935 he joined the Resettlement Administration as an architect, and in 1937 himself settled in Washington, D.C., where he formed the firm of Kastner & Berla with Alfred Kastner. Kastner brought to the partnership an expertise in public housing, having collaborated with architects like Oscar Stonorov and Louis Kahn on projects including the Carl Mackley Houses (1935). This partnership was dissolved in 1939. During these first few years in Washington Berla continued his work for the federal government, working as a consulting architect to the United States Department of Commerce from 1937 to 1939 and to the United States Housing Authority from 1938 to 1940.[9][10]

Joseph H. Abel

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Joseph Henry Abel FAIA (May 20, 1905 – November 25, 1985) was born in Washington, D.C. He attended the Washington public schools before joining the office of architect George T. Santmyers in 1923. In 1928 he became the in-house architect for developer Harry M. Bralove, and in this capacity designed projects including the Omni Shoreham Hotel (1930). During his employment with Bralove Abel studied nights as George Washington University and was awarded a BArch in 1932. After graduation he formed the firm of Dillon & Abel with Charles E. Dillon, a former coworker from Santmyers' office. With their Governor Shepherd Apartments (1938, demolished), Dillon & Abel introduced the International Style to Washington.[11] Dillon died in 1939 and Abel continued alone.[12][13]

Jesse Weinstein

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Jesse Weinstein AIA (May 20, 1919 – November 17, 2007) was born in Baltimore. He was educated at thr Catholic University of America, graduating with a BS in architectural engineering in 1940. He worked first for Alfred Kastner before joining Berla in 1941. During World War II he served in the United States Air Force before returning to Berla & Abel in 1946.[14]

Architectural works

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The Bender Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Berla & Abel and completed in 1959.
 
Rosslyn Metro Center in Arlington, Virginia, designed by Abel & Weinstein and completed in 1979.

See also

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  • "A portfolio of work by Berla & Abel" in Architectural Forum 85, no. 2 (August, 1946): 81–96.
  • Joseph H. Abel and Fred Severud, Apartment Houses (New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1947)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "A portfolio of work by Berla & Abel" in Architectural Forum 85, no. 2 (August, 1946): 81-96.
  2. ^ Robinson & Associates, DC MODERN: A Context for Modernism in the District of Columbia, 1945-1976, 2009.
  3. ^ "Weinstein, Jesse" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 974.
  4. ^ "Name Changes" in Progressive Architecture 52, no. 4 (April, 1974): 161.
  5. ^ Maryland corporate filings
  6. ^ a b G. Martin Moeller Jr., AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (Washington: Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 2006)
  7. ^ Newsweek (April 27, 1964): 6-7.
  8. ^ a b Kathy Orton, "D.C.'s largest penthouse on the market for $6 million," Washington Post, January 21, 2022. Accessed April 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "Berla, Julian E(merson)" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 40.
  10. ^ "Julian E. Berla (1902-1976)," AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, no date. Accessed April 9, 2023.
  11. ^ James Goode, Best Addresses (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988): 350.
  12. ^ "Abel, Joseph H(enry)" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 1.
  13. ^ "Joseph Henry Abel (1905-1985)," AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, no date. Accessed April 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Weinstein, Jesse" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1956): 592.
  15. ^ "Modernism in Washington brochure" (PDF). District of Columbia. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-26.
  16. ^ "Crestview Apartments" in Architectural Record 108, no. 3 (September, 1950): 146-147.
  17. ^ "Spaciousness With Outlook on Rock Creek Park" in Architectural Record 101, no. 3 (March, 1947): 100-101.
  18. ^ Engineering News-Record 155, no. 8 (August 25, 1955): 70.
  19. ^ Architectural Record 122, no. 2 (August, 1957): 26.
  20. ^ Engineering News-Record 160, no. 10 (March 6, 1958): 117.
  21. ^ Engineering News-Record 165, no. 16 (October 20, 1960): 95.
  22. ^ Engineering News-Record 166, no. 25 (June 22, 1961): 262.
  23. ^ a b "Class Review" in Technology Review 78, no. 7 (June, 1976): 101.
  24. ^ a b c d e Clare Lise Kelley, Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930–1979 (Silver Spring: Maryland–National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, 2015)
  25. ^ a b "Berla, Julian E(merson)" in American Architects Directory (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1970): 66.
  26. ^ John B. Willmann, "Sales Are Halted At Regency Club," Washington Post, July 23, 1977. Accessed April 9, 2023.
  27. ^ Metrorail Station Area Planning: A Metrorail Before-and-After Study Report (1984)
  28. ^ Silver Spring: Past, Present and Future (Silver Spring: Silver Spring Blue Ribbon Committee, 1983)
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