Howard Wright Cutler (1883–1948) was an American architect known primarily for his designs of churches, schools and public buildings in Washington, D.C., and adjacent Montgomery County, Maryland.
Early life and education Cutler was born in Ouray, Colorado, on February 19, 1883. He studied engineering and architecture at the Rochester Athenium and Mechanics Institute in Rochester, New York (today known as Rochester Institute of Technology), graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture.
Cutler married Marie Katherine Zahn. Their daughter, Katherine Cutler, was the first licensed female architect in the State of Maryland and collaborated with her father on a variety of projects.Inventory of Historical Properties, Rock Creek Recreational Center, Maryland Historical Trust
Career Cutler worked at the firm of Gordon & Madden in Rochester until he established his own firm in 1907.Architects and Builders, Montgomery County, Places from the Past: The Tradition of Gardez Bien in Montgomery County During his Rochester years, he is credited with the design of the Kodak Tower, a 19-story skyscraper.
During World War I, Cutler served as a major for the Surgeon General's staff, in charge of designing military hospitals in the United States, including an addition to Walter Reed Hospital. His other buildings included the Otten Tuberculosis Hospital at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the General Hospital in Denver, Colorado.
After the war, he moved his family to Washington, D.C., where he established himself as the principal architect of Montgomery County's academic architecture from the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s.Determination of Eligibility Form, Fairfield School, Maryland Historical Trust From 1919 to 1921, he was a partner in the firm of Cutler & Woodbridge, which later became Cutler and Moss, and later still his own solo practice."Katherine Cutler Ficken". Early Women of Architecture in Maryland website. Accessed Oct. 27, 2015. During this time, his architectural designs evolved from Art Deco to Classical Revival to Streamline Art Moderne.
The Cutler-designed Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ and Eldbrooke United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and several other buildings he designed have been designated as historic sites by the Maryland Historical Trust or other authorities., National Register of Historic PlacesAnnouncement, Eldbrooke United Methodist Church, National Park Service
Cutler continued the practice of architecture until his death in 1948.
Partial list of works The following is a partial list of buildings designed by Cutler during his career:Mark Walston, Montgomery County, Then & Now
Kodak Tower, Rochester, N.Y., 1912 Takoma Park-Silver Spring High School (Silver Spring Intermediate School), 1925 (demolished) Eldbrooke United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C., 1926, NRHP-listed in 1995 Masonic Temple and Library Association, Georgia Avenue & Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1927 (The historic 3-story building is currently location of a La Madeleine Cafe.) Silver Spring Intermediate School Auditorium, 1928 Garrett Park School, Garrett Park, Maryland, 1927-8 Inventory of Historical Places, Maryland Historical Trust * Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C., 1928, NRHP-listed in 2008 Clara Barton School (now Clara Barton Community Center), Cabin John, Maryland, 1928 Inventory of Historical Places, Maryland Historical Trust * Colesville Elementary School, Colesville, Maryland, 1929 Chevy Chase Elementary School, Chevy Chase, Maryland, 1930, 1936 Inventory of Historic Properties , Maryland Historical Trust * Park Street Elementary School, Rockville, Maryland, 1934-5 Damascus Elementary School, Damascus, Maryland, 1935 Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, Maryland, 1935 (original) Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1935 (now housing Silver Spring International Middle School) Inventory of Historical Properties, Maryland Historical Trust * Montgomery Hills Junior High School, Silver Spring, 1936–7 Westbrook Elementary School, Bethesda, Maryland, 1939 Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Headquarters, Hyattsville, Maryland, 1939 Inventory of Historic Properties Form, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Headquarters, Maryland Historic Trust * Rock Creek Community Center, Chevy Chase, Maryland, c. 1940 (with Katherine Cutler) * Lynnbrook Elementary School (East Bethesda), 1941 (with Katherine Cutler) Church of the Ascension, Silver Spring, Maryland St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, College Park, Maryland
(Properties marked with * have been designated as historical properties by the Maryland Historical Trust).
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