Paul (Philippe) Cret

He studied at the Lycee of Vourge at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Lyon. In 1896 he won the Paris prize and studied for the next seven years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was awarded the Rougevin prize and the Grand Medal of Emulation in 1901, second prize at the Concours Chenavard, and the gold medal at the Salon des Champs Elysees in 1903. He came to the United States in 1903 as Professor of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He designed the memorial arch at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; the Pan-American Union Building, the Fogler Shakespeare Library, and the Federal Reserve Board Building, all in Washington, D. C.; and public buildings in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Albany. He was one of the Municipal Art Jury in Philadelphia and was in charge from 1904 to 1907 of architectural teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was a member of the Societe des Architects Diplomes, the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, the T-Square Club of Philadelphia (Honorary President), and the Society of Architectural Historians.

Born and educated in France, he began his formal architectural training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in his native city of Lyons. He came to the United States to accept the position of Professor of Design at the University of Pennsylvania where he remained on faculty until 1907 when he resigned to commence his professional practice. The Pan American Union Building (1910) in Washington, D.C., designed in association with Albert Kensley, was Cret's first important commission. In collaboration with the firm Zantzinger, Borie and Medary, he executed a series of outstanding public buildings including the Indianapolis Central Public Library (1913-16), Detroit Institute of Arts (1921), and the Valley Forge Memorial Arch (1910). Cret's design career also included a number of War Memorials erected in France following the frist World War. He won the A.I.A. Gold Medal in 1938.

Cret studied at the Lyce of Vourge at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Lyon. In 1896 he won the Paris prize and studied for the next seven years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was awarded the Rougevin prize and the Grand Medal of Emulation in 1901, second prize at the Concours Chenavard, and the gold medal at the Salon des Champs Elyses in 1903. He came to the United States in 1903 as Professor of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. He designed the memorial arch at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; the Pan-American Union Building, the Fogler Shakespeare Library, and the Federal Reserve Board Building, all in Washington, D. C.; and public buildings in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Albany. He was one of the Municipal Art Jury in Philadelphia and was in charge from 1904 to 1907 of architectural teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was a member of the Socit des Architects Diplomes, the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, the T-Square Club of Philadelphia (Honorary President), and the Society of Architectural Historians.