WILLIAM N. MORGAN, FAIA (1930-2016)
Morgan is the recipient of more than 100 architectural awards. His firm, William Morgan Architects, built more than 200 sites. The author of five books on the comprehensive study of indigenous architecture, Morgan schooled himself to be an archeologist—possessing a formidable knowledge of landscape, terrain, elevation and acclimation—building green buildings decades before LEED certification was ever imagined.
After meeting George Nelson and Ray and Charles Eames, Morgan became interested in furniture. The resulting creation was a minimal armchair and table made of teak from renewable forests. The furniture was fabricated in Indonesia, and when pulled together, the two pieces become a chaise lounge. Morgan, who studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard in the early 1950s, also studied with Josep Lluis Sert, a protégé of Lecorbusier. A former employee of Paul Rudolph, Morgan began by sweeping the floors and running errands but it wasn't long before he had become the manager of Rudolph's Cambridge office, assisting with the Jewett Art Center at Wellesley College and US Embassy in Jordan. House photos by William Morgan Architects unless otherwise noted. Special thanks to Max Eternity, who interviewed Morgan.
1955 - Vacation House, Guam. Status unknown.
1960 - Duplex Apartments, Atlantic Beach FL. Status unknown.
1960 - The Stanley Teate House, Jacksonville FL. Status unknown.
1961 - The Ocean Grove Apartments, Atlantic Beach FL. Status unknown.
1961 - The Bayshore Apartments, Fort Pierce FL. Status unknown.
1962 - The Alvin D. and Harriett L. James House, 89 Dewees Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. Commissioned in 1960. Structural engineer, H. W. Keister; built by Charles J. Pyatt. Two-story, constructed of concrete block walls supporting wood plank and beam roof. Cantilevered stairs from foyer to second floor. Master bedroom has a cable suspended balcony. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1963; and Florida Architect, June 1963. Sold around 2013 to Jessica Goldman. Sold in 2020 to Maryann Gillies Lambertson. B/W photos by Alexandre Georges.
1962 - The Meyerson House. Status unknown, likely unbuilt.
1962 - The Carl Knobloch House, Ponte Vedra Beach FL. Status unknown, likely unbuilt.
1963 - The Fred L. Sr. and Lacey Ahern House, aka Horizon Home, aka Lagoon House, Jacksonville FL. Unbuilt.
1963 - The Silver House, Neptune Beach FL. Sold. Remodeled with an addition, but the integrity of the original design is intact.
1963 - The William Hall House, aka Four Level House, Jacksonville FL. Featured in Arts & Architecture, June 1964. Structural engineer, JN Hutchinson. Status unknown.
1964 - The Steinhatchee Vacation House, Lake City FL. Likely unbuilt.
1964 - The Sara Verner House, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1964 - The Conrad L. Williams House, Jacksonville Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1964 - The Riverside Garden Apartments, aka Lydia Place Apartments, Jacksonville FL. Likely unbuilt. Developed by Stanley Teate and Harry Katz.
1966 - The Dan H. Williamson House, Ponte Vedra Beach FL. 4140 sf. Commissioned in 1964. Model by Peter Miller. Built by Ross Construction. Featured in Architectural Record, May 1964 and Architectural Record Houses of 1966. Damaged during Hurricane Matthew, then sold to a new owner who destroyed it. B/W photos by Alexandre Georges.
1965 - The George M. Goodloe House, 2425 South Ponte Vedra Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach FL. Concrete columns support the wood-frame platforms of this multi-storied house. Fiberglass reinforced resin encapsulates exterior plywood walls and roofs, with painted gypsum interior walls and ceilings. Destroyed and new house (bottom photo) built in 2006.
1965 - The David G. Rawls House, 2047 University Boulevard South, Jacksonville FL. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1965. Structural Engineer: James N. Hutchinson; HVAC, James N. Sampson; built by Vernon Prevatt; photos by Alexandre Georges. Sold to William and Janice McClure.
1965 - The Seaplace Apartments, 901 Ocean Boulevard, Atlantic Beach FL. An oceanfront property containing 100 apartments of masonry and frame construction with cedar-paneled cantilevered balconies. Three stories high, with four evenly spaced courtyards. The building measures 520ft x 160ft for a total square footage of 110,000.
1965 - The Ball House, Atlantic Beach FL. Status unknown.
1967 - The William K. Hatcher House, 4842 River Basin Drive North, Jacksonville FL. Commissioned in 1965. This was the 2nd plan. Engineer, Haley Keister. Built by Ross Construction. Featured in: Architectural Record, December 1967; Florida Architect, January 1968; Architectural Review, August 1968; and Architectural Record Vacation Homes of 1970. Repossessed in 2008 by Wachovia Bank which let it deteriorate. Sold in 2009 to Richard and Rebeccah Wolfe. Their restoration was not easy; they kept a blog of what happened. Sold in 2021 to 4842 River Basin North LLC.
1967 - The Allen P. and Lucyle Ballentine House, 1755 Selva Marina Drive, Atlantic Beach FL. Built by Ross Construction; photos by Alexandre Georges. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1968; and Florida Architect, February 1969. Still owned by Lucyle Ballantine as of 2019.
1971 - The Robert G. Stanley House, 13025 South US-441, Micanopy FL. 2300 sf. Stanley was a Forestry Professor at the University of Florida who died in 1974. Sold to Patricia Crass. Deeded to Suntrust Bank. Still there as of 2020.
1971 - aka Amelia Island Dune Houses, Amelia Island FL. Status unknown.
1972 - The William and Bunny Morgan House, 1945 Beach Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. 1800 sf. Commissioned in 1971. Structural engineer, Hailey Keister; built by Ross; lighting, William Lam. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1974. Made of wood. Sits partially atop a sand dune, with lower level resting on beach. Second photo by Lewis Wadsworth. Sold in 2018 to Martin Madaus and restored.
1973 - The Maxwell K. Dickinson House, 1199 Beach Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. Still owned as of 2010 by the Dickinson Trust.
1974 - The Thomas E. Morgan Vacation House, aka Friday Island Vacation House, aka Uncle Tom's Cabin, Friday Island WA.
1974 - The Reed House, Jacksonville FL. Likely unbuilt.
1974 - Norfolk Townpoint Apartments, Norfolk VA. Likely unbuilt. Developed by John S. Whaley.
1975 - The Pyramid Condominium, 9500 Coastal Highway, Ocean City MD. Built for John S. Whatley. Sloping in all directions, the structure is all concrete with aluminum framed windows, resulting in an asymmetrical pyramid that silhouettes the shape of a steep dune. 171 one and two bedroom apartments. Viewed from the front, the symmetry of the interlaced stepped balconies can be seen. 250,000 sf. Commissioned in 1971.
1975 - The Wayne Thomas House, aka Hilltop House, 3350 Baseball Pond Road, Brooksville FL. 3500 sf. Commissioned in 1972. Structural, Haley Keister; built by Howard Woodward; Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1976. Near Ernest Lee Road. Still in the Thomas family as of 2018.
1975 - The William Morgan Duplex, aka Dune Houses, 1941-43 Beach Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. Concrete and gunite shell encased in earthen walls, forming a man-made dune covered with grass. Two 750sf apartments make up the property. Curvaceous interior walls are part wood, part painted concrete. Commissioned in 1974. Sold in 2012 to William Drew and Jennie Malloy. Sold in 2020.
1976 - The Hayne and Virginia McCondichie House, aka Beach House, 61 Ponte Vedra Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach FL. Commissioned in 1974. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1977. 2,800 sf. Structural engineer, Haley Keister; built by Dave Plummer. Sold and destroyed around 2013.
1978 - The Jesse C. Watkins House, Orange Park FL. Status unknown.
1979 - The Fleshner Residence, Jupiter Island FL. Likely unbuilt.
1979 - The Joshua C. Dickinson House, aka the Forest House, 6124 SW 30th Avenue, Gainesville FL. Commissioned in 1977. Built by TJ Kimbrell; structural engineer, HW Keister. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1980. Sold in 2015 to Anna L. Peterson and Manuel A. Vasquez.
1981 - The Waters-Goodman Townhouses, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1982 - The George M. Goodloe Townhouses, 1971 Beach Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. Three under one roof. Commissioned in 1979. Sold to Mark S. Howard.
1983 - The Treehouse, 1970 Beach Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. 1000 sf. Commissioned in 1979. Conceived as a prototype for higher-density residential development. Sold to Mark and Katrina Howard.
1984 - The Gill Mesa Houses for Richardson B. Gill, Austin TX. Status unknown.
1985 - The Richardson B. Gill House, aka Creek House, Austin TX. Commissioned 1982.
1987 - The Grandy House, 1927 Beachside Court, Atlantic Beach FL. Sold to Ronald and Marchant Martin. 3,570 sf.
1988 - aka Dune Crest Residence, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1988 - The Pulham Residence, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1988 - The Rowan Merry House, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1991 - The Johnson House, aka Inlet House, Fort George Island FL. Status unknown.
1995 - The Castanova House, Atlantic Beach FL. Status unknown.
1994 - The Chapman Root III House, 489 Ocean Shore Boulevard, Ormond Beach FL. Two three-story, concrete block towers support second and third floor spaces bridging the towers. Swimming pool doubles as a reflecting pool. 6,500 sf. Commissioned in 1989. Sold in 2015 to Andrea Bertele. Transferred to Sabrina Annovazzi Bertele. Sold in 2020 to Eva and Thomas Finstein. For sale in 2022.
1996 - The Lynn Drysdale House, 1769 Ocean Grove Drive, Atlantic Beach FL. 1630sf. Four stories tall. The house is lifted into the air by a pair of large concrete towers. Top floor has a cantilevered balcony. Commissioned in 1995. Featured in 100 of the World's Best Houses, Volume 1. Sold to Thomas and Judith Coughlin.
1997 - The Cesery House, Ponte Verde Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1997 - The Rossetter House, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
1998 - The Edwards House, 65 19th Street, Atlantic Beach FL. 1707 sf. Commissioned in 1997. Sold to Janice Madsen. Sold in 2013 to David and Patricia Sweeney. Sold in 2017 to Lynn and Paul Mattingly.
1999 - The Sea Gardens Townhouses, 2277 Seminole Road, Atlantic Beach FL. Owned by Tore-King, Inc. 15 units. Built by Demetree Industries; structural engineer, Haley Keister; HVAC, Roy Turknett. Commissioned in 1977. Featured in Architectural Record Houses of 1979.
1999 - aka Ocean Forest House, Atlantic Beach FL. Unbuilt.
1999 - The Greenberg Addition. Likely unbuilt.
2000 - The Georgallis House, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
2000 - The Gregory K. West and Susan Hill House, aka West-Hill House, 57 19th Street, Atlantic Beach FL. 1,487 sf with 533 sf addition. Commissioned in 1993.
2001 - The Margaret S. (Peggy) Cornelius House, 71 19th Street, Atlantic Beach FL. Commissioned in 1998. 2,205 sf. Design inspired by 19th century settlers' houses found in Northern Florida. Metal roofing with shingle siding. Sold to Stephanie Hardman and Karin Raudsep.
2001 - The Roger and Linda Blackburn House, 3047 NW 58 Boulevard, Gainesville FL. Fluted concrete towers with latticed berm walls and metal roof on wood frame. 3,700 sf. Commissioned in 1994.
2001 - The Christopher Lambertson House, 77 19th Street, Atlantic Beach FL. 2300 sf. Commissioned in 1999. Won an AIA Award. Sold in 2009 to John D. Lankshear. Sold in 2013 to Daniel Portnoy.
2002 - The James J. Conners House, 2397 Ponte Vedra Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach FL. 2882 sf. Commissioned in 1998. Wood frame with four concrete block towers suspending the second and third floors. Alfresco first floor serves as covered parking. Second floor is flush with towers. Third cantilevers between towers on all four sides, supporting a squat, pitched roof with long eaves. The house essentially has two distinct rooflines—the flat roof of the perimeter towers and the slightly pitched roof of the third floor suspended in between. Sold in 2014 to William and Alexandra Daugherty.
2002 - The Dylan T. Morgan House, 1951 Beach Avenue, Atlantic Beach FL. Designed for one of Morgan's sons. Won an AIAFL Merit Award in 2003. Commissioned in 1999. 3639 sf. With the front facing of the home resembling an extruded Greek key. The building is located adjacent to both William Morgan's own home and the Dune Houses. A most extraordinary aspect to the beachside entryway is the suspended-by-metal-thread, cantilevered, floating stairway that hangs from the bottom of the third floor balcony. Sold in 2013 to Matthew Davis Fleming.
1979 - The Fleshner Residence, Jupiter Island FL. Likely unbuilt.
2004 - The Hayes House, Ponte Vedra Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
2004 - The Allison House, Jacksonville FL. Likely unbuilt.
2005 - The Dunbar House, Jacksonville FL. Likely unbuilt.
2005 - The O'Connor Residence, Jacksonville FL. Likely unbuilt.
2007 - The Ranieri Residence, Jacksonville FL. Likely unbuilt.
2006 - The Francis and Diane Lott House, aka Sealoft, 4296 South Fletcher Avenue, Fernandina Beach FL. It is the signature house of the Amelia Islands. Interior concrete towers support and balance the whole of the wood-frame structure. Frontage faces street, rear faces beach with swimming pool in between, doubling as reflection pool. Lott is himself an architect. 5800 sf. Commissioned in 2004. Video.
2006 - The Virginia Quelch and Mark Gendzier Residence, 158 Lawn Avenue, St. Augustine FL.
2006 - The Hardman Raudsep House, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
2007 - The Banaszak House, Amelia Island FL. Status unknown.
2010 - The Charles (Charlie) Knopf House, Stuart FL. Unbuilt.
Year unknown - The Rohrbaugh House, Atlantic Beach FL. Likely unbuilt.
Sources include: William Morgan; Max Eternity.