William Leslie Welton, 1874-1934
Scrapbook
AR 0442

Biographical Information

William Leslie Welton (1874-1934) studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston Architectural Club, and École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1902, Welton went to work for the New York firm of McKim Meade & White where he met William T. Warren. Warren and Welton began working together in 1906, and in 1907 they moved to Birmingham and formed a partnership that continued until 1910. From 1906 – 1910, Warren and Welton designed the Southside Baptist Church Education Wing (c.1908), O.D. Smith Hall at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn (c.1907), Empire Building (1909), and Chamber of Commerce Building (1910), in addition to other college buildings, a library, commercial buildings, and at least twenty-one residences. After the partnership of Warren and Welton dissolved, Welton continued to practice in Birmingham until his death in 1934. Notable buildings in Birmingham designed by Welton include the John A. Hand – First National Bank Building (c.1912) with Mowbray & Uffinger of New York, Tutwiler Hotel (c.1914) with William Lee Stoddard of New York, Massey Building (1920), and Vestavia (1925), the Shades Mountain estate of Birmingham Mayor George B. Ward.

Scope and Content

The Welton scrapbook contains photographs of this Birmingham architect’s work as well as clippings, one set of which came from The American Architect and features a principal example of Welton’s use of the International Arts and Crafts style of design.



Sources:

Photograph of William Leslie Welton. Portraits Collection #1557 (#442.1.2). Birmingham Public Library. Department of Archives and Manuscripts.

Satterfield, Carolyn Green. Historic Sites of Jefferson County, Alabama. Birmingham, Alabama: Lowry Printing, 1985. Prepared for the Jefferson County Historical Commission.

Schnorrenberg, John M. Remembered Past, Discovered Future: The Alabama Architecture of Warren Knight & Davis, 1906-1961. Catalogue of Exhibitions at Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Public Library, and University of Alabama at Birmingham Visual Arts Gallery. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Museum of Art, 1999.

White, Marjorie Longenecker. Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Publishing Company. Publication of the Birmingham Historical Society and First National Bank of Birmingham.