Western Association of Architects

Defunct professional association of architects

Western Association of Architects

Abbreviation	WAA
Merged into	American Institute of Architects
Formation	1884; 140 years ago (1884)
Dissolved	1889; 135 years ago (1889)
Purpose	Architectural profession
Professional title	FWAA
Headquarters	Chicago
Region served	United States

The Western Association of Architects (WAA) was an American professional body founded in Chicago in 1884 separately from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) by John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham, Dankmar Adler, and Louis Sullivan, because they felt slighted by East Coast architects of the AIA.^[1] "Members consisted of architects from the Midwest and the South with chapters forming in many states. The WAA was the first architectural organization to petition for licensure of architects. Many architects were members of both WAA and AIA...."^[2] The WAA merged with the AIA in 1889.

Presidents

Charles E. Illsley of St. Louis, 1885^[3]
Dankmar Adler of Chicago, 1886^[4]
John W. Root of Chicago, 1887^[5]
Sidney Smith of Omaha, Nebraska, 1888^[6]
W. W. Carlin of Buffalo, New York, 1889^[7]

Other notable members

Louise Blanchard Bethune
Daniel Burnham
Louis Sullivan
Bernard Vonnegut Sr.
Mason Maury
William J. Dodd
Oscar C. Wehle

References

^ New York Times "The Western Architects" November 14, 1884
^ Papers of the Western Association of Architects: 1884-1889
^ "Western Association of Architects" in Sanitary Engineer 10, no. 25 (November 20, 1884): 577-580.
^ "The Convention" in Inland Architect and Builder 6, no. 5 (November, 1885): 66-87.
^ Inland Architect and Builder 8, no. 8 (December, 1886): 59.
^ "Fourth Annual Convention of the Western Association of Architects" in Building 7, no. 22 (November 26, 1887): 176-181.
^ "Fifth Annual Convention, Western Association of Architects" in Engineering and Building Record 19, no. 1 (December 1, 1888): 3-8