• Source: Ralph O. Mott

Ralph O. Mott (May 30, 1903 – December 29, 1997) was an American architect in practice in Fort Smith, Arkansas from 1935 until his retirement in 1993. For nearly sixty years, he was head of the Fort Smith architecture firm now (2024) known as MAHG Architecture and was president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards for the year 1965.




Life and career


Ralph Oliver Mott was born May 30, 1903 in rural Mahaska County, Iowa to Frank O. Mott and Pearl Mott, née Green. Mott was educated at Washington University in St. Louis, earning his BArch in 1925. After graduation, he joined the office of William B. Ittner. In 1926, he moved to Fort Smith to join Haralson & Nelson before moving on to Houston the next year to join Harry D. Payne, a former Ittner associate. In 1931, he returned to Haralson & Nelson in Fort Smith. In 1935, Joe J. Haralson and E. Chester Nelson dissolved their partnership, and Haralson and Mott formed the new partnership of Haralson & Mott. In 1948, a second partnership was established in Muskogee, Oklahoma under the name of Haralson & Horstman, operated by the Fort Smith partners with the addition of local partner William L. Horstman.
When Haralson died in 1955, Mott assumed control of both partnerships. In 1956, the Muskogee partnership was reorganized as Horstman & Mott, and in 1957, the Fort Smith partnership became Mott, Mobley & Horstman. Both partnerships changed with the addition and withdrawal of partners. With these changes, the Fort Smith partnership was renamed Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Staton in 1961; Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Griffin in 1969; Mott, Mobley, Richter, McGowan & Griffin in 1977; and Mott, Mobley, McGowan & Griffin in 1979. The Muskogee partnership was renamed Horstman, Richter & Mott in 1964 and was dissolved in 1978. In addition to Haralson, Horstman and Mott, long-time partners of these firms included architects Robert E. Mobley , Harold L. Griffin and Mott's son, John K. Mott . Despite his advanced age, Mott continued to be senior partner of the firm until his retirement in 1993. After his retirement the firm was reorganized as McGowan, Anderson, Hunter & Griffin and is now (2024) known as MAHG Architecture.
In 1945, Mott was appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Architects, which supervised the licensing of architects in Arkansas. He served on the board until 1975 and was its president from 1954 to 1958. In the latter, year he was elected to the board of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, an organization constituted from state licensing boards. He was elected president for 1965 and served on the board until 1966. As president, Mott focused on standardizing licensure requirements across states.
Mott joined the American Institute of Architects in 1937 as a member of the Arkansas chapter. He served as chapter president for the year 1956. Mott was elected a Fellow of the AIA in 1966, the second Arkansas architect to be so honored and the first from outside Little Rock. In 1983, he was awarded the inaugural Fay Jones Gold Medal Award by AIA Arkansas.




Personal life


Mott was married in 1927 to Dollie Rea Boler. They had two children, John Kneeland Mott and Gordon Boler Mott. Mott died December 29, 1997 in retirement in Cumberland, Maryland at the age of 94.
Mott's son, John K. Mott, became a partner in his firm in 1969. He was well known as a preservation architect. His works for the firm included the restoration of Old Main (1991) of the University of Arkansas. After leaving the firm, he was a partner of George M. Notter in Washington, D.C. from 1992 to 1996, before joining other firms.




Legacy


Two works designed by Mott and his partners have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.




Architectural works






= Haralson & Mott, 1935–1957

=
1939 – Memorial Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1939 – Polk County Courthouse, 507 Church Ave, Mena, Arkansas
1941 – Nyberg Building, Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Booneville, Arkansas
1951 – Fine Arts Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1954 – Barnhill Arena, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1954 – Central Presbyterian Church, 2901 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, Arkansas




= Mott, Mobley & Horstman, 1957–1961

=
1959 – W. O. Young Building, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas
1961 – Humphreys Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas




= Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Staton, 1961–1969

=
1963 – Southside High School, 4100 Gary St, Fort Smith, Arkansas
1963 – Superior Federal Savings and Loan Bank Building, 1601 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, Arkansas
1963 – Yocum Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1966 – First Christian Church, 3600 Free Ferry Rd, Fort Smith, Arkansas
1967 – Paine Hall, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas
1968 – Discovery Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1968 – Muskogee Civic Center, 425 Boston St, Muskogee, Oklahoma
1968 – Vines Building, University of Arkansas–Fort Smith, Fort Smith, Arkansas




= Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Griffin, 1969–1977

=
1970 – Fort Smith Public Library (former), 61 S 8th St, Fort Smith, Arkansas
1976 – Tucker Coliseum, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas




= Mott, Mobley, Richter, McGowan & Griffin, 1977–1979

=
1978 – Barnhill Arena expansion, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1984 – John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, 4300 W 7th St, Little Rock, Arkansas




= Mott, Mobley, McGowan & Griffin, 1979–1993

=
1984 – HPER Complex, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1991 – Old Main rehabilitation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
1993 – Bud Walton Arena, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas




Notes






References

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