Archives West Finding Aid

Harlan Thomas was born in Des Moines, Iowa on January 10, 1870. His father, a Civil War Veteran, moved the family to Fort Collins, Colorado, when Harlan was nine years old. He enrolled in Colorado State College in 1885 and became interested in architecture, although his father's death in 1886 forced him to withdraw after only one year of study. Between 1886 and 1891, Thomas worked as a carpenter and draftsman, eventually re-enrolling in Colorado State in 1891. By the time he graduated in 1894 he had already designed two buildings for Colorado State University's campus and a home addition for Franklin Avery, a prominent Fort Collins businessman. After graduation, Thomas opened an architectural office before moving to Europe with his new wife, Edith Partridge, in 1895.

Thomas worked in Denver and traveled extensively between 1896 and 1906, finally moving to Seattle in 1906. Over the next 43 years, Thomas contributed numerous architectural works to the Pacific Northwest. His projects include: the Chelsea Hotel, the Sorrento Hotel, the Queen Anne Seattle Public Library, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Building, the Rhodes Department Store (now known as the Arcade Plaza Building), the first Harborview Hospital building, Bagley Hall at the University of Washington, Laurelhurst Church and the Sand Point Community United Methodist Church. In addition, he designed several high schools, including one in Enumclaw, Washington, the Weatherwax High School in Aberdeen, Washington, and the Masonic Temple and high school in Juneau, Alaska.

From 1926 until 1940 Thomas was a Professor of Architecture and Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1940 he became the Director Emeritus of the School of Architecture at the University of Washington. Thomas retired from practice in 1949 and devoted his time to water-color painting, a skill he had practiced throughout his career. In 1951, he exhibited a number of his watercolor sketches at the University of Washington Henry Art Gallery. On September 4, 1953, Harlan Thomas died at the age of 83 at his home on 3015 West Market Street.