MacKie and Kamrath (firm)

Name

MacKie and Kamrath

Location

Houston, TX

Firm History Sources

American Architects Directories:
Listing in 1962 American Architects Directory
Listing in 1970 American Architects Directory under Mac
Historical note:
Contributed by the Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas:
      MacKie & Kamrath, one of the first Houston firms credited with creating modern architecture, opened in 1937. Both Fred MacKie and Karl Kamrath were raised in Texas and educated at the University of Texas School of Architecture. After working in Chicago following graduation, the two young architects decided to return to Texas to open a firm. Houston was the best option for a new architecture firm, given its larger size and wealth from the oil and gas industry. Fred MacKie and Karl Kamrath each had their strengths and roles in the firm. Kamrath was in charge of design, while MacKie was primarily responsible for planning and business. Lloyd Borget, a graduate of the University of Michigan, joined the firm in 1949 and became an associate in 1954. Borget was primarily in charge of planning and production. In 1977, Fred MacKie went into partial retirement and Lloyd Borget became a partner, along with Ross Belle Gillette, Pete Brunson, and Vincent Hughes.
      MacKie & Kamrath's most significant projects in Houston include the Kamrath residence, 3448 Locke Lane (1939), Phyllis Wheatley Senior High School (1948), the Contemporary Arts Association Museum (1949, demolished 1989), Temple Emanu-El (1949), St. John the Divine Episcopal Church (1951, with H.A. Salisbury), Kamrath residence, 8 Tiel Way (1951), and the M.D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research and Tumor Institute (1954, with Schmidt, Garden, and Erikson). Other notable projects outside Houston include the Pasadena State Bank (1963, Doughtie and Porterfield) in Pasadena, MacKie & Kamrath's only high-rise built work, Temple Rodef Sholem (1962) in Waco, and the Commercial Standard Insurance Company Building (1956), in Fort Worth.

Related Records

Fred J. MacKie, Jr.
Karl Fred Kamrath
Lloyd George Borget

Archival Holdings

Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas
      See Karl Fred Kamrath
Stephen Fox Architectural Archives, Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
      MSS 0422 MacKie and Kamrath Papers. For further information about the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, https://houstonlibrary.org/houston-texas

Publications