William Albert Swasey
William Albert Swasey (11 October 1863 – 21 March 1940) was an American architect who designed domestic and commercial buildings in St. Louis, Missouri. His work includes theaters for the Shubert family in New York City. Early life Although the family was normally resident in Boston, Swasey was born in Melbourne, Australia where his parents were temporarily living. His parents were Hattie Hobson Jewett and John Babson Swasey, a successful businessman. His father's firm, J. B. Swasey Commission Company, had offices in Boston, London, and Melbourne, Australia. He was educated at Boston Latin School, followed by a brief stint at a military boarding school in Paris. He then enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied architecture, graduating in 1882. Career He began working for C. C. Height in New York before moving to Chicago where he worked for the firms of Burnham and Root and Henry Ives Cobb. Swasey moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1885 and entered into an architectural partnership with Charles K. Ramsey. Two years later, Swasey opened his own firm. From 1890 he was one of the chief architects of the residential development of Westminster Place and Portland and Westmoreland Places and is