Dome Architect 'Buster' Curtis Is Dead Of Cancer At Age 79 Design Considered Work Of Genius Submitted by N.O.V.A. July 2005 Times Picayune 06-11-1997 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis Jr., the New Orleans architect whose Superdome is numbered among the most successful sporting venues ever built, died Tuesday of cancer at Memorial Medical Center. Mr. Curtis, known as "Buster" to his friends, was 79. "Buster's work abounds all around us," former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu said Tuesday. While the Superdome may be Mr. Curtis' most enduring legacy to the city, his second best-known work, the Rivergate convention center, was reduced to rubble in 1995 to make way for the still-unfinished Harrah's casino. Both were built during Mr. Curtis' 30-year partnership with architect Arthur Q. Davis. Dave Dixon, a longtime friend who worked with Mr. Curtis as the Superdome was designed and built, said his death is "a tremendous blow" to the city. "With all due respect to the architects we have in this city, Buster was probably the best ever," said Dixon, one of the earliest promoters of a domed stadium and the effort to bring a professional football team to New Orleans. "He was really a giant; no finer man ever lived in this community." Dixon described Mr. Curtis as a self-effacing man who "never really got quite the credit he deserved for the Superdome." Mr. Curtis, who remained active in his Magazine Street architectural firm until this year, was seriously ill for the past six months, his wife, Frances Collens Curtis, said Tuesday. He had been in and out of the hospital in recent months, Dixon said. "He was a great father and a great husband," said Landrieu, who was mayor when the Dome opened in 1975. Landrieu, now a state appeal court judge, said the Superdome work was "all- consuming" for Mr. Curtis. "The magnitude of building this type of facility was a very significant challenge," Landrieu said. He described the stadium as essentially a "support-free facility," meaning there are few columns or posts to obstruct spectators' view of the playing field. Its designers were faced with the task of building a structure considerably larger than the Houston Astrodome, the world's only other domed stadium at the time, Landrieu said. "Today, it is recognized as just an incredible piece of work for that size of space," he said. "The hugest room you could ever build" is how Mr. Curtis described the Dome in an interview this year. The $163 million stadium, controversial at the time because of its cost, has stood the test of time. Besides New Orleans Saints football games, it is still playing host to big events such as the Super Bowl, while other stadiums built around the same time - such as the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., and Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati - have outlived their usefulness. Landrieu described Mr. Curtis as a sensitive and shy person whose "interests have always been on the artistic side." In the Superdome, Dixon said, Mr. Curtis managed to combine "a great utilitarian building with magnificent beauty." Mr. Curtis' artistic bent also could be seen in the Rivergate, with its rippling concrete roof and upswept entrance. Like the Dome, the Rivergate also was significant in its use of open space. The pre-stressed and post-tensioned concrete used in its construction allowed for three acres of uninterrupted floor space. The building was recognized by the American Institute of Architects as a fine example of architectural expressionism, a style that was popular from the 1950s through the '70s and whose practitioners included the internationally known architects Le Corbusier and Eero Saarinen. "It's the best building designed by our firm," Curtis said in a 1994 interview. "As a pure piece of architecture, to me it's the best one." Mr. Curtis and New Orleans preservationists lost the battle to save the Rivergate, which was the city's main convention hall from the time it opened in 1968 until it was superseded by the New Orleans Convention Center, now the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. "When they talked about tearing it down, he was just beside himself," Landrieu said. Mr. Curtis was lead architect on the Rivergate and the Superdome during his 30- year association with Curtis & Davis Architects, which opened after World War II. The firm also designed the Loyola Avenue headquarters of the New Orleans Public Library, the Royal Orleans Hotel and the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Mr. Curtis' designs also include a museum in Saudi Arabia, more than 10 correctional institutions and many homes. Mr. Curtis got his degree in architecture from Tulane University in 1940. He was a lieutenant commander in the Navy during World War II. He served on the architectural review panel of the Federal Reserve Board from 1978 until his death. He was a former president of International House, a commodore in the Southern Yacht Club and a member of the New York Yacht Club and the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. He is survived by his wife, seven children, 13 grandchildren and a great- grandchild. Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home is in charge of funeral arrangements, which were incomplete Tuesday.