Hood, Raymond Mathewson

Hood, Raymond Mathewson (1881-1934), was the architect of some of America’s largest and most striking skyscrapers during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. He worked with architect John Mead Howells on the design of the Chicago Tribune Tower (1925) in Chicago, Illinois. The building, designed in the Gothic Revival style, made Hood internationally famous.

Hood and Howells designed the Daily News Building (1929) in New York City, New York, one of the city’s most important skyscrapers from this period. Hood helped design the Rockefeller Center complex of buildings (1930-1940) in New York City and designed several buildings for the Century of Progress Exposition (1933) in Chicago. Hood’s other important projects included the American Radiator Building (1924) and the McGraw-Hill Building (1931), both in New York City. The two buildings were designed in partnership with Jacques AndrĂ© Fouilhoux and Frederick A. Godley.

Hood was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on March 2, 1881. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, France, in 1905 and again from 1908 to 1910. He set up an office in New York City with architect Rayne Adams in 1914. Hood died on Aug. 15, 1934.