Fisher, Howard T. (Howard Taylor), 1903-1979

Howard T. Fisher (1903–1979) was an architect, city planner, and educator. Howard Taylor Fisher was born October 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Walter Lowrie Fisher and Mabel Taylor. He graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in 1926. He attended the School of Architecture, Harvard University, from 1926 to 1928.

Fisher started his career as an architect in 1931 with a solo practice in Chicago, which continued until 1943. In 1932, he founded General Houses, Inc. in Chicago to design, sell, and erect low-cost prefabricated housing. The company's system included eight types of prefabricated steel-framed modular panels: solid, small window, large window, glass, entrance door, kitchen door, double doors, and a fireplace. Panels were typically four-feet wide by nine-feet high - except the fireplace panel was taller, and the garage door panel was twice as wide. The panels could be assembled in a wide variety of configurations to suit individual clients' needs and specific sites. For example, one General Houses house that was built on a hillside had three stories with the living room on the top floor to best enjoy the view. The General Houses, Inc. building system was the subject of U.S. patent 1,969,125 issued August 7, 1934. A marketing slogan of the company was "A house that's twice as good at half the price." General Houses cost about $3,000 to $4,500. During the Century of Progress, Fisher had two prefabricated houses on display. The first was part of "The Work of the Young Architects of the Midwest" exhibit, which also featured the work of Fisher's rival, Robert W. McLaughlin Jr. Another house, built for Ruth Page was described as an interesting, albeit gloomy, house with an awkward spatial layout.

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