Walker, Ralph, 1889-1973

Ralph Thomas Walker (1889-1973) was an American architect. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and studied with Rhode Island architect Howard K. Hilton. In 1916 he went to work for the New York firm of McKenzie, Voorhees and Gmelin, where he remained for the rest of his career. In 1955 he led a group of architects sent to Berlin to participate in planning for the International Building Exhibition (IBA) to be held in 1957; as part of this effort, he and his team proposed building a Congress Hall, to "promote international understanding through the advancement of culture, education and science." The Benjamin Franklin Foundation, a joint German-American organization with Walker as its chairman, was created to oversee the planning and construction of the Berlin Congress Hall, completed in 1957. The Foundation went on to spend another 13 years in reconstruction projects in and around Berlin.

Most of Walker's buildings are in New York City, including the AT&T building on Broadway, the iconic One Wall Street (originally the Irving Trust Building), and the Barclay-Vesey Building (later known as the Verizon Building, severely damaged during the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks).

From the guide to the Ralph T. Walker Papers, 1916-1970, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)