Downtown Books hosts architect Marshall Saturday

On Saturday, May 16 from 1 to 3 p.m., Downtown Books, at 67 Commerce Street in Apalachicola, will host local author Willoughby Marshall, whose "Apalachicola: Economic Development through Historic Preservation" has been republished as a 35th anniversary edition.

Maps and charts add to the text which was the architect - author's studied vision in 1974 of what the built environment of Apalachicola could become.

In this edition's foreword, Marshall wrote that he hopes the reissuance "will assist in the continuing education of involved local citizens and public officials so that the existing public-private stewardship of Apalachicola will continue to evolve in a positive way."

Following graduation from Chapman High School and service in the U.S. Army during World War II, Marshall attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a bachelor's of fine arts and two years later a bachelor's of architecture.

As a young architect he and the late Pierce Barrett formed the firm of Barrett and Marshall in Tallahassee. Marshall was active in the Chamber of Commerce, leading the Economic Development Committee to consider the building of the Civic Center by inviting internationally-known architects to come and talk with city leaders.

Among their projects, the firm designed Sacred Heart Church in Lanark Village, and the residence of Carl Zerbe, a Bauhaus painter who was a member of Florida State University's art department through the 1960's.

The Barrett firm became Barrett, Daffin and Bishop when Marshall journeyed to Cambridge, MA to work with Walter Gropius at The Architects Collaborative before starting his own firm, Architect Willoughby Marshall Inc. in 1963.

In addition to the award-winning study on Apalachicola, Marshall in 1977 received an AIA National Honor Award for the renovation and restoration of the New Mellery Trappist Abbey in Dubuque, Iowa. His work in Maine, including St. Peter's Church on Mt. Desert Island and the Newman Center in Orono, was cited in the 1976 "Maine Forms of American Architecture," a Bates College exhibition and publication. His work includes numerous public and private projects.

Since returning home in 1988 to reside in the 1834 family home, residence for the Marks and Marshall families since 1900, he has been an advocate for the town's preservation of the built and natural environment.

In 1992, using funding from the Florida Recreation Development and Assistance Program as well as a legislative grant and funding from the Alfred I. Dupont Foundation, Marshall designed Apalachicola's Lafayette Park, including the elegant gazebo which often functions as a wedding site. The restoration was based on the park's design in the original 1835 city plan.

In 2007 he completed the adaptive reuse of the Fry Conter house at 96 Fifth Street which now functions as the Apalachicola Museum of Art. This work was made possible by funding from the Florida Secretary of State, Division of Historic Resources, and the State Historic Advisory Council as well as funding from the Dupont Foundation and the Trust for Public Land.

In 2008, the museum received an award from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in the field of adaptive use, in recognition of preserving a significant piece of the state's rich heritage.

Art and architecture continually give back, so the gifts continue to demand exercise of the mind and spirit. Marshall continues to practice, and he and his wife, Marie, enjoy frequent visits from and to their family, especially their four children: Dr. William Marshall, of Boston; Mary and John Marshall, attorneys in Boston and New Orleans, respectively; James Marshall, a teacher in the International School in Bangkok, Thailand as well as their four grandchildren.