HARRELL, GEORGE FOSTER (1906-1980). George Harrell, Dallas architect, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 29, 1906, and grew up in nearby Rocky Mount. After receiving his bachelor's degree in architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1930 and his master's of architecture in 1931 from the University of Pennsylvania, he served in the navy reserve from 1942 to 1945, while maintaining his architecture practice. He began his practice in New York City and continued in Dallas when he was stationed as a navigation instructor at the Naval Air Station, Dallas.qv Harrell maintained a private practice in Dallas until 1950, when he became a partner in Gill and Harrell, Architects. In 1956 the more prestigious Harrell and Hamilton firm was formed, and Harrell began to design many well-known buildings, particularly banks. Harrell's designs include the U.S. Steel Building at the 1939 New York World's Fair, the Ouachita National Bank and Parking Structure in Monroe, Louisiana (1958), the Republic National Bank complex in Dallas (1960), and the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas (1969). Harrell was president of the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Texas Society of Architects, director of the Texas Research Leagueqv and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, and chairman of the City of Dallas Urban Task Force. He died on March 17, 1980, leaving behind his wife, Ruth, and one son.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dallas Times Herald, March 18, 1980. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Who's Who in the South and Southwest, 1968-69.
Justin Lien
