Arthur Cotton Moore

Arthur Cotton Moore (April 12, 1935 – September 4, 2022) was an American architect who was notable for the restoration of Washington Harbour and modernization of the Thomas Jefferson Building.

Moore graduated in St. Albans School, Washington, D.C. In 1958, Moore graduated cum laude in Princeton University.

Moore began his professional practice in 1965 and was best known for expanding the purview of the country’s nascent Preservation Movement, from the restoration of historic manor houses to re-purposing urban industrial structures.

His first project––Canal Square, in Washington D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood––was the earliest recognized manifestation of combining an old mercantile building with major new construction.

Moore was also known for the Washington Harbour development on the Potomac River in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., the Goh Annex of the Phillips Collection also in Washington, D.C., and the renovation and modernization of the Thomas Jefferson and John Adams buildings of the Library of Congress, the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the renovation of Washington D.C.'s tallest residential building, the Cairo Hotel.

Arthur Cotton Moore spent his early years at “Tanglebank,” his grandparents’ Victorian house off Connecticut Avenue in the Kalorama neighborhood of NW Washington, D.C., now the site of a new People's Republic of China building providing housing for its embassy personnel.

Moore’s father, Captain Charles Godwin Moore, Jr., served during both World Wars.

His mother was the granddaughter of Thomas Monroe Gale, whose house in the Kalorama neighborhood is now the Myanmar Embassy.

Moore studied architecture Princeton University School of Architecture, M.F.A. before starting his career in 1965.

Moore described his architectural style in his non-preservation work as Modernism with Baroque sensibilities.

Since 1965, Moore received 70 Design Awards including:

The international publicity generated by the many facets of the Washington Harbour Complex––Architecture, Urban Design, residential/office/commercial uses, a visionary flood control system, fountains, and its siting on the Potomac River––prompted requests from specific groups for a combination slide presentation, guided tour, and Q&A session:

“The Pennsylvania Avenue Plan.” St. Albans Bulletin, May 1965

“Advise and Consult.” Library of Congress Information Bulletin.

Vol. 56, No. 9, 5-11.

Washingtonian Magazine: (Contributing Editor on Urban Affairs, 1965–1978)

Arthur Cotton Moore lived with his wife, Patricia Moore, in Washington, D.C. His son is Greg Moore, a theoretical physicist at Rutgers University.

Moore died of Pulmonary fibrosis on September 4, 2022 at the age of 87.

His remains are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

These following articles on the solo exhibitions were published in newspapers and magazines between 1989 and 1995:

Journal of the American Institute of Architects:

May 1997.

The Weekly Standard:

Some have referred to this style as “post-postmodernism.” It is a lighter, even an entertaining modern interpretation of the exuberant style that flourished in Europe from the middle of the 17th century to the early 18th century.

People are tired of endless grid-crunching, Moore said.

'' Baroque deals with modern design's fear and loathing of the curve - just what I think is missing in modern design.

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