Remembering “Goldy”
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olleagues and friends lent their voices in tribute to Myron Goldsmith (B.ARCH ’39, M.S. ’53) in a collection of testimonials honoring the acclaimed architect and engineer, who was celebrated in a memorial service held on October 19, 1996, at S. R. Crown Hall.
The late Alfred Caldwell (B.ARCH ’42, M.S. ’47), notable landscape architect, poet, and College of Architecture faculty member, penned a verse in honor of Goldsmith:
Oh, Goldy! Everyone loved Goldy. He was so important to the Farnsworth House. Mies depended on him.
On February 19, 2019, Goldsmith was once again recognized along with six other Illinois Tech luminaries as the latest university Hall of Fame inductees. William F. Baker, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill structural engineering partner and College of Architecture Board of Advisors member, describes the Saturday sessions that he and Goldsmith held for graduate students followed by lunch at Bertucci’s Corner. Baker says that the students were greatly inspired by Goldsmith’s own master’s thesis done under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, in whose office Goldsmith worked from 1946 to 1953. Goldsmith left to study with renowned structural engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi through a Fulbright grant before going on to a long career at SOM.
“Myron was not dictatorial; he provided a soft and gentle guidance to students,” says Baker. “He was highly respected by everyone. His work was so elegant and refined.”
“Myron brought so much to the students,” says Robin Goldsmith of her late husband. She shares the thought she had after her first conversation with Myron, more than 60 years ago.
“I just met one of the finest people that I will ever know,” she recalls having said to herself.