Alfred Preis

Alfred Preis was an Austrian-born architect and artist who gained prominence in the United States for designing the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. Fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s, he rebuilt his career in Honolulu where he contributed to civic, religious, and educational architecture and cultural institutions. His work intersects with events and figures from World War II to postwar American architecture and historic preservation movements.

Early life and education

Preis was born in Vienna during the final years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and trained in the milieu shaped by figures associated with Vienna Secession, Otto Wagner, and the broader Central European modernist movement. He studied architecture and industrial design at institutions influenced by the pedagogies of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the technical curricula of Technical University of Vienna. Early influences included the works of Adolf Loos, Wiener Werkstätte, and contemporaries from the Bauhaus orbit, as well as exposure to exhibitions at venues like the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna). Preis’s formative years coincided with the political upheavals following the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the rise of authoritarian movements across Europe.

Emigration and career in the United States

Facing antisemitic persecution and the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, Preis emigrated, arriving in the United States via ports connected to the Emergency Rescue Committee and refugee networks active after the Anschluss. He settled in Honolulu where he navigated wartime policies such as the Alien Enemy Act and internment practices that affected many émigrés from Germany and Austria. During World War II Preis was interned briefly before being released to contribute to local design efforts in Hawaii Territorial government contexts and to civilian organizations tied to the United States Navy and USO activities. He taught and practiced architecture at institutions engaging with postwar reconstruction, collaborating with peers from Columbia University-trained and MIT-trained architects active in the Pacific.

Design of the USS Arizona Memorial

In the aftermath of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the sunken battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) became a symbol invoked by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and veteran organizations. In the mid-1950s and early 1960s, the planning and funding processes involved entities such as the National Park Service, the United States Congress, the Navy, the Hawaii Territorial Legislature, and advocacy groups like the USS Arizona Memorial Commission. Preis’s design responded to commemorative precedents including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and memorials by architects influenced by Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. The resulting structure, sited within Pearl Harbor National Memorial waters adjacent to Ford Island, employed symbolic forms and modernist lines that linked to the visual languages seen in projects by Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn while addressing engineering constraints overseen by firms and agencies such as Bureau of Yards and Docks and private marine contractors. The memorial’s dedication ceremonies involved representatives from the Navy Memorial Foundation, surviving crew associations, and dignitaries from Japan and United States diplomatic circles, reflecting postwar reconciliation dialogues including parallels to visits by representatives from the Emperor of Japan and exchanges occurring under auspices like the Japan–United States Security Treaty.

Other architectural works and legacy

Beyond the Arizona memorial, Preis designed churches, schools, and public buildings that engaged local congregations and educational institutions such as University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa affiliates and parish communities tied to dioceses in Honolulu. His portfolio included collaborations with contractors and consultants experienced with tropical construction, seismic design practices associated with standards later codified by bodies like the American Institute of Architects and International Code Council. Preis contributed to preservation conversations linked to sites like the Hawaiian Mission Houses and to exhibitions at museums such as the Honolulu Museum of Art. His stylistic legacy interacts with Honolulu modernists including Pietro Belluschi-influenced practitioners and with postwar federal investment in public works influenced by programs tied to Federal-Aid Highway Act era priorities. Scholarly analysis of his oeuvre appears in publications produced by Historic Hawaii Foundation, university presses, and architectural journals drawing on archival materials held by local repositories and national archives including the National Archives and Records Administration.

Personal life and honors

Preis married and raised a family in Honolulu and participated in community institutions including synagogues and cultural organizations established by European émigrés in Hawaii. He received recognition from veterans’ groups, civic organizations, and municipal bodies such as proclamations by the City and County of Honolulu and commendations associated with memorial commissions. Professional acknowledgments connected to peers in the American Institute of Architects and civic awards recognized his contribution to commemorative architecture. Preis died in 1994 and is remembered in contemporaneous obituaries circulated by local newspapers and in remembrances by organizations responsible for the stewardship of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Category:Architects Category:People from Vienna Category:People from Honolulu Category:1911 births Category:1994 deaths