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This
Nashville-based architectural firm, founded by Thomas Marr in 1897,
grew rapidly in the 1910s and 1920s as it specialized in the design of
theaters, schools, hotels, and other commercial buildings. Marr began
his career as a draftsman for Nashville architect George Thompson, and
two years later he enrolled in an architectural program at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Marr opened his Nashville
architectural practice as a residential architect, but house
commissions accounted for little of the firm's overall work.
Joseph
Holman started his career as an office boy in Marr's firm and rose
rapidly to partnership. Holman built the firm into a major power,
aggressively pursuing both public and private contracts. He courted
long-term clients such as Tony Sudekum's Crescent Amusement Company,
for which the firm designed numerous theaters. In the 1920s the firm
developed a close relationship with Nashville's powerful financial
empire Caldwell and Company. Caldwell financed numerous Marr and Holman
commissions including the Andrew Jackson Hotel, the Harry Nichol
Building, and the Cotton State Life Building. Holman offered access to
project financing to other firms in Georgia, Florida, North and South
Carolina in exchange for making his firm a partner in their projects.
This relationship helped account for the firm's tremendous growth
during the 1920s, placing it in a very advantageous position over its
competitors until the demise of the Caldwell empire in 1932.
The
development of the Marr and Holman firm presents a microcosm of the
evolution of architectural firms in the United States. Marr began as a
draftsman and became one of Tennessee's first technically trained
architects. His fortuitous association with Holman reflected a movement
within larger firms toward divisions of responsibilities according to
individual strengths, as Marr assumed responsibility for project design
and office supervision, while Holman's personal connections and
business acumen enhanced the firm's growth.
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