History: A Legacy of Style

You may not know his name, but you’ve probably seen his work: a distinctive Neoclassical entryway here, a dramatic Tudor façade there. But what you may not experience in passing are the exquisite details. Because above all, William Riddle Ward—better known as Willie—was a consummate designer: one of South Carolina’s most noted architects of the twentieth century.

Born in Eutaw, Alabama, in 1890, Ward skipped high school to enter Auburn University, but then took off for New York City. By day, he labored at the architectural firm of Hill and Stout, famous for its ties to renowned New York City architect Stanford White. By night, he worked toward a master’s in architecture from Columbia University. Also during this time, he met Greenville native Haskell Martin, who proposed forming a partnership in South Carolina, but World War I postponed their plan.

Ward was stationed in Paris, where he took the opportunity to attend the Academie des Beaux Arts. When he was released from the service in 1916, he immediately joined Martin in Greenville. Ward’s first project that year was a house on the corner of Manly and Pettigru streets (which stands today, though has been significantly altered from its original design).

More clients followed and Ward was asked to plan some public buildings, including the Laurens County Courthouse and the Whitmire Mill. In Greenville, he designed Triune Methodist Church and made alterations to the Poinsett Hotel and Hotel Greenville. In all, he designed 133 structures statewide.

With every project, Ward remained committed to quality and was nothing if not meticulous. Colleagues and clients alike were quick to point out Ward’s exacting demands: standing over his partner’s shoulder while he designed, erasing someone’s entire work only to draw it over again, or insisting a workman rip out construction if it didn’t
meet his standards.

But while he drew up some of the grandest residences in Greenville, Ward lived a modest life. He rented a three-room apartment on Washington Street and took his meals at a nearby boarding house, or with clients who became friends. He remained a bachelor until his death in a Tuscaloosa nursing home in 1984.
In an interview by the Greenville News-Piedmont, Ward’s cousin Lida Hall reported that “he hung a photographic gallery of his masterpieces along a hallway where he could look at them daily after he retired.” Truly fitting for one whose work was his life.