Merritt Starkweather

Who was Merritt Starkweather?

Merritt H. Starkweather was a noted Tucson, Arizona architect and civic leader. A native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, after visiting the Panama-California Exposition he moved to Tucson and began working in an elegantly simplified Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture.

His buildings reflect a sophisticated understanding of the Art Deco movement – Both the Starweather Home on Adams Street and in El Encanto Estates are stunning example of Pueblo Deco Style. Perhaps his most significant building is the Arizona Inn: a series of lush courtyards and pink plastered buildings commissioned by Isabella Greenway.

Starkweather was a founder of the Tucson Rodeo. In 1937 founded the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects and in 1968 named an AIA Fellow.

He founded the Tucson Blueprint Company before World War I.

Starkweather married Otilia Jettinghoff August 6, 1921 and died in 1972 in Tucson.