Nicholas Gianopulos
Citation
Keystones: Oral Histories of Philadelphia's Built Environment (). Nicholas Gianopulos. https://digital.philaathenaeum.org/s/keystones/item/19
Keystones: Oral Histories of Philadelphia's Built Environment. "Nicholas Gianopulos." Web. . <https://digital.philaathenaeum.org/s/keystones/item/19>.
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Item Metadata
Title
Nicholas Gianopulos
Date
2008
Description
Nicholas L. Gianopulos (1924-2018) was a structural engineer and a founding principal of Keast & Hood Company, Structural Engineers, in Philadelphia. During six decades with the firm he developed creative preservation solutions for American landmarks including Independence Hall, Christ Church, the Academy of Music, Carpenters’ Hall, the Merchants’ Exchange, and the Fairmount Water Works, and served as engineer for architects of the Philadelphia School, including Louis I. Kahn, Robert Venturi, and Romaldo Giurgola, with international work on Kahn’s capitol complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A World War II veteran and Penn State graduate, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Fine Arts from 1964 to 1991 and received honors including the Master Builder’s Award from the Carpenters’ Company and the Harley J. McKee Award from the Association for Preservation Technology.
Related Resource
Interviewee
Gianopulos, Nicholas L.
Interviewer
Myers, Hyman
Laverty, Bruce
Abstract
On April 18, 2008, Hyman Myers and Bruce Laverty interviewed Nicholas Gianopulos at The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Myers was a preservation architect at VITETTA who retired in 2009. Laverty was the Gladys Brooks Curator of Architecture at The Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
Kevin Block transcribed this interview in 2025. The transcription process was funded by a Historical and Archival Records Care (HARC) Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). Dean Doukakis, a former owner of Keast & Hood Co. Structural Engineers, reviewed the transcript for accuracy in 2025.
In the interview, Gianopulos recounts his early life in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, his service with the 2nd Armored Division in World War II, and his education, followed by his early work for William H. Gravell and on Independence Hall with Keast & Hood and the National Park Service. He describes working with Louis Kahn in the 1960s, including on the capitol complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and names the Merchants’ Exchange and the Vagelos Chemistry Building as his favorite historic and modern buildings in Philadelphia. Gianopulos also discusses the influence of the University of Pennsylvania faculty, the culture of technical consulting in Philadelphia, contemporary architecture, the Liberty Bell Pavilion, the Doris Duke house with Venturi and Lippincott, structural issues in Frank Furness’s buildings, the emergency closure of the Academy of Music, and his chronology of Christ Church.
Kevin Block transcribed this interview in 2025. The transcription process was funded by a Historical and Archival Records Care (HARC) Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). Dean Doukakis, a former owner of Keast & Hood Co. Structural Engineers, reviewed the transcript for accuracy in 2025.
In the interview, Gianopulos recounts his early life in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, his service with the 2nd Armored Division in World War II, and his education, followed by his early work for William H. Gravell and on Independence Hall with Keast & Hood and the National Park Service. He describes working with Louis Kahn in the 1960s, including on the capitol complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and names the Merchants’ Exchange and the Vagelos Chemistry Building as his favorite historic and modern buildings in Philadelphia. Gianopulos also discusses the influence of the University of Pennsylvania faculty, the culture of technical consulting in Philadelphia, contemporary architecture, the Liberty Bell Pavilion, the Doris Duke house with Venturi and Lippincott, structural issues in Frank Furness’s buildings, the emergency closure of the Academy of Music, and his chronology of Christ Church.