Leon C. Weiss

Leon Charles Weiss (1882–1953) was an architect in the 20th century who designed various public buildings in Louisiana and Mississippi, especially during the 1930s. Many of Weiss's notable designs were commissioned by populist politician Huey Long and financed by the Public Works Administration. Although he designed in various architectural styles, many of his projects are considered to be PWA Moderne.

Weiss was a member of the American Institute of Architects. The firm then reorganized and continued operation without Weiss's involvement designing buildings such as the Gem Theater.

Weiss's designs, and those of his firm, were of various styles. These included Spanish Colonial Revival and Bauhaus Modern. However, their modern designs were generally more muted than what were common among European modern designs of the time. Because many of their projects were financed by the Public Works Administration, the designs show elements of Beaux Arts classicism and Art Deco, in what is often referred to as PWA Moderne.

After Huey Long became governor of Louisiana in 1928, Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth were awarded many architectural design contracts for public buildings in Louisiana. This connection came about as Weiss had met Long in 1928 and subsequently his firm supported Long as he went through impeachment proceedings in 1929. Long had a vision of modernizing Louisiana, which included extensive building projects. Long needed suitable architecture for this purpose.

State government office buildings

In 1930, then Governor Huey Long commissioned Weiss and his architectural firm to design a new state capitol building for Louisiana. While not specifying the design, Long desired a skyscraper with suitable artwork to depict the history of Louisiana. The new capitol building opened in 1932 at a cost of $5 million, in an art deco design. The building is 430 feet tall with 34 storeys and was then the tallest building in the southern United States. The building, though monumental, is somewhat inefficient in that the floor space of individual storeys is in many cases too small to accommodate a state agency, necessitating that various agencies be spread out in the capitol building. However, it centralized executive agencies in one location for efficiency gain. The building includes statues, frescoes, bronzes, and other artworks with historic symbolism. Symbolically, the building shows dominance of the executive branch of the Louisiana State Government over the other branches. The Louisiana State Capitol building has some resemblance to the Nebraska State Capitol building which was completed a few years before, in 1930, and is slightly smaller.

College campuses

Huey Long was committed to expanding the state university system in Louisiana, beyond the original design of architect Theodore C. Link. As Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth's relationship with the Long political machine solidified, the firm received many design contracts for colleges and universities in Louisiana during the 1930s. The main campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge went through significant expansion with funding supplemented by the Public Works Administration. Weiss's firm designed various academic buildings, dormitories, and athletic facilities for the campus. Additionally, Long wanted the swimming pool at the university's Huey P. Long Field House to be the largest swimming pool in the United States. To that end, Weiss's design for the facility included a swimming pool that was one foot longer than the next longest swimming pool in the United States at the time.

Weiss and his architectural firm was to receive a 6% fee for their design. However, the original cost estimate of $8 million rose to $12.5 million. The PWA declined to pay a larger fee based on the higher cost, taking the position that all the architectural work was done before construction costs increased. The state government of Louisiana made up the difference. In the vernacular of the state employees, "de ducks were flying". The fraudulent payment to Weiss's firm was for $27,000. The defendants in the case were Weiss, his architectural partners Dreyfous and Seiferth, then former Louisiana governor Richard W. Leche, and Monte E. Hart, who was a contractor in the building project at Louisiana Tech University. Weiss was subsequently convicted of federal mail fraud charges and sentenced to serve at the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta. He was imprisoned from 1942 to 1944, serving 2 years of the 5-year sentence. The incident was part of the "Louisiana Hayride Scandals". The other daughter was Elizabeth Jane Weiss Parnes (1928-2008). His son was Leon Charles Weiss Jr. (1934-2009).

Weiss designed his own home, which was located at 7425 Dominican Street in New Orleans. The home remained in the Weiss family until 1997. For many years, Weiss and his family also maintained a vacation home on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain along the Tchefuncte River, the home being called "Kiskatom".

Weiss died of heart disease on April 1, 1953.

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