Leon Chatelain Jr.

The Editors Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Chatelain and completed in 1950. The Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Equitable Life Insurance Company, later Fannie Mae, designed by Chatelain, Gauger & Nolan and completed in 1958. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., designed by Chatelain, Gauger & Nolan and Faulkner, Kingsbury & Stenhouse and completed in 1961. Leon Chatelain Jr. (1902–1979) was an American architect in practice in Washington, D.C., from 1932 to 1974. From 1956 to 1958 he was president of the American Institute of Architects.

Life and career Leon Chatelain Jr. was born March 8, 1902, in Washington, D.C. He attended the Washington public schools, and took night classes at George Washington University, but did not graduate. He worked for Municipal Architect Albert L. Harris and for Arthur B. Heaton and Philip M. Jullien before opening his own office in 1932. Over the next twenty years Chatelain developed a large and diverse practice centered on Washington. In 1956 he formed a partnership with employees Earl V. Gauger and James J. Nolan Jr. in the new firm of Chatelain, Gauger & Nolan. They were later joined by Edmund R. Purves as an associate. In 1970 the firm was reorganized as Chatelain, Samperton & Nolan with the retirement of Gauger and the addition of John S. Samperton. In 1973 Chatelain's son, Leon Chatelain III, joined the partnership, and in 1974 the elder Chatelain retired due to his declining health.

Chatelain was well known as an advocate for disabled people. He was a member of the President's Committee for Employment of the Handicapped and chaired the National Commission on Architectural Barriers to Rehabilitation of the Handicapped, the report of which directly led to the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. He also served as president of Easterseals. Recipients of this award have included architects Edward H. Matthei (1979) and Robert C. Broshar (1983).

Personal life Chatelain was married in 1945 to Mary Wysong. They had three children, including Leon Chatelain III. In later life Chatelain suffered from Parkinson's disease, and died May 6, 1979, in Washington at the age of 77. Telephone company headquarters, Washington, D.C. (1948) FDIC headquarters, 550 17th St NW, Washington, D.C. (1961–63) Fairland Data Center, 13101 Columbia Pk, Silver Spring, Maryland (1966) Suffridge Building, 1775 K St NW, Washington, D.C. (1969) United States National Mine Health and Safety Academy, 1301 Airport Rd, Beaver, West Virginia (1972–76)