Ralph O. Mott

The Polk County Courthouse in Mena, Arkansas, designed by Haralson & Mott and completed in 1939. The Administration and Nyberg Buildings of the Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanatorium, designed by associated architects Haralson & Mott and Erhart & Eichenbaum and completed in 1941. Humphreys Hall of the University of Arkansas, designed by Mott, Mobley & Horstman and completed in 1961. Yocum Hall of the University of Arkansas, designed by Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Staton and completed in 1963. The Bud Walton Arena of the University of Arkansas, designed by associated architects Rosser FABRAP International and Mott, Mobley, McGowan & Griffin and completed in 1993. Ralph O. Mott (May 30, 1903 – December 29, 1997) was an American architect in practice in Fort Smith, Arkansas from 1935 until his retirement in 1993. For nearly sixty years, he was head of the Fort Smith architecture firm now (2024) known as MAHG Architecture and was president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards for the year 1965.

Life and career Ralph Oliver Mott was born May 30, 1903 in rural Mahaska County, Iowa to Frank O. Mott and Pearl Mott, née Green. Mott was educated at Washington University in St. Louis, earning his BArch in 1925. After graduation, he joined the office of William B. Ittner. In 1926, he moved to Fort Smith to join Haralson & Nelson before moving on to Houston the next year to join Harry D. Payne, a former Ittner associate. In 1931, he returned to Haralson & Nelson in Fort Smith. In 1935, Joe J. Haralson and E. Chester Nelson dissolved their partnership, and Haralson and Mott formed the new partnership of Haralson & Mott.

When Haralson died in 1955, Mott assumed control of both partnerships. In 1956, the Muskogee partnership was reorganized as Horstman & Mott, and in 1957, the Fort Smith partnership became Mott, Mobley & Horstman. Both partnerships changed with the addition and withdrawal of partners. With these changes, the Fort Smith partnership was renamed Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Staton in 1961; Mott, Mobley, Horstman & Griffin in 1969; Mott, Mobley, Richter, McGowan & Griffin in 1977; and Mott, Mobley, McGowan & Griffin in 1979. The Muskogee partnership was renamed Horstman, Richter & Mott in 1964 and was dissolved in 1978.

In 1945, Mott was appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Architects, which supervised the licensing of architects in Arkansas. He served on the board until 1975 and was its president from 1954 to 1958. In the latter, year he was elected to the board of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, an organization constituted from state licensing boards. He was elected president for 1965 and served on the board until 1966. As president, Mott focused on standardizing licensure requirements across states.

Mott joined the American Institute of Architects in 1937 as a member of the Arkansas chapter. He served as chapter president for the year 1956. Mott was elected a Fellow of the AIA in 1966, the second Arkansas architect to be so honored and the first from outside Little Rock. In 1983, he was awarded the inaugural Fay Jones Gold Medal Award by AIA Arkansas.

Personal life Mott was married in 1927 to Dollie Rea Boler. They had two children, John Kneeland Mott and Gordon Boler Mott.

Mott's son, John K. Mott, became a partner in his firm in 1969. He was well known as a preservation architect. His works for the firm included the restoration of Old Main (1991) of the University of Arkansas. After leaving the firm, he was a partner of George M. Notter in Washington, D.C. from 1992 to 1996, before joining other firms.

Legacy Two works designed by Mott and his partners have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural works Haralson & Mott, 1935–1957 1939 – Memorial Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1939 – Polk County Courthouse, 507 Church Ave, Mena, Arkansas 1941 – Nyberg Building, Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Booneville, Arkansas 1951 – Fine Arts Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1954 – Barnhill Arena, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1954 – Central Presbyterian Church, 2901 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, Arkansas 1961 – Humphreys Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1963 – Superior Federal Savings and Loan Bank Building, 1601 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, Arkansas 1963 – Yocum Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1967 – Paine Hall, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas 1968 – Discovery Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1968 – Vines Building, University of Arkansas–Fort Smith, Fort Smith, Arkansas

Mott, Mobley, Richter, McGowan & Griffin, 1977–1979 1978 – Barnhill Arena expansion, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1984 – John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, 4300 W 7th St, Little Rock, Arkansas

Mott, Mobley, McGowan & Griffin, 1979–1993 1984 – HPER Complex, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1991 – Old Main rehabilitation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1993 – Bud Walton Arena, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas