Heritage

Our heritage includes prominent architects from Huntington who have created some of the area’s most beautiful structures over the last several decades.

Edward Tucker, Architect began when Edward Tucker returned home to Huntington in 1995.

After working nearly 12 years in Nashville, Edward Tucker returned to Huntington, his hometown, in 1995 to start his own firm. On August 1, 1996, the firm of Edward Tucker, Architect officially opened, and has since grown to become Edward Tucker Architects, with a focus on healthcare, academic, industrial, commercial, religious and public projects.  Through a firm ownership transition plan, in 2014 Phoebe Patton Randolph was promoted to firm principal, ensuring a sustainable future for the firm and the next generation of Huntington architects.

Edward Tucker inherited his grandfather’s architectural legacy, which includes the design of 150 churches in West Virginia and nearby.

Edward’s familial heritage in architecture begins with his grandfather, Albert Tucker, who became an architect “the hard way.” After his rural Tennessee education ended in eighth grade, Albert worked as a carpenter and then as a foreman and building supervisor in the early development of the Eastern Kentucky coalfields. After 21 years with Meanor & Handloser, Albert obtained licensure and opened his own office, becoming known in West Virginia and neighbor states when over 150 congregations asked him to design and supervise construction of their churches and church schools.

Our firm continues the architectural legacy of the Dean family, who designed many of the most significant buildings in Huntington starting in 1910.

When Edward Tucker opened his firm, it was through the acquisition and renewal of another prominent architectural firm with an impressive family heritage, Dean and Dean, Inc., Architects. Dean and Dean was formed in 1956 by S. Brooks Dean and E. Keith Dean, to carry on the architectural legacy of their father, Levi Johnson Dean after his death. Levi was the nineteenth architect to be licensed in West Virginia, opening his practice in 1910.  His legacy includes some of the area’s most beautiful and ornate architectural works, including churches, county courthouses, and commercial buildings, such as those on Huntington’s Fourth Avenue. Additionally, two private residences designed by Levi are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dean and Dean grew for 30 years to become the premier architectural firm of Huntington. The firm designed many of Huntington’s most significant buildings, including seven major commissions at Marshall University and scores of public schools, libraries, banks, medical facilities and commercial buildings.