Joseph W. Radotinsky, Architect [1902-1983]
Joseph W. Radotinsky [†] was noted in the state for his public architecture. Born in 1902 to Hungarian immigrants in Kirkwood, Missouri, Radotinsky grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He was a 1924 graduate of the University of Kansas. Radotinsky also studied at Columbia University in New York City where he won first place in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts architectural competition. While studying in New York, Radotinsky worked at the firm of Thomas W. Lamb, one of the larger architectural firms in the United States at that time. He returned to Kansas in 1928 and joined the Kansas City, Missouri firm of Archer and Gloyd. In the early 1930s, Radotinsky served as the state architect for Kansas for three terms. He continued to carry on a private practice in addition to his state position. In 1931, he became a partner in the firm of Archer, Gloyd and Radotinsky. From 1932 to 1935, the firm continued as Archer and Radotinsky. Beginning in 1938, Radotinsky served as the architect for the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education beginning a long series of additions, remodelings, and new buildings. He also worked with other school districts in the area.
During World War II, Radotinsky's work included Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas and O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. After the war, his regional practice continued to expand to eventually include an eight-state area in the Midwest, in particular Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa. He specialized in school, hospital, and office buildings. In 1957, Radotinsky joined with Raymond E. Meyn and Fred M. Deardorff to form the architectural firm of Radotinsky, Meyn and Deardorff, with offices in Kansas City, Kansas and in Kansas City, Missouri. In the early 1960s, he returned to private practice. Among the best known of his buildings from the post-World War II period were the 1951 American Hereford Association Building, the 1958-1960 Federal Building in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the Public Library Building and Board of Education Building in Kansas City, Kansas. Radotinsky died at the age of 81 in 1983.
† Dana Cloud and Sally F. Schwenk, Historic Preservation Services, LLC, Jewell County Courthouse, Jewell County, Kansas, nomination document, 2000, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.