E. GEORGE WYNN (1924-2014) was an engineer and architect who moved from New York to Albuquerque in 1963. Mr. Wynn had an engineering degree from Colorado University and an architecture degree from Pratt Institute in NY.
After arriving in Albuquerque and establishing his own firm he went on to become one of the city's most distinctive modernist architects, known for work that moved beyond the restrained postwar aesthetic toward expressive, sculptural form. He broadened the city's modernist story to include imagination, symbolism, and architectural ambition in commercial, residential and religious architectural projects.
GEORGE WYNN
NOTABLE PROJECTS
The clearest example of Wynn’s Expressionist architectural approach is Congregation B’nai Israel (4401 Indian School Rd NE) , completed in 1971. The building is a circular sanctuary with an adjoining social hall and education wing, and its design is notable for an unusual undulating conical roof and a strong sculptural presence. The synagogue emphasizes Wynn’s concern with emotional impact, light, and dramatic form rather than strict historic reference. The sanctuary’s distinctive geometry and roof structure make it one of the most recognizable modern religious buildings in NM. And, in 2019, the structure was awarded a National Register of Historic Places designation.
The "Round Law Building" (507 Roma Ave NW) demonstrated Wynn's unique geometric vision by elevating this radical, circular brick office entirely on columns. Framed symmetrically by two complementary rectangular buildings, this 1971 complex stands out as one of Wynn's most distinctive and innovative Modernist masterworks.
On the residential side, is Wynn's design of the Pollack Residence (1329 Cuatro Cerros Tr. SE). This split-level home embodies a Southern California mid-century modern aesthetic, characterized by its sleek, flat rooflines and extensive glass walls that connect the interior with the surrounding desert landscape. The design maximizes open-concept living with dramatic multi-level layouts, clean geometric lines, and integrated outdoor spaces. Wynn also designed other residential projects in the Four Hills area, where he adapted modernist principles to custom homes in the high desert landscape.
Wynn's creative approach for a commercial building to house a typewriter sales and repair business in 1971 resulted in the "Porthole Building" (5911 Menaul Blvd NE). It's a sweeping, curved white concrete block building with "porthole" windows that has housed numerous business over the decades and still has a futuristic presence on an ordinary and busy commercial stretch.
Unique for its time, Wynn also served as the lead architect in collaboration with seven African American ministers for the planning and development of a large, 140-unit, $2.1 million low-income apartment complex (Carlisle and Montgomery Boulevards, 1971).
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REFERENCES
Congregation B’nai Israel (Albuquerque, NM). (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_B%27nai_Israel_(Albuquerque,_New_Mexico)
Albuquerque Tribune articles: 6/30/63 & 12/14/71.
Fifty years on, recalling a round building in a rectangular world. (2021, June 23). Karen Luidens. https://karen-luidens.squarespace.com/s/06-24-Circle-building.pdf
New Mexico architecture. (1972, March 3). USModernist / AIA New Mexico. https://www.usmodernist.org/AIANM/AIANM-1972-03-04.pdf
A survey of Albuquerque’s mid-century modernist architectural resources. (2013). City of Albuquerque. https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/historic-preservation/Albuq.%20Mid-century%20resource%20survey%202013.pdf
George Wynn photo credit: Albuquerque Tribune, 12/14/1971
