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| Neal Prince, AIA, ASID |
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| Neal Prince, ©2000, All Rights Reserve |
MISSION OF THE NEAL PRINCE TRUST
This Trust was created to be shared to the Public as a Depository of the vast Informational and Historic importance
of Mr. Prince's experiences and creativity in his professional life as an Architect, Architectural Engineer and the First International
Hotel Innovator Interior Designer (which this honor is equally shared with Mr. Dale and Pat Keller, of Keller Associates).
But beyond his vast Professional Career, this Trust was solely developed as a depository of Mr. Prince and
the late Mr. Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.'s jointly held vast Collections of various mediums, movements and periods that vast
from 1300 B.C. to Post Modern. And our objective is to share these privately held holdings of historic importances of
each item held by the Neal Prince Trust to be shared to the Public, my means of this informational website.
CURRICULUM VITAE SUMMARY:
Mr. NEAL PRINCE, Architect, Architectural Engineer, International Interior Designer, Playwright, Equity Director - was Born in Corsicana,
Texas and armed with degrees in Architecture and Architectural Engineering from William March Rice University in Houston, Texas. Neal Prince did military service with the United States Army 39th Combat Engineers in
Italy. Returning to Texas, he became active as the President of the Houston Little Theatre, which produced a prizewinning
play that he had authored. After a period as President and the Business Manager of the Houston Little Theatre, he went to
the East coast and served for a season as Director of a Summer Stock Theater Company in New Hampshire. A spell in New York
with the Actors Studio brought him to the classical quandary of those bitten by the theatre bug: a regular job supporting
a regular diet or stick it out on the Rialto. Creature comfort won and through the Architectural League he secured a position
with the firm of York & Sawyer in 1950, which the Firm was noted for the design of hospitals; after several months of
observations in New York Bellevue Hospital, Mr. Prince became the firm's expert on the layout and planning of Emergency Rooms.
In due course he decided against a lifetime in Healthcare Architecture, Mr. Prince switched firms to Schoen & Hennessy
Architecture Firm in 1954 (The Named Partner was the son of Eugene Schoen, known as the Old Man, of who mentored Mr. Prince),
and was assigned a project to design a motorway restaurant complex for Restaurant Associates, the New York area's most creative
force in restaurant operations at the time. The job involved a complete package: Architecture, Engineering and Interior Design.
Mr. Prince took a genuine interest in the latter, and made a seminal career move to the Walter M. Ballard Corporation Firm
in 1958, where, at Byron Calhoun's request, he did ad hoc work on a project to remodel the Hotel Jaragua in Ciudad Trujillo
in the Dominican Republic, most of which was never carried out, and a modest remodeling of the San Juan Hotel. The Firm of
Walter M. Ballard had a contract for the Interiors of the Phoenicia Inter-Continental Hotel in Beirut, and Mr. Prince
was sent out there to work on the Interiors and also, because of his background, to represent the architect, Edward Stone,
in matters of the Interior layouts and finishes. All the furniture pieces were designed, crafted and manufactured locally.
In January 1961, Mr. Prince was hired to work full time as the Director of Interior Design Division in the Pan-Am Development
Department with the intention, at least in developing countries, that Inter-Continental Hotel would produce its International
Hotels' Interior Designs "in-house" and be reimbursed at cost under the TSA's. Mr. Prince shortly engaged Kenneth Smith, an
International Interior Designer from the Walter M. Ballard Firm, and Charles R. Alvey, a famous specialist in Graphics and
Industrial Design. Mr. Prince's concepts and ideas were the forefront of its time, after designing and opening as many as
154 International Inter-Continental Hotels from 1961-1985, Mr. Prince gained the deepest respect on the International Interior Design level. Mr. Prince
is a person who uses function with ethnic style which mostly are lacking in today’s designs. With his ability to design
each new Hotel using local materials and talents, such as the native artists and craftsman, he produced each Hotel with its
own National personality and flare but maintained the Corporate highest standards of Inter-Continental Hotel. Mr. Prince gained the respect and acceptance by the local authorities. This
in turn avoided any local resistance in building the new Hotels around the world. With the assistance of Charles R. Alvey,
Kenneth Smith, James Ray Baker and Richard W. Simpson, Mr. Prince created an industry of International Hotel Designs and personalities
that reflected the Country in each property. Inter-Continental Hotels gained much growth and respect throughout the world by those concepts of designs. Still today, his work is unknown
on a domestic level, but his concepts and designs are still cherished by all guest, management and the organization of Inter-Continental Hotels Group. Much is to be learned from Mr. Prince's long history of experience from his first hotel, Phoenicia Inter-Continental
Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, to his last project doing the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel in Washington, D.C. Much is to be
passed down from Mr. Prince's great experience and knowledge. It is important that this is passed on in an educational manner.
It is important that his experience's and knowledge, which are still called upon as International Interior Designer Consultant,
be learned and shared by others with respect and honor.
NEAL ADAIR PRINCE, Architect Emeritus, ASID -Curriculum
Vitae
ARCHITECT, INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR DESIGNER,
PLAYWRIGHT, DIRECTOR
PERSONAL
b. Corsicana, Texas, 1921;
son, Fred Douglas (in the Oil and Gas Industry, was widely known as "FD Prince") and Opal T. Prince; mar. Frances Wooters
Denman, October 7, 1944 (div. 1951); 2 sons, Neal Denman Prince, b. 1946 & Peyton Denman Prince, b. 1949 (grandchildren,
Justin Prince, b. 1982 and Allyson Prince, b. 1986); 1950-1967 associated with Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.; 1969-1991
associated with George Kocyk.
EDUCATION
1934-38 Corsicana High School, Graduated 1938
CAREER
1944-46, served to 1st Lt. 39th Combat of Engineers HQ, United States Army;
1947-48, Architect, Ernest L. Shultz Architect, Houston, Texas;
1949, Playwright and Business Manager, Houston Little Theatre, Houston, Texas;
1950, Director, Wyndham Playhouse, New Hampshire;
1954-57, Architect and Designer, Schoen & Hennessy Architects, New York, New York;
1958-60, Chief Architect and Designer, Walter M. Ballard Corporation, New York, New York;
1986-00 President, Prince Hotels Development, PHD, Inc., New York, New York;
2001-Present, International Interior Designer Consultant to the Hospitality Industry;
AWARDS
Neal Prince, A.I.D., N.S.I.D. (A.S.I.D.), has received numerous awards for various International Interior Designs, including Institutions
Magazine awards for the outstanding Interior Designs of the Hotel Inter-Continental Genève, Geneva, Switzerland and the Hotel
Siam Inter-Continental Bangkok, Thailand.
PUBLISHED CREDITS OF NEAL PRINCE
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| "Throw Away The Key" |
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| by Max Hampton, 1966, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc, Publishers, New York |
PROFESSIONAL HOTEL DESIGN SUMMARY:
NEAL PRINCE’S GREAT GRAPHICS AND GRAND DESIGNS
In 2006, Mr. Neal Prince International Interior Designs
for International Inter-Continental Hotels are still strong today as they were during his tender. As Senior Vice-President of the Interior and Graphic Design Division
for the International Inter-Continental Hotel Group from 1961; his Department's touch is still visible in many
of the murals and matchbooks, sofas and stir sticks, banquet rooms and bedspreads in as many as 154 luxury hotels until his
retirement in 1986. "When you've seen one of our Hotels, you haven't seen them all, " which is more than an advertising slogan
as Mr. Prince noted in one of his interviews. Inter-Continental Hotels endeavors to reflect the individuality of each country while providing the highest and consistent standard of service
and amenities. Maintaining that balance was a formidable job, but the Texas-born Neal Adair Prince has been equal to this
task for well over 60 years, collecting numerous Interior Design Awards in the process. He designed the famous oval swimming
pool in Beirut's Phoenicia Hotel, and the popular bar beneath it, where a glass wall provided a view of the pool with modern-day
mermaids against a rippling back ground of mosaic title. The pool was a favorite gathering place for Pan-Am crew members,
until civil strife shut down the hotel in 1976.
SUGAR AND SARIS
When Neal Prince began his Inter-Continental Hotel career in 1961; the hotel group was expanding to cities where International Luxury Hotels were a distinct novelty. Mr. Prince
further noted that, "There were places where we could have named the hotel dinning room 'The Only Restaurant in Town. But
the world has changed a lot since then." During his career with ICH, 800 service items had to pass Mr.
Prince's scrutiny, and no detail was too small for him to consider for each Hotel. An Inter-Continental Hotel table setting still to this day bears his stamp from the Menu to the wrapping on the sugar packets, Staff uniforms, Saris
and cheongsams, sport shirts and sarongs, dashikis and dinner jackets must all pass his review. Mr. Prince maintains that
travelers, especially professionals of who are required to travel, want to feel a certain familiarity in the guest rooms.
Consequently, some items are standard equipment in all Inter-Continental Hotels. Plumbing and bedding are uniform for all properties, but lamps and furniture must meet exact specifications, and rooms were
planned so that they can be easily cleaned and maintained. But guest are unlikely to awaken in a room that could be Berlin
or Bombay. African masks spark the walls of guest rooms in Nairobi. Indonesian wood carvings by Ida Bagus
Tilem grace the suites in Jakarta. Paintings by Jamaican school children add a special charm to the Inter-Continental
in Kingston. And bamboo furniture against vivid African prints is a hallmark in Zaire, Liberia and Zambia. "In the lobbies
and restaurants, there's more opportunity to dazzle," says Mr. Prince. The public rooms of the hotels can be sleek and modern
or opulent and old world, but every effort is made to reflect the local culture, often with a new twist. For example, in Pakistan,
he used the country's intricately carved wooden screens as a base for modern, glass-topped tables. Whenever possible, Inter-Continental Hotels from 1961 to 1986 used not only native crafts, but locally manufactured furniture, a policy that had spurred new industries
in several countries. Mr. Prince hired various local craftsmen to provide furniture for the Beirut Inter-Continental Hotel.
The Lebanese manufacturer chosen by Mr. Prince went on to become the largest producer of furniture in the Middle East. In
Yugoslavia, beds and box spring mattresses were unheard of until Mr. Prince ripped up the springs from an old car seat and
created a box spring that was copied by a Belgrade factory, creating many new jobs. Not all of Mr. Prince's designs have worked
out as planned. He once obtained a solid redwood tiki, weighing 40 tons, for an Inter-Continental Hotel in the Pacific. Mr.
Prince thought it would make a striking addition to the hotel swimming pool, until he realized the weight of the tiki would
crack the concrete. The tiki now stands outside the hotel as a local landmark.
CRAFTS AND CAUTIONS:
Mr. Prince shopped for many of the Hotels Decorative
items himself during his tender at Inter-Continental. He would scour Shops, Bazaars and Art Galleries around the world. But despite his enthusiasm for native crafts, he has a
word of "caution" for those travelers with a yen to enliven their living quarters with exotic objects d'art. "Guard against
impulse," Mr. Prince warns. "In a strange country, everything looks glamorous. Remember that a giant wooden Garuda bird will
never look the same in Brooklyn, as it does in Jakarta. Instead, shop for small items. You won't add a storage problem to
a decorating one if you make a mistake. And, forget about conversation pieces. The conversation is apt to be bad."
INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTEL PROPERTIES CREDITED TO MR.
PRINCE:
The following are the various Inter-Continental Hotel
properties Mr. Prince was directly involved with from the Architectural Design and/or Interior Design from the beginning of
construction to the day the Hotel opened:
Ducor Inter-Continental, Monrovia, Liberia(1962) Hotel
Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia(1962) Southern Cross Inter-Continental, Melbourne, Australia(1962) Dublin Inter-Continental,
Dublin, Ireland(1963) Cork Inter-Continental, Cork, Ireland(1963) Limerick Inter-Continental, Limerick, Ireland(1963) Frankfurt
Inter-Continental, Frankfurt, Germany(1963) Ivoire Inter-Continental, Abidjan, Ivory Coast(1963) Singapura Inter-Continental,
Singapore(1963) Mandarin, Hong Kong(1963) Inter-Continental Jordon, Amman, Jordan(1964) Inter-Continental Wien, Vienna, Austria (1964) Link Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland(1964) Inter-Continental Jerusalem, Jerusalem(1964) Karachi Inter-Continental, Karachi, Pakistan (1964) Link
Continental, Accra, Ghana(1967) Ambassador Inter-Continental,
Accra, Ghana(1967) Inter-Continental Quito, Quito, Ecuador(1967) Inter-Continental Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan (1967) Link Inter-Continental Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan (1967) Link
Inter-Continental Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany(1969) Inter-Continental
Manila, Makati, Philippines(1969) Inter-Continental Paris, Paris, France(1969) Bristal Kempinski, Berlin, Germany(1969) Inter-Continental
Managua, Managua, Nicaragua(1969) Inter-Continental Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya(1969) Inter-Continental Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan(1969) Duna
Inter-Continental, Budapest, Hungary(1969) Inter-Continental Medellin, Medellin, Colombia(1970) Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski,
Munich, Germany(1970) Inter-Continental Cali, Cali, Colombia(1971) Inter-Continental Teheran, Teheran, Iran(1971) Okura
Inter-Continental Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands(1971) Inter-Continental Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Zaire(1971) Cyrus
Inter-Continental, Shiraz, Iran(1971) Darius Inter-Continental, Persepolis, Iran(1971) Portman Inter-Continental, London,
United Kingdom(1971) Inter-Continental Cologne, Cologne, Germany(1971) Inter-Continental Valencia, Valencia, Venezuela(1971) Inter-Continental
Guyana, Ciudad Guyana, Venezuela(1971) Inter-Continental Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania(1971) Inter-Continental Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finland(1972) Keio Plaza Inter-Continental, Tokyo, Japan(1972) Inter-Continental Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany(1972) Taj Mahal Inter-Continental, Bombay, India (1972) Link Lee Gardens Forum, Hong Kong(1972) Okoume Palace Inter-Continental, Libreville, Gabon(1972) Ceylon Inter-Continental,
Colombo, Sri Lanka(1973) Munich Penta Forum, Munich, Germany(1973) Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental, San Francisco, California
USA (1973) Furama Inter-Continental, Hong Kong (1974) Link Inter-Continental Prague, Prague, Czech Republic(1974) Borobudur Inter-Continental, Jakarta, Indonesia (1974) Link Rose Hall Inter-Continental Hotel/Country Club, Montego Bay, Jamaica(1974) Inter-Continental Rio, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil(1974) Emir du Liban, Beit-de-Din, Lebanon(1974) Inter-Continental Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (1975) Link
Inter-Continental Ocho Rios, Ocho Rios, Jamaica(1975) Inter-Continental
London, London, United Kingdom(1975) Riyadh Inter-Continental, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia(1975) Makkah Inter-Continental,
Makkah, Saudi Arabia(1975) Inter-Continental Zabreb, Zagreb, Croatia(1975)
Victoria Inter-Continental, Warsaw, Poland(1976) Inter-Continental
Maui, Maui, Hawaii USA(1976) Golf Forum/Inter-Continental, Abidjan, Ivory Coast(1976) Inter-Continental Istanbul, Istanbul,
Turkey(1976) Siapan Beach Inter-Continental Inn, Saipan, Marianas(1976) Muscat Inter-Continental, Muscat, Oman(1977) Inter-Continental
Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica(1977) Ritz Carlton, Montreal, Quebec, Canada(1977) Le Vendome, Beirut, Lebanon(1977) Davao
Insular Inter-Continental Inn, Davao, Philippines(1977) Punta Baluarte Inter-Continental, Calatagan, Philippines(1977) Massarah
Inter-Continental, Taif, Saudi Arabia(1977) Montfleur Inter-Continental, Cannes, France(1977) Inter-Continental New
York, New York, New York, USA(1978) Four Ambassadors Inter-Continental, Miami, Florida, USA(1978) Inter-Continental
Berlin, Berlin, Germany(1978) Ritz Inter-Continental Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal(1979) Inter-Continental Beograd, Belgrade,
Serbia(1979) Regency Inter-Continental Bahrain, Manama, Bahrain(1980) Abu Dhabi Inter-Continental, Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates(1980) Inter-Continental Hotel & Sap, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA(1981) Plaza Inter-Continental, Buenos
Aires, Argentina(1981) St. Anthony Inter-Continental, San Antonio, Texas, USA (1981) Link
Britannia Inter-Continental London, London, United Kingdom(1982) May
Fair Inter-Continental, London, United Kingdom (1982) American, Amsterdam, The Netherlands(1982) Brussels Europa, Brussels,
Belgium(1982) Le Grand Hotel Inter-Continental, Paris, France (1982) Link Prince des Galles, Paris, France(1982) Meurice Inter-Continental, Paris, France(1982) Lotti, Paris, France(1982) Paris
Penta, Paris, France(1982) Carlton Inter-Continental, Cannes, France(1982) George Forum/Inter-Continental, Edinburgh,
Scotland, United Kingdom(1982) De La Ville Forum/Inter-Continental, Rome, Italy(1982) D’Angleterre Inter-Continental,
Copenhagen, Denmark(1982) Dhahran Algosaibi, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia(1982) Victoria, Amsterdam, The Netherlands(1982) Mount
Royal, London, United Kingdom(1982) Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom(1982) Inter-Continental New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (1983) Link
Inter-Continental San Diego, San Diego, California, USA(1984) Nairobi
Safari Club, Nairobi, Kenya(1984) Inter-Continental Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg(1985) Abha Inter-Continental,
Abha, Saudi Arabia(1985) Inter-Continental Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina USA(1985) Inter-Continental Sydney,
Sydney, Australia(1985) Leconi Palace Inter-Continental, Franceville, Gabon (1985) Link Inter-Continental Mombasa, Mombasa, Kenya(1985) Al Bustan Palace Inter-Continental, Muscat, Oman(1985) Inter-Continental
Miami, Miami, Florida, USA(1986) Willard Inter-Continental, Washington, D.C. USA (1986) Link
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