How William Manly King Shaped South Florida
By Janet Naughton
Architecture tells the story of a place. It reflects the values, ambitions, and circumstances of the people who design it and those who call it home. In Florida, where rapid growth often erases old buildings before their stories can be told, much of that history is too easily lost.
William Manly King Jr. was one of the architects who helped shape South Florida in the early twentieth century. From the optimism of the 1920s land boom to the hardships of the Great Depression and the transformations of the postwar years, his designs reflected the needs and ideals of a changing state. He created schools, churches, residences, apartment houses, hospitals, and civic buildings—structures that served communities and gave form to public life.
King was long overlooked, yet he created more buildings than many of his celebrated contemporaries, and his work defined the look of South Florida for generations. Drawing on years of research, historian Janet Naughton offers the first comprehensive study of his career, blending architectural history with the stories of the communities his work touched.