Day Walter Hilborn Collection

Renowned architect, Day Walter Hilborn, was born on a Michigan farm on February 1, 1897. Moving to Ford's Prarie, Washington, Hilborn attended high school in Centralia where he graduated in 1916. He enlisted in the army during World War I and was sent to France in 1917. At the conclusion of the war, Hilborn returned home and enrolled in classes at Washington State University (WSU), known then as Washington State College (WSC), where he majored in Art. At the encouragement of his future brother-in-law, Hubert Miller, he changed his major to architecture and engineering. He studied under Rudolph Weaver. After graduating from WSC, Hilborn returned to Centralia where he entered into the real estate business with Arthur Kresky and formed the Kresky-Hilborn Company. Hilborn soon moved to Vancouver where he worked as a construction superintendent for the architect Richard V. Gough. The two established offices in downtown Vancouver and following Gough's retirement around 1930 Hilborn took over the business as the primary architect. In the 1930s, Hilborn designed many buildings in downtown Vancouver in the Art Deco style. Such works include Vancouver City Hall (1930), the Kiggins Theater Building (1936) and the Vancouver Court House (1940-1941). During World War II the establishment of the Kaiser Shipyards on the Columbia River brought a population expansion to the Vancouver area. Hilborn worked on many Vancouver Housing Authority projects in the 1940s to satisfy post-war housing and schools. Hilborn died on November 8, 1971 at the age of 74 in Vancouver, Washington.