View source for Jay Swayze

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Short description|Underground home designer}}
{{Infobox architect
| name                  = Jay Swayze
| image                 = October 1963 Jay Swayze with shovel.jpg
| image_size            = <!-- If image is smaller than 250px -->
| alt                   =
| caption               = October 1963 Jay Swayze (center) preparing to break ground on an underground house on the future site of the 1964 World’s Fair. At left is franchised-builder Walter Nolan, with entertainer [[Jimmy Dean]] at right.
| birth_name            = Julian Harvey Swayze
| birth_date            = {{Birth date|1923|10|27|df=y}}{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
| birth_place           = [[Archer City, Texas]], US
| death_date            = {{Death date and age|1981|06|12|1923|10|27|df=y}}{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
| death_place           = [[Amarillo, Texas]], US
| nationality           = <!-- Use only when necessary per [[WP:INFONAT]]. -->
| other_names           =
| alma_mater            =
| spouse                = Ruth (née Boren) Swayze
| partner               =
| children              = 2
| parents               =
| awards                =
| practice              = <!-- Associated architectural firm[s] -->
| significant_buildings =
| significant_projects  =
| significant_design    = {{plainlist|
*[[Atomitat]]
*[[Underground World Home]]}}
| signature             =
| website               = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| embedded              = <!-- For embedding other infoboxes in this infobox -->
}}
'''Julian Harvey '''"'''Jay'''"''' Swayze''' (27 October 1923 – 12 June 1981) was an architect from [[Plainview, Texas]] best known for his creation of [[Underground World Home]] at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]], which proved to be not popular at the fair.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bounds |first=Anna Maria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ennpDwAAQBAJ&dq=Underground+World+Home+world's+fair&pg=PT52 |title=Bracing for the Apocalypse: An Ethnographic Study of New York's 'Prepper' Subculture |date=2020-06-04 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-84633-2 |language=en}}</ref> During his career he was a promoter of underground living and he wrote a book called: ''Underground gardens & homes: The best of two worlds, above and below''.
== Early life ==
He was married to Ruth (née Boren) Swayze and lived in Plainview, Texas with his wife and daughters in an underground home.<ref name="Living"/>
==Career==
In his professional life he began as a luxury homebuilder.<ref name="Castillo"/> The majority of his career was spent promoting underground homes. Swayze cited solid research stating that people did not look out of their windows 80% of the time. He said when people did look out their windows, half the time what they saw was undesirable. He claimed that he could give people better views with murals.
In 1962 he designed an underground home he called the [[Atomitat]]. The home was designed during the [[Cold War|cold war]] when Americans feared nuclear war. It was designed to be an "atomic habitat" which met [[civil defense]] specifications. He compared the Atomitat to a "ship in a bottle". There was a reinforced steel and concrete shell and it was 13 feet underground. The bunker had 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and windows throughout which were meant to mimic outdoor scenes and outdoor lighting.<ref name="KCBD"/>
He billed his underground homes as Peeping Tom proof, more fun, less expensive and a way to save space above ground.<ref name="Samuel"/> He billed his homes as "safe harbor".<ref name="Szasz"/> He referred to his underground home construction design as a “ship-in-a-bottle” design.<ref name="Castillo"/>
He designed a home for the [[1964 New York World's Fair]] and it was called the Underground World Home.<ref name="NYT"/> The cost of the exhibit and home was one million dollars.<ref name="Living"/> Swayze was not able to make any sales of his underground homes from the fair exhibit.<ref name="Bounds"/> The home was designed for the company "Underground World Homes" which was owned by [[Avon Products|Avon]] investor ([[millionaire]]) [[Girard B. Henderson]].<ref name="Bounds"/>
Swayze built two other homes for Henderson. The [[Underground House Colorado|Underground House]] in [[Boulder Colorado]] at a {{convert|320|acre||adj=pre|}} ranch on [[Stapp Lakes]], near [[Ward, Colorado]], the other the {{convert|16500|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} [[Underground House Las Vegas]], Nevada. Both homes had a heated swimming pool, computerized lighting system, which turns day into night, and painted the murals within walkways that give the illusion of being outdoors. In 1996 the Las Vegas home was put up for sale for 8 million dollars.<ref name="Szasz"/><ref name="AP"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.midcenturystyle.net/underground-house-for-sale-another-cold-war-bunker-but-with-style/|title=Underground House for Sale, Another Cold War Bunker, But with Style! !|work=Midcentury|place=|date=September 19, 2013|access-date=2023-06-07}}</ref>
In 1980, Swayze wrote a book promoting the underground living called ''Underground gardens & homes: The best of two worlds, above and below''.<ref name="Swayze"/>
== Death ==
Swayze suffered a heart attack 11 June 1981 while riding in a car with one of his employees. He was transported by ambulance to High Plains Baptist Hospital in Amarillo, Texas and he arrived in critical condition. He died in the hospital the next day.<ref name="Heart"/>
== References ==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Samuel">{{cite book |last1=Samuel |first1=Lawrence R. |title=The end of the innocence : the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair |date=2010 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, N.Y. |isbn=978-0815609568 |page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ljFikY9Ig-QC&dq=Jay+Swayze&pg=PA122 |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426162819/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_End_of_the_Innocence/ljFikY9Ig-QC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jay+Swayze&pg=PA122&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Living">{{cite book |title=Living It Up Way Down |date=24 April 1964 |publisher=Life Magazine |location=New York, New York |page=56 |edition=Vol. 56, No. 17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Jay+Swayze&pg=PA56 |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426023527/https://books.google.com/books?id=-UcEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56&dq=Jay+Swayze&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLiN_Z0rD3AhVMpFsKHcH-BYgQ6AF6BAgBEAI#v=onepage&q=Jay%20Swayze&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Swayze">{{cite book |last1=Swayze |first1=Jay |title=Underground gardens & homes: The best of two worlds, above and below |date=1980 |publisher=Geobuilding Systems |pages=136}}</ref>
<ref name="Szasz">{{cite book |last1=Szasz |first1=Andrew |title=Shopping our way to safety : how we changed from protecting the environment to protecting ourselves |date=2007 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-0816635085 |page=45 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=guOGS8kv2zgC&dq=Jay+Swayze&pg=PA45 |access-date=26 April 2022 |archive-date=3 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503021342/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shopping_Our_Way_to_Safety/guOGS8kv2zgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Jay+Swayze&pg=PA45&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Bounds">{{cite book |last1=Bounds |first1=Anna Maria |title=Bracing for the apocalypse : an ethnographic study of New York's 'prepper' subculture |date=2021 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxon |isbn=978-0415788489 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ennpDwAAQBAJ&dq=Underground+World+Home+world%27s+fair&pg=PT52 |access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref>
<ref name="Castillo">{{cite news |last1=Castillo |first1=Greg |title=Underground Dream World |url=http://www.roomonethousand.com/underground-dream-world |access-date=26 April 2022 |issue=8 |publisher=Roomonethousand |date=2022 |archive-date=3 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503021343/http://www.roomonethousand.com/underground-dream-world |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |title=Model Homes at Fair; Wide Range of Sizes and Shapes Shown In Varying Stages of Completion |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/23/archives/model-homes-at-fair-wide-range-of-sizes-and-shapes-shown-in-varying.html |access-date=26 April 2022 |work=New York Times |date=23 April 1964 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426041033/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/23/archives/model-homes-at-fair-wide-range-of-sizes-and-shapes-shown-in-varying.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="AP">{{cite news |title=House for Sale: 2 bedrooms, 1 pool, no sunlight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100482184/henderson-underground-home/ |access-date=26 April 2022 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=The Orlando Sentinel |date=26 May 1996 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426042946/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100482184/henderson-underground-home/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Heart">{{cite news |title=Heart Attack Fells Swayze |publisher=The Hereford Brand |date=12 June 1981}}</ref>
<ref name="KCBD">{{cite news |title=Whatever Happened to the Atomitat? |url=https://www.kcbd.com/story/884442/whatever-happened-to-the-atomitat/ |access-date=26 April 2022 |agency=KCBD |publisher=A Gray Media Group, Inc |date=6 August 2002 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909100106/https://www.kcbd.com/story/884442/whatever-happened-to-the-atomitat/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
== External links ==
*{{Commons category inline}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdTFzNxpv8w Video tour of Girard B. Henderson's Swayze designed underground home]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swayze, Jay}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:Architects from Texas]]
[[Category:20th-century American architects]]
[[Category:People from Plainview, Texas]]