George Eitel Hartman

May 7, 1936 – April 13, 2025

George E. Hartman, 88, a resident of Portland, Maine, died peacefully on April 13, 2025, in his home, surrounded by his wife, Jan, his cat Zee and his dog Bella.

Born in 1936 in Fort Hancock, New Jersey, the son of an Army General, George spent his childhood traveling the country with his mother, Evelyn Ritchie Hartman, and his father, George Eitel Hartman. At the outbreak of World War II, the family was stationed in Wyoming; his father went off to the Pacific and George and his mother drove to California, then shipped off to Hawaii. After the war, George and his parents were stationed in Kyoto, Japan, where he and his mother acquired Japanese woodblock prints and screens.

It was in Japan that George gained his love for and understanding of art and architecture. He earned his BA in art history and architecture, then his MFA in Architecture from Princeton University, 1957/1960. He was the architect on Princeton's archaeological excavation in Sicily, Italy, in 1960.

In Washington, DC, 1965, George E. Hartman and Warren J. Cox founded Hartman-Cox Architects, a firm that created an international portfolio of award-winning buildings. George, with his team, designed several buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, DC, including Market Square, 1001 Penn, and Penn Plaza. He was also the lead architect for One Franklin Square, 13th & K Streets, home to The Washington Post. George was the consulting architect on the World War II Memorial design—and contentious public approvals—in which he saved every tree on the site, eliminated the underground museum, and relocated all public spaces outdoors, where they are enjoyed today by 5 million visitors annually.

George's distinct contribution to architectural design is his contextual approach to every building and place—whether it was the US Consulate in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, Mary Gates Hall at the University of Washington, the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, or the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in McLean, VA, among many others.

George was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, as well as the American Academy in Rome. Hartman-Cox was awarded the American Institute of Architecture's Firm Award in 1988, the highest honor for an architectural practice. The firm was also awarded The Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America Arthur Ross Award for Architecture.

His passions stretched from the perpetual challenges of keeping old British cars in decent running order, wooden-boat yacht sailing, to travels and food around Italy, walking the backroads of the US and Europe, cooking with his wife, and reading, reading, reading.

George is survived by his wife of 26 years, Jan Cigliano Hartman; his beloved daughter, Sarah Hartman of New York, NY; his beloved son, Josh Hartman, wife, Nan, and their son, Jack, and daughter, Lee, all of Bethesda, MD; and his beloved brother-in-law, James Cigliano, sister-in-law, Jennifer Rosen, and nephews, Jacob, Benjamin, and Eli Cigliano, of Chevy Chase, MD.

A celebration of George's life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Jan C. & George E. Hartman Scholarship Fund at College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609.

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