Finch, James Harrison, 1997 July 03

The following is a narrative of the Oral History Interview with James H. Finch, class of 1936, conducted by Marilyn J. Somers at Mr. Finch’s home in Alpharetta on July 3, 1997.

Mr. Finch begins his interview by sharing some of his early life experiences, from the different houses he lived in to his college decision to the death of his firefighting father. Mr. Finch began his career at Tech in the fall of 1932, and continues his interview by recounting some of the things he encountered at Tech including architecture professors, George Griffin visiting the Sigma Nu house while there was some bootlegging going on, parking and cars, and long nights. He comments on how strong the feelings of comraderary were between he and his classmates, because of all the hard work they did together and the fact that Tech was a small school. After graduation, Mr. Finch won a the Princeton Prize, and attended the architecture school there for a year. While at Princeton, Mr. Finch recalls passing Einstein on a regular basis. Mr. Finch returned to Atlanta after his year Princeton, and worked at Henz, Adler, and Schutzlich until the impending war effort called him, as a commissioned Naval Officer, to work for the cause. As WWII approached, Mr. Finch decided to switch from the Navy to the Marine Corp, and during the war, fought at the battle of Iwo Jima. After returning to the States, Mr. Finch met his wife, Bess. During the Korean conflict, Mr. Finch was a commander in the Marine Corp. Upon returning from Korea, Mr. Finch was greeted with his first daughter, Luellen, and a second one, Anne, soon followed. During the 50s and 60s, Mr. Finch was a principle in the firm FABRAP, the architechtural firm who has among its credits Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, Coca-Cola Headquarters, The BellSouth Building, and a myriad of stadiums and arenas around the nation. On Tech campus, FABRAP had a hand in the Student Center and the Bunger-Henry building, among others. Mr. Finch closes his interview with stories that deal with after his retirement, primarily about his family and what he does with his time.