John C. Portman, Jr.*

John Portman, one of six children, was born in 1924 in Walhalla, South Carolina. His father worked with the U.S. government during the Great Depression, and his mother owned and operated a beauty salon.

At the age of 12, Portman sold the Saturday Evening Post and Liberty magazines on the street. He also organized other children to sell gum and candy at local theaters. In ninth grade, he took a mechanical drawing class and realized what he wanted to do with his life. "I took to it like a duck to water and from that experience decided I wanted to be an architect," he says.

After high school, Portman attended the U.S. Naval Academy until World War II ended in 1945, at which time he transferred to the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a married student and father, he worked at various jobs to support his family and put himself through Georgia Tech.

After a three-year apprenticeship, Portman opened his own architectural firm in 1953. That small office evolved into a global organization with branches in India and China. Under Portman's leadership, the company had notable effect on the Atlanta skyline and on the urban core of other cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Singapore, and Shanghai.

Portman launched Atlanta's Peachtree Center, a 13-block development that includes the 52-story Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Westin Peachtree Plaza, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, eight office towers, and a retail mall. Peachtree Center also includes the 60-story SunTrust Plaza and the adjacent SunTrust Plaza Garden Offices, completed in 1992.

An accomplished painter and sculptor, Portman sees the interplay of art and architecture as essential. He repeatedly reflects that philosophy in his buildings, a philosophy epitomized by a retrospective exhibition of Portman's paintings, sculpture, and furniture designs that ran from January to April 1999 at the SunTrust Plaza Gallery.

A fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, Portman received the 1978 National AIA Medal for Innovations in Hotel Design. He also won a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Americas Lodging Investment Summit. Portman, who was Atlanta's honorary consul to Denmark from 1967 to 1996, remains active in civic, cultural, and business organizations.

"Success comes from an ability to see, believe, and pursue life's opportunities with determination and conviction," says Portman, who believes that the current generation of young Americans may be among the most entrepreneurial this country has ever seen.

"They are capitalizing on innovations and technologies no one dreamed of a decade ago," he says. "Still, my advice is to see possibilities in situations others find unpromising; then create results that exceed your own expectations. Don't overlook the obvious. Prepare for the unexpected. Don't be afraid to fail. Never give up. Always believe in yourself."

Portman calls his Horatio Alger Award "a significant honor," adding that "individuals rarely achieve great success without surrounding themselves with great talent. To serve as a symbol of the values of Horatio Alger is among the greatest honors I have received."