Ira Rakatansky (October 3, 1919 – March 4, 2014) was a modernist architect from, and based in, Rhode Island. He studied modern architecture under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Mid century modern rhode island ira rakatansky house tour part 1 Life and work Ira Rakatansky was born in Rhode Island to Russian emigrants to America, Benjamin and Martha (Bornstein) Rakatansky. In 1942 Rakatasnky received a Diploma in Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design . He entered the architecture school at Harvard in 1943. In 1945 and 1946 he received his Bachelor of Architecture and his Master of Architecture degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Rakatasnky was awarded the Wheelwright Fellowship to work on his master's degree at Harvard.
In 1946 Rakatasnky established an independent practice within the office of architect Samuel M. Morino. In 1948 he established a collaborative practice with engineer Samuel Lerner before establishing his own practice in Providence, Rhode Island in 1949.
In 1965 he was president of AIA Rhode Island, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects .
Works built:
1947, Halsband House, East Greenwich, Rhode Island 1948, Medical Office Building, Providence, Rhode Island 1948, Miller House, Providence, Rhode Island 1948, Weinstein House, Providence, Rhode Island 1949, Camp Walt Whitman Dining Hall, Pike, New Hampshire 1949, Reversible Chair 1949, Weisberg House, Newport, Rhode Island 1950, Horn House, Rehoboth, Massachusetts 1950, Wax House, Providence, Rhode Island 1950, Feingold House, Providence, Rhode Island 1950, Zitserman House, Providence, Rhode Island 1951, Blanding House, Greene, Rhode Island 1952, Osburne House, Hampton, Connecticut 1953, Blanding's Pharmacy, Providence, Rhode Island 1953, Pollock House, Attleboro, Massachusetts 1954, Falk House, Narragansett, Rhode Island 1954, Rakatansky House, Lincoln, Rhode Island 1954, Spring Green Memorial Church, Warwick, Rhode Island 1955, Dunn House, Lexington, Massachusetts 1955, Franeck House, East Greenwich, Rhode Island 1955, Rosen House, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 1955, Starr House, Lexington, Massachusetts 1955, Ziskind House, Middletown, Rhode Island 1955, Renovations to Broad Street Synagogue, Providence, Rhode Island 1956, Miller House, Providence, Rhode Island 1957, Rogers House, Weekapaug, Rhode Island 1957, Rogge House, Stamford, Connecticut 1957, Shipyard Drive-in Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island 1958, Blieden House, Warwick, Rhode Island 1958, Levin House, Woonsocket, Rhode Island 1958, Myers House and Office, Providence, Rhode Island 1958, Rakatansky House, Providence, Rhode Island 1958, Temple Beth Am, Warwick, Rhode Island 1958, Ten Pin Lanes Bowling, Providence, Rhode Island 1959, 15 Meeting Street, Providence, Rhode Island 1959, Caldarone House, North Providence, Rhode Island 1960, Atlantic Bowling, East Providence, Rhode Island 1960, Baker House, Providence, Rhode Island 1960, Greenwood Nurseries, Warwick, Rhode Island 1960, Simon House, Providence, Rhode Island 1961, Reck House, Acapesket, Massachusetts 1962, Meadow-Glen Twin Drive-In, Medford, Massachusetts 1962, Burnight House, Barrington, Rhode Island 1963, Waring House, Virgin Islands 1964, Church of God and Saints of Christ, Providence, Rhode Island 1967, Teamster Administration Building, Providence, Rhode Island 1968, Chisholm House, Barrington, Rhode Island 1968, Gravdahl House, Jamestown, Rhode Island 1968, Harper House, Little Compton, Rhode Island 1969, Aber House, Tiverton, Rhode Island 1969, General Wine Company Warehouse, Providence, Rhode Island 1970, Collier House, Little Compton, Rhode Island 1971, Bishop Plummer House, Suffolk, Virginia 1971, Connecticut Laborers' Union, Hartford, Connecticut 1971, Patterson House, Jamestown, Rhode Island 1972, Connecticut Laborers' Union, West Haven, Connecticut 1974, Glifford House, Matunuck, Rhode Island 1975, Peterborough Convalescence Homes, Peterborough, New Hampshire 1976, Persimmon Restaurant, Providence, Rhode Island 1978, Arnold House, Tiverton, Rhode Island 1979, Brown University Faculty Club addition, Providence, Rhode Island 1980, Church of God and Saints of Christ, Suffolk, Virginia 1980, Starr-Naylor House, Brookline, Massachusetts 1981, Rakatansky Office Addition, Providence, Rhode Island 1982, Bishop Plummer, Jr. House, Suffolk, Virginia 1983, Saber House, Barrington, Rhode Island 1984, New England Laborers' Training Academy (Dining Hall), Pomfret, Connecticut 1985, Church of God and Saints of Christ (sanctuary addition), Suffolk, Virginia 1985, New England Laborers' Training Academy (dormitory), Pomfret, Connecticut 1986, Holocaust Memorial, Providence, Rhode Island 1986, Slepkow House, Providence, Rhode Island 1988, New England Laborers' Training Academy, Hopkinton, Massachusetts 1992, Rosen House, Pawcatuck, Connecticut 
