Ralph Walker receiving the 1957 Centennial Medal of Honor from aia President Leon Chatelain Jr.
application yielded a proud achievement. Other aspects of the convention were less successful. Convention planners significantly underestimated attendance at several convention events. The vast Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall was crowded for an afternoon concert, “Architecture in Music.” That evening at the Centennial dinner, it became obvious that all members could not be seated in the main convention hall. Loudspeakers were hastily rigged to distant banquet rooms. The aia had commissioned commemorative china with the Institute’s seal for presentation to seated guests before the meal. The confusion forced the abandonment of this plan, however, and the plates were unceremoniously handed to each guest in the foyer afterward. During the dinner, Louis Skidmore received the Gold Medal, the aia’s most prestigious award, and Ralph Walker was awarded a special centennial medal of honor. President Leon Chatelain Jr. also announced the names of the 48 newly elected Fellows, although in these conditions they could only attempt to stand and be recognized. The investiture was perhaps the most ill-fated event of the convention. It was held in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel, where all participants and their friends and relatives, as well as College members and curious passersby, stood for the entire program. A valiant attempt to establish some semblance
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