Benjamin Atwood
Skinner Jr.

(1923–1996)

Skinner was born in Rock Hill SC and grew up in Charlotte NC. After serving in WWII, he graduated from NC State University in architecture and was editor of the NCSU yearbook. He worked for Walter Hook in Charlotte, and as many of Hook's projects were in eastern North Carolina, he chose to live in Wilson. Skinner went on his own in 1957 and is most remembered for the BB&T headquarters building in Wilson, below, which is slated for destruction in 2019.

He was Tar Heel of the Week in the Raleigh News and Observer, 6/28/1964. The firm had various names over time with partners Barry Lamm and Bill Highsmith. The firm became Skinner Farlow Kirwan in 2018.