J.Seymour Harris was born in Solihull, England, educated at the Royal Wolver Hampton School and subsequently the University of Birmingham (England). He gained three scholarships in architecture resulting in a year of study in Italy.

At this time, Mr. Harris met the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who encouraged him with his thesis, part of which was the detailed measurement of the "Leaning Tower of Pisa." When he returned to the U.K., he prepared detailed drawings of this now remarkable feature of Italy. This drawing now hangs in his home at Tukaltoo and is probably the only recorded drawing of the tower at that time.

Qualifying as an architect and then becoming a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Mr. Harris studied as an engineer and certified as a member of the prestigious Institution of Civil Engineers, a world renowned and accepted Civil Engineering organization. As a result of his additional experience with the Town Planning Institute of Great Britain, Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, asked Mr. Harris to organize a professional team to investigate the feasibility of planning a new city to replace Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mr. Harris spent six months in Ethiopia, partly on the site of the proposed new city at Lake Tana -- the source of the Blue Nile, and partly in direct contact with Haile Selassie and his Government. However, a governmental coupe which took place in 1968 resulted in the eventual execution of Haile Selassie and the termination of this ambitious and visionary project.

Mr. Harris then spent several years at his office complex based in Westminster, London, supervising the architectural and planning aspects of the Murrayfield Development Company of which Field Marshall Sir Claude Auchinleck was Chairman. This company was responsible for the development of many of Britain's town centers.

During this period, Mr. Harris purchased land from Lord Montague of Beaulieu on the Beaulieu River which is adjacent to Lord Rothschild's well know rhododendron and azalea park. This land is where he built his now famous house that he named "The Tukal" in whimsical memory of Haile Selassie. The "tukals" were the customary form of dwelling for most Ethiopians. A logical progression of this was to name his present home in Freeport "Tukaltoo."

In 1962, Mr. and Mrs. Harris purchased a 370-acre island known as Rudder Cut Cay, 110 miles south of Nassau. The development of this virgin island involved the formation of approximately 7 miles of road, a yacht harbor, a 2,300-ft. airstrip, and the establishment of an electric generating station and a unique home that consisted of an aluminum dome with underground water tanks for catching the water from the roof.

Mr. and Mrs. Harris then purchased their land on the island of Grand Bahama, where they designed, built, and completed construction of Tukaltoo in 1980. Mr. Harris' passion for energy efficiency and art resulted in the unique solar reflector sculpure on the property, overlooking a pool of water. The Harris's have lived, enjoyed, and painstakenly cared for this incredible home, built by one of this century's great architects. 

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