Minnesota Architects

From the earliest architects in Minnesota, who came just prior to the Civil War and had learned their trade through apprenticeship, to the arrival of formally trained architects in the late 1880s, and from the creation of the University of Minnesota’s school of architecture in 1912 to the present-day firms and individuals practicing across the state, Minnesota is home to an appreciable legacy of architects whose influence spreads far beyond the state’s borders.

 

Minnesota Architects presents, for the first time, a wide-ranging biographical dictionary of the many architects who were born or worked for a significant time in Minnesota. Each of the more than 250 biographies contains the architect’s era of work, educational and professional experience, and a description of his or her most notable buildings. Many of the architects included in this book are relatively obscure or unknown, while others are considered stars of the profession, such as Cass Gilbert, Clarence Johnston, “Cap” Turner, and Edwin Lundie. Noted Minnesota architectural historian Alan K. Lathrop has drawn on an incredible range of sources—from censuses, city directories, and obituaries to interviews and genealogical resources—to create an authoritative and unprecedented survey of Minnesota’s architects.

 

Heavily illustrated with photos of the architects’ work, Minnesota Architects is designed to be an easy-to-navigate resource for preservationists, historians, students of architecture, and anyone interested in the men and women of Minnesota’s rich architectural legacy.

Acknowledgments, Introduction, Minnesota Architects