David Riebel (August 7, 1855 – July 29, 1935) was a German-American architect in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. He was the head architect for the

Columbus public school district Columbus City Schools, formerly known as Columbus Public Schools, is the official school district for the city of Columbus, Ohio, and serves most of the city (portions of the city are served by suburban school districts). The district has 46,6 ...

from 1893 to 1922. In 1915, ''The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder'' considered his firm, David Riebel & Sons, to be the oldest and among the best architects in Columbus.

Early life and career

David Riebel was born on August 7, 1855, in Blenheim, Canada West. He was married in

Bosanquet Township Bosanquet () is a former township of Lambton County in Ontario, Canada located northeast of Sarnia. Geography and history Home to Native Americans for thousands of years, the first Europeans settled on the lakeshore in the early 19th cent ...

on November 3, 1875. At the time, he was described as a carpenter. With his wife, Margaret Ann Clemens, by 1895 he had four children: Laura, Elroy, Frederick, and Mary Edna. Riebel began practicing architecture around 1878. His first major commissions were in Forest, Ontario: its town hall (built 1883-84, demolished in 1982) and the Second Empire-style mansion of Dr. James Hutton (built in 1887 and demolished in 1935). Riebel moved with his family to

, in February 1888 to open up a new architectural office. He became the first head of the architectural department of the Columbus Board of Education (the lead architect for Columbus City Schools) in 1893. In that position, Riebel designed about 40 Columbus public school buildings between 1891 and 1921; the remaining buildings are some of Columbus's most notable landmarks. His two sons joined him in designing buildings in 1904, after thorough training, giving the firm the name "David Riebel & Sons". Riebel continued in the position until 1922. For a time, Riebel had his offices in the

William J. Lhota Building The William J. Lhota Building is a historic office building on High Street (Columbus, Ohio), High Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The building is primarily known as the headquarters of the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), the city's tra ...

, originally known as the New First National Bank Building. David Riebel died on July 29, 1935. He is buried at Green Lawn Cemetery.

Works

In Columbus

Riebel was involved in the design of numerous Columbus buildings:

Outside Columbus

Works in other areas included: * Public school (Worthington, Ohio, 1896) * Town Hall (Forest, Ontario, 1883-4) * Dr. James Hutton mansion (Forest, Ontario, 1887) * St. Mary's School (Lancaster, Ohio, 1910) * First Church of Christ Scientist (Lancaster, Ohio, 1921) * Public school (Crooksville, Ohio, 1923)

References

External links