Harold Theodore Spitznagel (December 7, 1896 – April 26, 1975) was an American architect from South Dakota. Spitznagel was best known for residential and institutional architecture, including the original Mount Rushmore visitor center. His styles included

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

, Art Deco, and Moderne architecture. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, was posthumously inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, and has been called the "foremost 20th-century architect" of the state of South Dakota.

Life

Early life and education

Spitznagel was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on December 7, 1896, to Mary and Charles Spitznagel. He graduated from Washington High School in 1916. For two years he attended the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, and earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1925. At school he won the American Institute of Architects and Arthur Spayd Brooke design awards. For a brief time after graduation, Spitznagel was an assistant instructor in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Spitznagel worked in Indianapolis for six months, then moved to Chicago. There he was an architect first for Burnham Brothers (commercial design, 1926), then Graven and Mayger (movie theaters, 1926-1927), and finally Schmidt, Garden, and Erickson (commercial design and hospitals, 1927-1929). The latter firm was influential in Chicago's

style of residential architecture. In 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression, Spitznagel returned home to Sioux Falls and opened an office in the Western Surety Building on Eighth Street and Main Avenue. He remodeled this office into the Art Deco style. Spitznagel and his firms (Harold Spitznagel Architects, Harold Spitznagel & Associates, Inc., and The Spitznagel Partners, Inc.) designed many buildings, especially in South Dakota, in the 1930s through 1970s. His first work was residential and small retail, and in 1936 the city commissioned him to design the Sioux Falls City Hall. This

Moderne Moderne may refer to: * Moderne architecture, styles of architecture popular from 1925–1940s * PWA Moderne, an architectural style in the U.S., 1933–1944 * Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco archit ...

building included limestone plaques, granite carvings, frescoes and—controversially—no cornice. Spitznagel incorporated a significant amount of art in the building design, influenced by Palmer Eide of

Augustana College Augustana College may refer to: *Augustana College (Illinois) *Augustana University Sioux Falls, South Dakota *Augustana University College, Alberta See also *Augustana Divinity School (Neuendettelsau) The Augustana-Hochschule Neuendettelsau is ...

. Spitznagel and Eide collaborated over the next decades on buildings such as Jehovah Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In the late 1930s, Senator Peter Norbeck asked Frank Lloyd Wright to submit a design for a new Custer State Park lodge. Wright toured the site but declined to participate. The park board then chose Spitznagel's firm to design the lodge, which included

rustic Rustic may refer to: *Rural area *Pastoral Architecture * Rustication (architecture), a masonry technique mainly employed in Renaissance architecture * Rustic architecture, an informal architectural style in the United States and Canada with sever ...

and Deco elements. During World War II, Spitznagel was Director of Housing for Sioux Falls Army Air Field. Spitznagel's mid-career was highlighted by institutional buildings: civic structures like city halls and post offices, arenas in Sioux Falls and Huron, and high-profile park buildings for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Custer State Park. The Mission 66 Mount Rushmore visitor center was finished in 1957 in a collaboration with Cecil Doty, and featured in the 1959

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film '' North by Northwest''. Spitznagel designed hotels, country clubs, and movie theaters. Educational buildings were a particular specialty, and Spitznagel was the architect for buildings on the campuses of the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, and Augustana College. His firm took on many sacred architecture projects, including an award-winning church in Saint Paul, Minnesota: Jehovah Lutheran. Spitznagel retired in June 1972 and died on April 26, 1975.

Legacy

Spitznagel served as president of the South Dakota chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1954–1955 and vice president of the national organization from 1966 to 1970. His papers are in the archives of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Augustana College occasionally bestows a Harold Spitznagel Medal for Achievement in Art to students who demonstrate excellence in their field.

Work

Buildings

1930s

* Sioux Falls City Hall * Peter Norbeck Visitor Center and Sylvan Lake Lodge, Custer State Park * Sioux Falls residences * Irving School and Lincoln High School addition in Sioux Falls; grade school in Ellsworth, Minnesota * KSOO-FM radio station * department store in Brookings, South Dakota * Hollywood Theater in Sioux Falls

1940s

* John Morrell and Company Visitor Building, Sioux Falls * South Dakota State Penitentiary cell block * Sport Bowl, Sioux Falls * Carpenter Hotel, Sioux Falls * Sioux Falls residences * Central Electric and Telephone Company, Sioux Falls * retail stores *

master plan

1950s

* Huron Arena, Huron, South Dakota * YWCA, Sioux Falls * Augustana College Commons * First Congregational Church, Spencer, Iowa * Church of St. Mary, Sioux Falls * Our Savior’s Lutheran Church with chancel art by Robert Aldern, Sioux Falls * Western Surety Company, Sioux Falls * First Congregational Church, Rapid City * Hanel Motor Hotel, Minneapolis * Dowling Hall, University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), Saint Paul

1960s

* Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls * Mount Rushmore Visitor Center (original), with Cecil Doty * Minnehaha Country Club, Sioux Falls * National Bank of South Dakota, Sioux Falls * USD Student Union, Vermillion * Lincoln Senior High School, Sioux Falls * Augustana College Science Building, Sioux Falls * Holy Name Catholic Church, Watertown, South Dakota * First Federal Savings and Loan, Sioux Falls * Trinity Lutheran Church with suspended art by Palmer Eide, Spencer, Iowa *

American College Testing Program The ACT (; originally an abbreviation of American College Testing) Name changed in 1996. is a standardized test used for University and college admissions, college admissions in the Education in the United States, United States. It is current ...

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

* South Dakota State University Rotunda/Arts and Science/Home Economics and Nursing, dining hall, and dormitories * Housing and Urban Development Housing for the Elderly, Pipestone, Minnesota * Jehovah Lutheran Church, Saint Paul, Minnesota

1970s

* South Dakota State Library,

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

* Avera McKennan Hospital addition, Sioux Falls * Federal office building, Aberdeen *

EROS Data Center The Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) is a United States Geological Survey data management, systems development, and research field center. It serves as the national archive of remotely sensed images of the Earth's land s ...

, Garretson *

Minnehaha County Minnehaha County is a county on the eastern border of the state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county. It contains over 20% of the state's population. Its county seat is S ...

Public Safety Building, Sioux Falls * Rapid City Civic Center, Rapid City * Hilton M. Briggs Library, South Dakota State University, Brookings * Post office, Watertown, South Dakota * Fine Arts Center, University of South Dakota, Vermillion

Awards

* 1935: '' House and Garden'' magazine feature * 1951: '' Better Homes and Gardens'' magazine feature * 1956: honorary doctorate from

* 1959: Fellow of the American Institute of Architects * 1962, 1970, 1975: '' Northwest Architect'' magazine feature * 1975: four-city, four-month posthumous exhibition * 2006: South Dakota Hall of Fame inductee, posthumously

References

External links

Harold Spitznagel papers, Northwest Architectural Archives
at the University of Minnesota Libraries {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitznagel, Harold Architects from South Dakota People from Sioux Falls, South Dakota 1896 births 1975 deaths Fellows of the American Institute of Architects University of Pennsylvania alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni 20th-century American architects Modernist architects from the United States Stadium architects American residential architects American theatre architects American ecclesiastical architects