Herman Preusse (1847–1926) was an important architect in the history of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

. His work includes

St. Boniface Church, Convent and Rectory St. Boniface Church, Convent and Rectory is a historic site in Uniontown, Washington, United States. It was built in 1905, consecrated in 1910, making it the first to be consecrated in the state of Washington, and added to the National Register ...

and Mary Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic Church. Architects such as C. Ferris White who worked in his office went on to have prominent careers. Preusse maintained a long and successful business partnership with fellow German architect

Julius Zittel Julius Zittel (October 2, 1869 - May 7, 1939) was an architect in Washington State. He was a draftsman at Herman Preusse firm and then became a partner at their firm. He became Washington's state architect. Works Selected works include: *Washing ...

Biography

Preusse was born in Germany in 1847. After his architectural studies he came to the U.S. in 1870 and settled in

Spokane Falls Spokane Falls is the name of a waterfall and dam on the Spokane River, located in the central business district in downtown Spokane, Washington. The city of Spokane was also initially named "Spokane Falls". History The Native American name for ...

in 1882. He designed many of the buildings destroyed by the Great Spokane Fire of 1889 including the Frankfurt, Boston, and Post Office blocks. He went on to design the Blalock and Ziegler buildings, a large Auditorium Theatre with what was once largest stage in the U.S., the Granite Block, the Victoria Hotel, and one of the first buildings at Gonzaga University. His high-profile clients included Edward Herbert Jamieson, Herman A. Van Valkenburg, and Samuel J. Holland. The Northern Pacific Railroad helped bring commerce to the Northwest. Mining also drew development to the area. Spokane Falls hired Preusse to help plan the development of the area. Preusse joined with fellow German architect

who started as a draughtsman for Preusse in 1887 before they became business partners in 1893 at Preuss & Zittel. Zittel went on to be Washington's state architect and they collaborated for many years. Preusse's work includes early Agricultural College and School of Science at Pullman (now

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

) buildings,

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Irela ...

buildings including the main administration building and St. Aloysius Church. He did many works for Jesuits but also designed Washington State's first synagogue: Temple Emmanuel. He also designed the Fernwell building (1890), Carnegie Library (1905), Columbia Building, the state armory (1908), additions to Holy Names Academy (1903), the Huetter House (1897) across the street from Gonzaga, dormitories at WSU, the Peyton Building (1890), the YMCA building (1907, demolished 1964) and Mary Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic Church in

Sprague, Washington Sprague is a small city in Lincoln County, Washington, United States. The population was 446 at the 2010 census. The city was platted in 1880 and named for former American Civil War Union general John Wilson Sprague. History Sprague was firs ...

. He died in Spokane on December 10, 1926.

Selected works

* Bump Block-Bellevue House-Hawthorne Hotel, S 206 Post St.,

Spokane, WA Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canadi ...

, (Preusse & Zittel), NRHP-listed * Holy Names Academy Building, 1216 N. Superior St.,

, (Preusse & Zittel), NRHP-listed * Mary Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic Church, N. First and B St., Sprague, WA, (Preusse, Herman), NRHP-listed *

Peyton Building and Peyton Annex The Peyton Building and Peyton Annex is a historic seven-story building and annex in Spokane, Washington. The building was designed by Cutter & Malmgren, and built in 1898. With It was built on the site of a former building known as the Great Ea ...

, 722 W. Sprague Ave./10 N. Post St.,

, (Preusse, Herman), NRHP-listed * Ritzville Carnegie Library, 302 W. Main St.,

Ritzville, WA Ritzville () is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Adams County. The city is part of the Othello, WA Micropolitan Area, which comprises all of Adams County, ...

, (Preusse & Zittel), NRHP-listed *

Spokane Public Library The Spokane Public Library is a public library system serving the city of Spokane, Washington, US. It has five branches and a central library in downtown Spokane, along with a bookmobile and online services. The library system was acquired by t ...

, 10 S. Cedar,

, (Preusse & Zittel), NRHP-listed *

, 206 St. Boniface St.,

Uniontown, WA Uniontown is a town in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 294 at the 2010 census. History Uniontown was first settled in 1878 by Thomas Montgomery. Agreement could not be reached on a town name until the following yea ...

, (Preusse, Herman), NRHP-listed

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preusse, Herman 1847 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American architects Architects from Washington (state) 20th-century American architects