Hugo Kafka, AIA, (May, 1843–April 1915)Obituaries
'NY Times.'' April 30, 1915. was a Czech-American architect and founding associate of the predecessor firm of Alfred B. Mullett & Sons, as well as William Schickel & Company; he ran his own firm, Hugo Kafka in the early twentieth century, later renamed Hugo Kafka & Sons.

Life

Kafka was born in 1843 in Austria-Hungary, "graduated from the Polytechnikum in Zurich, Switzerland studying under

Gottfried Semper Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in ...

. He came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1874 to work with Hermann Schwartzmann, architect-in-chief for the buildings of the Centennial Exposition, and practiced in New York City from 1877 to 1903." He became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1876 and a founding associate of the predecessor firm of Alfred B. Mullett & Sons, with

Alfred B. Mullett Alfred Bult Mullett (April 7, 1834 – October 20, 1890) was a British-American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Office of the Supervising Architect, Supervising Architect, head of the government agency, agency of the United States Treas ...

and

William G. Steinmetz Brigadier General William George Steinmetz AIA ( – 27 April 1898) was a German-American architect who practiced in New York City as a founding associate of A.B. Mullet & Company with Alfred Bult Mullett (–1890) and Hugo Kafka (1843–1913) bef ...

in 1882. In 1885 along with

J. William Schickel J. William Schickel, FAIA, (1850–1907) known professionally as William Schickel, was a German-American architect and founder of the New York architectural firm of Schickel & Ditmars. Life and practice Schickel was born January 29, 1850, in Wi ...

(1850–1907) and Isaac E. Ditmars (1850–1934), he was a founding associate of William Schickel & Company, which later became

Schickel & Ditmars Schickel & Ditmars was an architectural firm in New York City, active during the city's Gilded Age from 1885 until the early 1900s. It was responsible for designing many fine churches, residences and commercial buildings. History J. William Sc ...

. He died April 28, 1913, in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. Working for himself in the twentieth century, his firm's address was at 99 Nassau Street; the firm's name was Hugo Kafka, and Hugo Kafka & Sons after 1905 at 34 W 26th Street.
, Office for Metropolitan History, "Manhattan NB Database 1900-1986," 5 Feb 2010 One of his finest house designs is the Leonard and Annie Wiederer House (1887–1888), 387 St. Paul's Avenue (formerly Mud Lane),

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, a three-story Queen Anne-style mansion of 24-room, including eight bedrooms, two kitchens and six fireplaces, each of a different design. It was built by the German-born beer baron named George Bechtel as a bridal gift to his daughter Annie on her marriage to Leonard Wiederer. He died April 28, 1915, aged 70, at his home at 49 Washington Avenue,

Works

*Leonard and Annie Wiederer House (1887–1888), 387 St. Paul's Avenue, Staten Island *153-155 West 43rd Street (1903), a 12-story brick and stone hotel, built for the estate of Ogden Goelet for $210,000 *West 176th Street, west of Amsterdam Avenue (1905), four five-story brick and stone tenements built for Winslow Realty Co. for $160,000. *Mill *"The Summersby" (1894), 342-344 West 56th Street, 7-story brick and limestone flats

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kafka, Hugo 1843 births 1915 deaths Artists from New Rochelle, New York American people of Czech descent Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States 19th-century American architects Defunct architecture firms based in New York City