John S. Flizikowski (also known as José; born April 19, 1868 in Preußisch Stargard,

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

, now

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; csb, Starogarda; formerly german: Preußisch Stargard) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. It is ...

, Poland; died July 15, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois) was a notable Chicago architect of residential, church and commercial buildings during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Education and career

Flizikowski's parents were Joseph and Anna (Paluchowski) Flizikowski. He was educated at the '' gymnasium'' in Stargard and the Art Institute of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, followed by further study at the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg, graduating in 1891. He moved to the United States in 1893 and settled in Chicago, where he initially worked as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

for eight months before going into business as an architect in 1894. He specialized in houses, churches, and schools.''History of Cook County Illinois'' (1908) Weston A. Goodspeed LL B and Daniel B. Healy, ed., The Goodspeed Historical Association, Chicago. Volume 1, pp 723-724.

Works

Among buildings in Chicago designed by Flizikowski were St. Michael’s Lithuanian church, Holy Cross church and parish residence, the Lutheran church on Humboldt and Dickens Avenues, St. Florian School, and the headquarters of the Polish National Alliance of North America on Division Street. The Index to the American Contractor's Chicago Building Permit Column, 1898–1912, maintained on the website of The Chicago Historical Society, lists 197 addresses where building permits were issued with John Flizikowski as architect. Among these are the White Eagle Brewing Co. (1911) and Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, home of the

Polish Museum of America The Polish Museum of America is located in West Town, in what had been the historical Polish Downtown neighborhood of Chicago. It is home to numerous Polish artifacts, artwork, and embroidered folk costumes in its growing collection. Founded i ...

(1912). The Chicago Historic Resources Survey (CHRS) of 1995 lists 9 of Flizikowski's buildings that "possess some architectural feature or historical association that made them potentially significant in the context of the surrounding community."

Personal

Flizikowski was a Catholic and a

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He was married twice to Annie Kowalkowski and to Elizabeth Dettlaff, and had four daughters and one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flizikowski, John S. 1868 births 1934 deaths Polish-American culture in Chicago Polish emigrants to the United States 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Architects from Chicago People from Starogard Gdański Technical University of Berlin alumni