William Holabird (September 11, 1854 in Amenia,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

– July 19, 1923 in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

) was an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Holabird was the son of General

Samuel B. Holabird Samuel Beckley Holabird (June 16, 1826 - February 3, 1907) was a career officer in the United States Army. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, Holabird attained the rank of brigadier general and is most notable for his service as the ...

and Mary Theodosia Grant. He studied at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

but resigned and moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he later got married. He worked in the architectural practice of

William Le Baron Jenney William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832 – June 14, 1907) was an American architect and engineer who is known for building the first skyscraper in 1884. In 1998, Jenney was ranked number 89 in the book ''1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ran ...

next to O. C. Simonds. Shortly after receiving the commission to extend

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...

, Jenney passed it on to his assistants who, in 1880, established the firm of Holabird & Simonds to carry out this job. In 1881,

Martin Roche Martin Roche (1853–1927) was an American architect. Life In partnership with William Holabird, Martin Roche designed buildings following the Chicago School and that were landmarks in the development of early sky scrapers. He worked for Will ...

, who had also worked in Jenney's office, joined them as a third partner. In 1883 the firm was renamed

Holabird & Roche The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

after Simonds left to concentrate solely on Graceland Cemetery and landscape design. Grave of William Holabird (1854–1923) at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago

Grave of William Holabird (1854–1923) at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago

Together they contributed many innovations to the architecture of the time, especially in what is now referred to as Chicago School. They designed several influential buildings, including the Marquette Building and the

Gage Building The Gage Group Buildings consist of three buildings located at 18, 24 and 30 S. Michigan Avenue, between Madison Street and Monroe Street, in Chicago, Illinois. They were built from 1890–1899, designed by Holabird & Roche for the three milline ...

. The latter included a façade designed by

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

and was cited a Chicago architectural landmark in 1962. William Holabird died in 1923, and Martin Roche died in 1927. Holabird's son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

took over the firm with John Wellborn Root, Jr., and it was renamed

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

. William's sister, Agnes Holabird Von Kurowsky, was the mother of

Agnes von Kurowsky Agnes Hannah von Kurowsky Stanfield (January 5, 1892 – November 25, 1984) was an American nurse who inspired the character "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel ''A Farewell to Arms''. Kurowsky served as a nurse in an American Re ...

. His daughter Mary was the wife of General William Mackey Cruikshank.

References

External links

Holabird & Root's current website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holabird, William 19th-century American people 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Architects from Illinois Chicago school architects Amenia, New York People from Amenia, New York Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) 1854 births 1923 deaths United States Military Academy alumni

References

Further reading

External links