Robert Sawers Roeschlaub (July 6, 1843 – October 25, 1923) was a noted

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Biography

Roeschlaub was born in

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to Michael, private physician to the King of Bavaria, and Margaretta, his Scotland-born mother. The family emigrated to the

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in 1845, living in

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at first, but settling in Quincy, Illinois. In August 1862, Robert enlisted from Quincy in the 84th Illinois Infantry - Company E as a sergeant, was promoted to Second Lieutenant in May 1863, promoted again to

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in March 1865, and promoted to Captain on June 6, 1865 but never mustered with that rank as two days later he mustered out with the rank of First Lieutenant. He was wounded twice during the Civil War, first in 1862 during the

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Am ...

and later in 1863 at the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between U.S. and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. I ...

. After the war he returned to Quincy, marrying Annie Mary Fisher on September 29, 1868. They had seven children. He began studying architecture under Robert Bunce, relocating to

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in 1873 and practicing as Robert S. Roeschlaub. In 1903, his son Frank S. Roeschlaub joined the practice and the firm was renamed Roeschlaub & Son, which continued until Robert's retirement in 1912. He designed numerous schools, college buildings, churches and residences and commercial buildings. He was one of three curators at the

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and worked on improving Denver's building code. He was elected to the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

in 1889 and the College of Fellows of the AIA elevated Roeschlaub to Fellow in 1900. He was President of AIA Colorado from 1892 to 1912. In 1909 when the architect's licensing law was passed, Roeschlaub was given license Number One. Denver commercial buildings he is credited with designing include the King Block (1879), Bancroft Block (1880), Times Building (1881), Union Block (1881), Barth Block (1881), A.T. Lewis & Son Dept. Store (1894;1902) and the I.F. Williams Store (1902). Only the Lewis Department Store and the Hover Drug Co. Buildings remain. The Lewis Department Store, though listed in the

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, is considered significant for its historic rather than architectural association. The Hover is the best surviving example of a commercial structure designed by Roeschlaub. Other National Register-listed Roeschlaub buildings include the Central City Opera House (1878), Trinity United Methodist Church (1888), Corona School (1889),

Chamberlin Observatory Chamberlin Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Denver. It is located in Denver, Colorado (US) in Observatory Park. It is named for Humphrey B. Chamberlin, a Denver real estate magnate who pledged $5 ...

(1890) at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

Cheyenne County Jail The Cheyenne County Jail, at 85 W. Second St. in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, was built in 1894. It was a work of Denver architect Robert S. Roeschlaub with some Romanesque Revival styling. It is now operated as the Cheyenne Wells Old Jail Museum ...

(1894) now a museum, the

Hover Mansion Hover may refer to: * Levitation, the process by which an object or person is suspended by a physical force against gravitation without solid physical contact Computing * Hover (domain registrar) *''Mouse hover'' or mouseover, a gesture made wi ...

(Longmont) (1902) and the First Congregational Church (Manitou Springs) (1882). He was the subject of the book ''Robert S. Roeschlaub: Architect of the Emerging West, 1843-1923'' by Francine Haber, Kenneth R. Fuller, and David N. Wetzel, originally published in April 1988 by the

and republished by the University Press of Colorado in July 1992. Robert Sawers Roeschlaub died at

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on October 25, 1923. He is interred at Fairmount Cemetery, Denver.

References

External links

Trinity United Methodist ChurchChamberlin Observatory Virtual TourOld Cheyenne County JailRichard Little Residence, Littleton, CO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roeschlaub, Robert S 1843 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects Union Army officers German emigrants to the United States Architects from Colorado Burials at Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado) People of Illinois in the American Civil War