Albert F. D'Oench (December 25, 1852 – July 20, 1918) was an architect of office buildings and Superintendent of Buildings in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. During his career, he had two partnerships, first D'Oench and Simon with Bernhard Simon. Later in his career, he partnered with Joseph W. Yost to form D'Oench & Yost, which designed large office buildings and insurance company buildings.

Early life and education

Albert Frederick D'Oench was born on December 25, 1852, in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He was one of six children of Marie (née Braasch) D'Oench and William D'Oench (died 1908), a German-born pharmacist. He was the proprietor of D'Oench, Rives & Co. In 1872, D'Oench received his Masters of Engineering degree from

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is ...

in St. Louis. He then studied in Stuttgart, Germany, graduating from the

Institute of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of t ...

Career

Germania Life Insurance Company Building

D'Oench began work as an architect in 1876. He designed office buildings, including several insurance company buildings. According to author Cecil D. Elliott, "Albert F. D'Oench asamong the architects most favored by New York's many prosperous German businessmen." From 1885 to 1889, he was the Superintendent of Buildings in New York City. He was a member and chairman of the Board of Examiners from 1900 to 1902. D'Oench was a partner with Bernhard Simon in the firm of D'Oench and Simon. In 1898, the firm designed a large

Renaissance Revival-style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

limestone in the now

Crown Heights North Historic District Crown Heights North Historic District is a national historic district located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. The district encompasses 1,019 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section of B ...

. D'Oench partnered with Joseph W. Yost to form the firm of D'Oench & Yost. The firm worked on designs for the Carnegie Library in Sandusky, Ohio (1901);

W New York Union Square The W New York Union Square is a 270-room, 21-story boutique hotel operated by W Hotels at the northeast corner of Park Avenue South and 17th Street, across from Union Square in Manhattan, New York. Originally known as the Germania Life Insuranc ...

(formerly Germania/Guardian Life Insurance Company Building, 1910); the William R. Grace Company building addition; and

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

New York Tribune Building The New York Tribune Building (also the Nassau-Tribune Building) was a building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, across from City Hall and the Civic Center. It was at the intersection of Nassau and Spruce Streets, at 1 ...

. The Carnegie Library and the W New York Union Square are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

Personal life

In January 1901, D'Oench married Alice Grace Holloway, whose father,

William Russell Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the ...

, was the founder of W. R. Grace and Company and a mayor of New York City. They had a son, Russell Gilchrist D'Oench. His wife was previously married to William I. Holloway, with whom she had a son, William Grace Holloway. D'Oench had homes in Manhattan and

Manhasset Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

. He died at his country house in Manhasset on July 20, 1918.

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading