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William Gray Purcell

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George Grant Elmslie

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​​​Architect at a Glance​​

  • Born: July 2, 1880

  • Died: April 11, 1965

  • Education: Bachelors in Architecture, Cornell University, 1903

  • Notable prairie commissions:

    • Merchant's Bank of Winona

    • Edna Purcell House

    • J. D. R. Steven House

​​Architect at a Glance​

  • Born: February 20, 1869 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

  • Died: April 23, 1952

  • Education: Apprenticed with W. L. Jenney

  • Notable prairie commissions:

    • Merchant's Bank of Winona

    • Edna Purcell House

    • J. D. R. Steven House

Architect Profile

William Gray Purcell

William Gray Purcell was a graduate from Oak Park High School in Oak Park, and after graduating from Cornell University, began his career as a draftsman in Chicago in 1903, working for architect Louis Sullivan. He traveled through Europe during 1906 with George Feick, Jr. and in 1907, Purcell & Feick opened a practice in Minneapolis, MN. Elmslie joined as partner in 1910, to form Purcell, Feick & Elmslie. In 1912, Feick left and Purcell & Elmslie continued their partnership until 1922.

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During Purcell's career in Minneapolis, he became one of the most successful architects to work in the Prairie Style, building extensively across the states of MN and WI. The firm of Purcell & Elmslie produced designs for buildings in twenty-two states, Australia, and China.

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With the demise of their practice, Purcell continued to support the cause of American architecture for another 30 years, mostly through publishing many essays, consulting with architectural historians, and other writings.

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Sources:

http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/95/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gray_Purcell

George Grant Elmslie was a Scottish-born American Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern U.S.

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Elmslie’s first apprenticeship was in the office of William LeBaron Jenney in Chicago. In 1887, Elmslie joined F. L. Wright & George Maher in the architecture office of Joseph L. Silsbee. After Wright left to go to Adler & Sullivan in 1887, he recommended Elmslie to Sullivan, and Elmslie joined in 1888 as apprentice. He was Sullivan’s chief draftsman and ornamental designer from 1895 to 1909. He detailed the ornamentation for Sullivan's Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Schlesinger & Mayer Dept. store in Chicago and the National Farmers Bank in Owatonna, MN (apparently he had considerable influence on the design of Sullivan’s series of small banks in the US Midwest).

 

After working for Louis Sullivan, Elmslie became a partner with Purcell and Feick, Jr. in Minneapolis, MN. Feick left two years later and the partnership of Purcell & Elmslie continued until 1920. Over the course of the partnership, Purcell & Elmslie became one of the most commissioned firms among the Prairie School architects (200+), second only to Frank Lloyd Wright.

 

Following the dissolution of his partnership with Purcell, Elmslie worked occasionally with various other architects and produced a number of banks, train stations, commercial, and institutional buildings during the 1920s and 1930s. Elmslie was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1947.

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Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Grant-Elmslie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grant_Elmslie

George Grant Elmslie

Architect Profile

Commissions

Houses - IL

Houses - MN (Other)

Buildings - Banks

Houses - MN (Minneapolis)

Houses - Other States

Buildings - Other

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