Frederick P. Dinkelberg
Encyclopedia
Frederick Philip Dinkelberg was an American architect
best known for being Daniel Burnham
's associate for the design of the Flatiron Building
in Manhattan
, New York City
. He practiced in New York City from 1881 to c.1891, and after that was based in Chicago
, Illinois
.
to Maria Imer (1832-1872), who was supposedly an Italian Countess, and well-to-do contractor Philip Dinkelberg (1832-1886), born in Ramsen
, Rheinland-Pflaz, Bayern. Frederick grew up in privileged surroundings, and studied architecture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
In 1881, he began his career as a practicing architect in New York City, where he would remain for 10 years. While there, he designed a 26-story skyscraper in lower Manhattan, on Broadway
between Battery Place and Maiden Street, which has since been demolished. In addition, for developer William Broadbelt he designed a row of eleven limestone Renaissance revival-style townhouses at 757–777 St. Nicholas Avenue in Sugar Hill
in Harlem
, which are "among the finest" in the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District and Extension. In 1898, Dinkelberg's submitted design for a new building for Erasmus Hall High School
in Brooklyn was published in American Architect and Building News. The submission, which was not chosen for construction, was a tall French-inspired H-plan building topped by a mansard roof
and cupola
.
While in New York, Dinkelberg met Charles Atwood, and, through Atwood, Daniel Burnham, who hired Dinkelberg to work on the World Columbian Exposition, for which Burnham was the chief of construction. Once the fair was completed, Burnham hired Dinkelberg for his firm, D.H. Burnham & Co. There, he designed the Santa Fe Building
, also known as Railway Exchange Building, a 17-story office building built in 1903–1904 and today part of the Historic Michigan Boulevard District
, and the Heyworth Building
, a 19-story office building which is now a Chicago landmark
.
When Burnham was commissioned by Harry S. Black of the Fuller Company to design a new company headquarters on a triangular plot of land on Madison Square
in Manhattan, Burnham had numerous other projects he was already working on, and he assigned Dinkelberg to what was then called the "Fuller Building", but which would gain fame as the Flatiron Building
. The extent of Dinkelberg's responsibility for the details of the design of the Flatiron Building is not known, and the design was credited at the time to "D.H. Burnham & Co."
Later, Dinkelberg was the co-designer, with Joachim G. Giaver, of the 35 East Wacker Building in Chicago
, built in 1925–1927 and a designated Chicago landmark
since February 9, 1994. Giaver and Dinkelberg were also involved in the design of Grand Park Centre
, also known as the Michigan Mutual Building, in Detroit, Michigan
in 1922.
Dinkelberg amassed a fortune during his career, which he invested in utility stocks, which lost all value in the Stock Market Crash of 1929. He and his wife, Emily Dunn Dinkelberg, sold their house in Evanston, Illinois
. When Dinkelberg died in Chicago on February 10, 1935, at the age of 76, the couple was on relief
and living in a small apartment. Dinkelberg's funeral was paid for by friends and colleagues at the Chicago branch of the American Institute of Architects
.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
best known for being Daniel Burnham
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
's associate for the design of the Flatiron Building
Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building, or Fuller Building, as it was originally called, is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and the only skyscraper...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He practiced in New York City from 1881 to c.1891, and after that was based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Life and career
Dinkelberg was born on June 30, 1858 in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
to Maria Imer (1832-1872), who was supposedly an Italian Countess, and well-to-do contractor Philip Dinkelberg (1832-1886), born in Ramsen
Ramsen
Ramsen is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland.-Coat of arms:The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure three Ears of Wheat leaved Or issuant from a Mount of the same.-Geography:...
, Rheinland-Pflaz, Bayern. Frederick grew up in privileged surroundings, and studied architecture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
In 1881, he began his career as a practicing architect in New York City, where he would remain for 10 years. While there, he designed a 26-story skyscraper in lower Manhattan, on Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
between Battery Place and Maiden Street, which has since been demolished. In addition, for developer William Broadbelt he designed a row of eleven limestone Renaissance revival-style townhouses at 757–777 St. Nicholas Avenue in Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill commonly refers to Sugar Hill, Manhattan, a section of Harlem, New York City, New York, US. The term may also refer to:Places:* Sugar Hill in Modoc National Forest, California* Sugar Hill, Georgia* Sugar Hill, New Hampshire...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, which are "among the finest" in the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District and Extension. In 1898, Dinkelberg's submitted design for a new building for Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall Campus High School is a four-year public high school in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, United States operated by the New York City Department of Education....
in Brooklyn was published in American Architect and Building News. The submission, which was not chosen for construction, was a tall French-inspired H-plan building topped by a mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
and cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
.
While in New York, Dinkelberg met Charles Atwood, and, through Atwood, Daniel Burnham, who hired Dinkelberg to work on the World Columbian Exposition, for which Burnham was the chief of construction. Once the fair was completed, Burnham hired Dinkelberg for his firm, D.H. Burnham & Co. There, he designed the Santa Fe Building
Santa Fe Building (Chicago)
The Santa Fe Building, also known as Railway Exchange Building, is a 17-story office building in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was designed by Frederick P. Dinkelberg of D. H. Burnham & Company in the...
, also known as Railway Exchange Building, a 17-story office building built in 1903–1904 and today part of the Historic Michigan Boulevard District
Historic Michigan Boulevard District
The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th or Roosevelt Road , depending on the source, and Randolph Streets and named after the nearby Great Lake...
, and the Heyworth Building
Heyworth Building
The Heyworth Building is a Chicago Landmark located at 29 East Madison Street, on the southwest corner of Madison Street and Wabash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois....
, a 19-story office building which is now a Chicago landmark
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
.
When Burnham was commissioned by Harry S. Black of the Fuller Company to design a new company headquarters on a triangular plot of land on Madison Square
Madison Square
Madison Square is formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States and the principal author of the United States Constitution.The focus of the square is...
in Manhattan, Burnham had numerous other projects he was already working on, and he assigned Dinkelberg to what was then called the "Fuller Building", but which would gain fame as the Flatiron Building
Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building, or Fuller Building, as it was originally called, is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and the only skyscraper...
. The extent of Dinkelberg's responsibility for the details of the design of the Flatiron Building is not known, and the design was credited at the time to "D.H. Burnham & Co."
Later, Dinkelberg was the co-designer, with Joachim G. Giaver, of the 35 East Wacker Building in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, built in 1925–1927 and a designated Chicago landmark
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
since February 9, 1994. Giaver and Dinkelberg were also involved in the design of Grand Park Centre
Grand Park Centre
Grand Park Centre, also known as the Michigan Mutual Building, is a high-rise office building in downtown Detroit, Michigan, located at 28 West Adams Avenue, at the corner of Adams Avenue West and Woodward Avenue, standing across from Grand Circus Park in the Foxtown neighbourhood...
, also known as the Michigan Mutual Building, in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in 1922.
Dinkelberg amassed a fortune during his career, which he invested in utility stocks, which lost all value in the Stock Market Crash of 1929. He and his wife, Emily Dunn Dinkelberg, sold their house in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
. When Dinkelberg died in Chicago on February 10, 1935, at the age of 76, the couple was on relief
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
and living in a small apartment. Dinkelberg's funeral was paid for by friends and colleagues at the Chicago branch of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects 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 support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
.