Albert D'Oench

Albert F. D'Oench (December 25, 1852 – July 20, 1918) was an architect of office buildings and Superintendent of Buildings in New York City.[1] During his career, he had two partnerships. He established the firm of 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, Missouri.[2] He was one of six children of Marie (née Braasch) D'Oench and William D'Oench[3] (died 1908), a German-born pharmacist. He was the proprietor of D'Oench, Rives & Co.[4] In 1872, D'Oench received his Masters of Engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He then studied in Stuttgart, Germany, graduating from the Institute of Technology.[3]

Career

Carnegie Library in Sandusky, Ohio (1901)

D'Oench began work as an architect in 1876. He designed office buildings, including several insurance company buildings.[1] According to author Cecil D. Elliott, "Albert F. D'Oench [was] among the architects most favored by New York's many prosperous German businessmen."[5] 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.[3]

Germania Life Insurance Company Building, New York City (1910)

D'Oench was a partner with Bernhard Simon in the firm of D'Oench and Simon.[6] In 1898, the firm designed a large Renaissance Revival-style limestone in the now Crown Heights North Historic District.[7] D'Oench partnered with Joseph W. Yost to form the firm of D'Oench & Yost.[8] The firm worked on designs for the Carnegie Library in Sandusky, Ohio (1901);[9] Germania Life Insurance Company Building (1910);[10] Guardian Life Insurance Company building;[11] the William R. Grace Company building addition;[12] and Richard Morris Hunt's New York Tribune Building.[13] The Carnegie Library and the Germania Life Insurance Building are on the National Register of Historic Places.[14][15]

Personal life

In January 1901,[3] D'Oench married Alice Grace Holloway, whose father, William Russell Grace, was the founder of W. R. Grace and Company and a mayor of New York City. They had a son, Russell Gilchrist D'Oench.[1][16] His wife was previously married to William I. Holloway, with whom she had a son, William Grace Holloway.[17]

He had homes in Manhattan and Manhasset.[3] D'Oench died at his country house in Manhasset on July 20, 1918.[1][16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Albert Frederick D'Oench Dies". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 22, 1918. p. 5. Retrieved June 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ A. E. Costello (October 3, 2003). Birth of the Bravest: A History of the New York Fire Department From 1609 To 1887. Tom Doherty Associates. p. 408. ISBN 978-1-4299-5511-9.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. L.R. Hamersly. 1909. p. 510.
  4. ↑ "William D'Oench". The Pharmaceutical Era. D. O. Haynes & Company. 1908. p. 794.
  5. ↑ Cecil D. Elliott (November 13, 2002). The American Architect from the Colonial Era to the Present. McFarland. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7864-1391-1.
  6. ↑ The Trow City Directory Co.'s, Formerly Wilson's, Copartnership and Corporation Directory of New York City. Trow. 1890. p. 78.
  7. ↑ De Vries, Susan (March 11, 2018). "Top 10 Brooklyn Real Estate Listings: A Standalone With a Pool and a Renovated Brownstone". Brownstowner. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ Polk's (Trow's) New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory, Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx. 1910. p. 219.
  9. ↑ Virginia Evans McCormick (2001). Educational Architecture in Ohio: From One-room Schools and Carnegie Libraries to Community Education Villages. Kent State University Press. pp. 198–199. ISBN 978-0-87338-666-1.
  10. ↑ An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn. Gibbs Smith. pp. PT 174. ISBN 978-1-4236-1911-6.
  11. ↑ Francis Morrone (September 2009). Architectural Guidebook to New York City. Gibbs Smith. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-4236-1116-5.
  12. ↑ Architecture and Building. W.T. Comstock Company. 1919. p. 8.
  13. ↑ Architectural Record. McGraw-Hill. 1907. pp. 79, 163.
  14. ↑ National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System – Carnegie Library (Sandusky, Ohio) (#75001385)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  15. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System – Germania Life Insurance Company Building (#01000556)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  16. 1 2 "Albert F. D'Oench Dies". The American Architect. Architectural & Building Press, Incorporated. July 3, 1918. Retrieved June 1, 2018 – via Google Books.
  17. ↑ "Wedding of Miss Holmes to William G. Holloway". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 19, 1918. p. 7. Retrieved June 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

  • James Terry White (1967). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Pennsylvania State University. pp. 108–109 – via University Microfilms, Google books.
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