Purcell & Elmslie
Encyclopedia
The American progressive architectural practice
most widely known as Purcell & Elmslie (P&E) was the second most commissioned firm of the Prairie School
after Frank Lloyd Wright
. The firm had offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis.
The firms consisted of three partnerships: Purcell and Feick (1907-1910); Purcell, Feick, and Elmslie (1910-1912), and Purcell and Elmslie (1913-1921). The architects were commissioned for work in twenty-two states, participated in the competition for the National Parliament Buildings in Canberra, Australia, and prepared plans for a large institutional church, or Y.M.C.A., in Hunan
, China
.
The principals of the firm, William Gray Purcell
(1880-1965) and George Grant Elmslie
(1869-1952) both eventually received Fellowships in the College of the American Institute of Architects
.
Architectural firm
An architectural firm is a company which employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture.- History :Architects have existed since early in recorded history. The earliest recorded architects include Imhotep and Senemut . No writings exist to describe how these...
most widely known as Purcell & Elmslie (P&E) was the second most commissioned firm of the Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
after Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. The firm had offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis.
The firms consisted of three partnerships: Purcell and Feick (1907-1910); Purcell, Feick, and Elmslie (1910-1912), and Purcell and Elmslie (1913-1921). The architects were commissioned for work in twenty-two states, participated in the competition for the National Parliament Buildings in Canberra, Australia, and prepared plans for a large institutional church, or Y.M.C.A., in Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The principals of the firm, William Gray Purcell
William Gray Purcell
William Gray Purcell was a Prairie School architect in the Midwestern United States. He partnered with George Grant Elmslie. The firm of Purcell and Elmslie produced designs for buildings in twenty two states, Australia, and China...
(1880-1965) and George Grant Elmslie
George Grant Elmslie
George Grant Elmslie was an American, though born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern United States...
(1869-1952) both eventually received Fellowships in the College 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...
.
Notable commissions
- Dr. Ward Beebe HouseDr. Ward Beebe HouseThe Dr. Ward Beebe House also known as the John Leuthold residence, is a three-story stucco prairie house built by Dr. Ward and Bess Beebe and designed by Purcell and Elmslie in 1912. Purcell and Elmslie were prolific designers of prairie style homes. It is located in the West Summit Avenue...
(1912), Saint Paul, Minnesota - Josephine Crane Bradley summer residence (Bradley Bungalow) (1912) Woods Hole, Massachusetts
- Edison Shop (1912) Chicago, Illinois
- Merchants National BankMerchants National Bank (Winona, Minnesota)Merchants National Bank in Winona, Minnesota is a bank building designed in the Prairie School architectural style. It was built in 1912, and it features elaborate terra cotta and stained glass ornamentation...
(1912), Winona, Minnesota - Edna S. Purcell House (1913), Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Woodbury County Courthouse (1918), Sioux City, Iowa William L. SteeleWilliam L. SteeleWilliam LaBarthe Steele was an important architect of the Prairie School during the early twentieth century. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Steele worked in the office of renowned architect Louis Sullivan in Chicago, Illinois 1897–1900...
, Architect, Purcell & Elmslie, Associated Architects (George Grant Elmslie, designing architect)
Further reading
- Brooks, H. AllenH. Allen BrooksH. Allen Brooks was an architectural historian and longtime professor at the University of Toronto...
, The Prairie School, W.W. Norton, New York 2006; ISBN 039373191X - Brooks, H. AllenH. Allen BrooksH. Allen Brooks was an architectural historian and longtime professor at the University of Toronto...
(editor), Prairie School Architecture: Studies from "The Western Architect", University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo 1975; ISBN 0802021387 - Brooks, H. AllenH. Allen BrooksH. Allen Brooks was an architectural historian and longtime professor at the University of Toronto...
, The Prairie School: Frank Lloyd Wright and his Midwest Contemporaries, University of Toronto Press, Toronto 1972; ISBN 0802052517 - Gebhard, DavidDavid GebhardDavid S. Gebhard was a leading architectural historian, particularly known for his books on the architecture and architects of California. He was a long-time faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was dedicated to the preservation of Santa Barbara architecture.Gebhard...
(edited by Patricia Gebhard), Purcell & Elmslie: Prairie Progressive Architects, Gibbs Smith, Salt Lake City 2006, ISBN 1423600053 - Hammons, Mark, "Purcell and Elmslie, Architects," in Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi: Minnesota 1900, University of Delaware Press, 1994 ISBN 0874135605.
External links
- Purcell and Elmslie at Organica