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A. C. Schweinfurth

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Albert Cicero Schweinfurth
Born(1863-01-07)January 7, 1863
DiedSeptember 27, 1900(1900-09-27) (aged 37)
OccupationArchitect
Relatives
BuildingsFirst Unitarian Church, Moody house, Hacienda del Pozo de Verona

A. C. Schweinfurth (1864–1900), born Albert Cicero Schweinfurth, was an American architect.[1] He is associated with the First Bay Tradition, an architectural style from the period of the 1880s to early 1920s.[2]

Early life

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Schweinfurth was the son of a German woodcarver who had immigrated to the United States a decade before his son Albert was born. His brothers Charles, Julius, and Henry also practiced in the architectural profession.

Career

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Schweinfurth's First Unitarian Church (1898) is listed in on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]
Dutch house Weltevreden located at 1755 Le Roy Avenue, Berkeley

Schweinfurth began his career in 1879. For the next decade he worked as a draftsman for various firms in Boston, Cleveland, New York, and Denver. In 1890, he moved to San Francisco and took a position as Chief Draftsman in the offices of A. Page Brown.[4]

In 1894, Schweinfurth established his own architectural practice under the patronage of William Randolf Hearst.[4] His Hacienda del Pozo de Verona (1894–1898), built for Phoebe Apperson Hearst in Pleasanton, was one of the first American buildings to incorporate features of Pueblo Revival architecture.[4][5]

Schweinfurth also designed the First Unitarian Church, a "landmark in the history of Bay Area architecture"[6] (1898), on the University of California, Berkeley campus.[7]

Schweinfurth designed the Dutch house Weltevreden located at 1755 Le Roy Avenue, Berkeley, California, also known as Moody House and later as Tellefsen Hall.[8]

Death

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In 1898, Schweinfurth embarked on a two-year tour of Italy and France with his wife, Fanny, and their seven-year-old daughter.[7] Shortly after returning to the United States, he suffered an attack of typhoid fever. He died on September 27, 1900, in Dryden, N.Y.[9][10]

References

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  1. ^ "A. C. Schweinfurth". Great Buildings. Berkeley, California. 1898. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  2. ^ Brown, Mary (September 30, 2010). "San Francisco Modern Architecture and Landscape Design 1935–1970 Historic Context Statement" (PDF). California Office of Historic Preservation. p. 83. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  3. ^ Betty Marvin (April 24, 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Unitarian Church / 2401 Bancroft; University Dance Studio". National Park Service. and accompanying 10 photos from 1981 and a 1906 postcard
  4. ^ a b c Thompson, Daniella (May 21, 2009). "East Bay Then and Now: A Viennese Epicure in the Athens of the West". Berkeley Daily Planet. Berkeley, California. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
  5. ^ Canizaro, Vincent B. (2012-03-20). Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity, and Tradition. Chronicle Books. p. 198. ISBN 9781616890803.
  6. ^ Gebhard and Winter, A Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California, Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City, UT, 1985, p. 272
  7. ^ a b Thompson, Daniella (May 14, 2009). "East Bay, Then and Now: Schweinfurth's First Unitarian: A Powerhouse of a Church". Berkeley Daily Planet. Berkeley, California. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
  8. ^ Daniella Thompson. "Weltevreden". Berkely Landmarks. Berkeley, CA. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  9. ^ Death notice. San Francisco Call, October 10, 1900, p. 11.
  10. ^ "Well-Known Architect Is Removed by Death". San Francisco Call, October 10, 1900, p. 12.