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, first 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.

Albert F. D'Oench
Born(1852-12-25)December 25, 1852
DiedJuly 20, 1918(1918-07-20) (aged 65)
Alma materWashington University
OccupationArchitect
Spouse
Alice Grace Holloway
(m. 1901)
Practice
  • D'Oench and Simon
  • D'Oench & Yost
BuildingsCarnegie Library (Sandusky, Ohio), W New York Union Square

Early life and education

edit

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

edit
 
Carnegie Library in Sandusky, Ohio (1901)
 
W New York Union Square, New York City (1910)

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]

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] W New York Union Square (formerly Germania/Guardian Life Insurance Company Building, 1910);[10][11] the William R. Grace Company building addition;[12] and Richard Morris Hunt's New York Tribune Building.[13] The Carnegie Library and the W New York Union Square are on the National Register of Historic Places.[14][15]

Personal life

edit

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]

D'Oench had homes in Manhattan and Manhasset.[3] He died at his country house in Manhasset on July 20, 1918.[1][16][18]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b c d e 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. 2001. 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 Register Information System – Carnegie Library (Sandusky, Ohio) (#75001385)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  15. ^ "National Register Information System – Germania Life Insurance Company Building (#01000556)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  16. ^ a b "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.
  18. ^ "27 Mar 1906, Page 3 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library. Retrieved 2021-04-17.

Further reading

edit