life of the city and gives special attention
to interior decoration and furnishing. The
Craftshouse, like the building of the Handi-
craft Guild, is architecturally beautiful and
unicjue.
When the public library building was
planned the study of art was given broad
consideration, and in addition to arranging
for the housing of the School of Fine Arts
an art gallery was provided for and an art
book room established. The art gallery has
grown from small beginnings to be a col-
lection of much merit and is enriched by
loans of e.xcellent ])ictures owned by private
collectors. In the building there is also an
admirable collection of plaster casts of
statuary. Mr. T. B. Walker has built up
the largest private art collection in the city.
It is in a spacious gallery connected with
his residence at Eishth street and Hennc-
%t I t!B*i
â– VIW, IIANDTCU.YFT GOn.n BUU.DINO.
FinErL.\ci: in lui: hamiukait la ii.i).
pin avenue, where it is open to the jjublic
during the daylight hours throughout the
}ear. Mr. Walker has taken great interest
in all art development in the city and is
one of the most prominent private collectors
in the West.
Public and official recognition of art has
been slow and first found expression in the
formation of the board of park commission-
ers ; although it is not to be supposed that
all who assisted in the promotion of the
park system understood that they were cul-
tivating the artistic development of the city.
The Art Commission of the city created in
1 901, was a tardy recognition of the need
of selection and discrimination in the pos-
sible purchase or acceptance of works of
art. This commission is composed of E. C.
Chatfield, president, and Robert Koehler,
Wm. Channing Whitney, Edward C. Gale
and Jiihn S. Bradstreet — all men who have
lieen prominent in the art development of
the city.
.\KCHITECTURE .AND ENGINEERING.
The distinct ad\-anccs made in the last
twenty years in matters architectural is one
of the most gratifying phases of Minne-
apolis development. The numerous exam-
|iles of refined taste in residence, commer-
cial and ]>ublic buildings, reflect the influ-
ence of a group of intelligent and progres-
sive architects. With the increase of
wealth and the ad\ance of cidture there is
a growing tendency to give the architect
free rein in planning" both business and
residence structures. It has come to be un-
derstood that architectural beauty may
126
A HALF CENTURY OF MINNEAPOLIS
have a commercial value and that a building
which conforms to the canons of good taste
need not necessarily be more expensive than
one which offends. Some very admirable
examjjles of good business buihlings have
been erected in Alinneapolis in the past
half-dozen years. Xo attempt to illustrate
this develojiment will be made in this chap-
ter: but some of the notable buildings of
the citv will be found pictured throughout
the pages of other chapters, in appropriate
comiection. Alinneapolis architects have
taken a large part in the aesthetic develop-
ment of the city, working jjrominentlx' in
the art societv, for the guild work and im
the jKirk commission. I.andscape architec-
ture has been given much attention in more
recent years ; many of the best modern res-
idences of the city are particidarly effective
through their admirable settings. At pres-
ent the only architectural i irganization nf
the city is the .Minneapnlis Architectural
Club, formed in itjO/ by the younger men
of the profession. It has rooms at ii6
South Fourth street. A. R. Van Dyck is
president and there are some forty mem-
bers.
The engineering profession is of course
closely affiliated witli llie architectural
group, especially in the specialties of struc-
tural steel and concrete work whicli are now
taking a very prominent place in building.
]t hai)]K'ns that Minneapolis is tiie home of
\ery extensive structural contracting firms
which re(|uire engineering ability of a high
order. .\s one of the great water ])ower
cities of the world .Minneapolis has ein-
])loyed the best hydraulic engineering talent
and resident rei)resentatives of this divis-
ion of the ])rofession are consulted Irom
every part of the continent. In nuinici]ial
construction, l)iiilge building and tlie like,
the best abilities in this department of
engineering are called into ser\-ice. In the
work of the engineer the practical is a])!
to take precedence over the aesthetic, so
that it is worth recording that some of the
])rominent engineering work in .Minneapolis
does nf)t lack in beauty. I he stone arch
bridge which affords rail entrance l(i the
union passenger station is not only a re-
markable engineering achievement but one
of the most beantifid liridges in the West,
The steel arch bridge uniting the east and
west divisions of the city at the foot of
the main thoroughfares is a well designed
and sidjstantial structure: while the Lake
street bridge over the Mississippi river is
noted for its graceful lines.
Education in the engineering profession
has made decided progress while in
architecture little has been done. An at-
tempt was made to establish a course in
architecture at the university but it did
not meet with success. On the other hand
the College of Engineering is one of the
most important in the institution. Its
courses cover civil and mechanical engineer-
ing and all their subdi\-isions of municipal
and sanitary engineering, structural en-
gineering, electrical engineering, railway
and highway engineering, etc. The Min-
neapolis Engineers Club is an active or-
ganization with rooms at 17 South Si.xth
street.
BERTlv.VXD, Gcurge Kiiiile, .if the lirm of
Bertrand & Chamljerlin, architects, was born in
Superior, Wisconsin, on June 22, 1859, the son
of A. G. and Marie (Landry) Bertrand. He re-
ceived a public school education and studied the
profession of architecture in Boston and Min-
neapolis, spending several j'ears in offices of
loading architects. He has been engaged in the
l)ractico of his profession since 1881 and estab-
lislu-d liimsclf permanently in Minneapolis in
1886, and in 1896, with .Artluir B. Chaniberlin.
formed the present I'uni. .\lr. Bertrand is a
director in the State Institution for Savings. In
Iiolitical affiliations he is a republican and he is
a member of the Masonic Order and of the Com-
mercial and Sis O'Clock Clubs. He is also a
member of the Minnesota Chapter .'\merican In-
stitute of .Architects. Some years ago he served
as ,-i member of the INlinncsota Light Infantry,
the lirsi ciimp.iny "f mililia organized in the
-â– -late. Mr. Ilerlrand was nrarricd in .September,
iS,S,S, 1.1 .Mi>s Lillian Stoddard, a native of In-
(li;ina. Tluy liavc two daughters, Claire and
.Marie.
IK )l', I I .\l l'., Clni^liipher .\dam. was born in
.Mnmcapulis, on January 16, 1805. His parents
wore Gottfried J. and liva Bochme. his father
lioing a general contractor and hardware mer-
chant, .Mr. Hoehme was educated in Minneap-
olis, attending the public schools, the high
schools and the University of Minnesota. After
graduation he entered the office of W. B. Dunnell,
a well-known architect of the city where he re-
mained for fourteen years and rising to a position
ART, ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
127
IN MU. T. l;. WAI.KHlrS ART GALLERY.
of responsibility as Mr. Diinnell's assistant. In
1896 he opened an office of his own, beginning
a practice wliicli has grown steadily. Five years
ago he formed a partnership with Mr. Victor
Cordelia under the name of Boehme & Cordelia,
and this association has proven very successful.
The firm has planned some of the best of recent
structures in the Northwest. Mr. Boehme is a
member of several organizations — the North Side
Commercial Club, the Knights of Pythias Lodge,
of the Royal Arcanum and the St. Anthony Turn
Verein society. On May 21, i8gi, he married
Miss Martha Ocschgcr of La Crosse, Wisconsin,
and they have three children, two daughters and
a son.
BRADSTREET, John Scott, coines of the very
best New England — or for that matter. Old Eng-
land — stock, his father's name, Bradford Brad-
street, proclaiming his descent from two men
whose names are among those most honored in
Colonial history — William Bradford the Pilgrim
father who came to America in 1613 and was the
first governor of Plymouth Colony; and Hum-
phrey Bradstreet, who came from Ipswich, Eng-
land, in l6.;4, and was representative in 1635. John
S. Bradstreet, whose mother, the wife of Bradford
Bradstreet, had been Miss Susana Pickard-Scott,
was born at Rowley, Old Ipswich, Massachusetts,
in 1845, and graduated from the Putnam Academy
:it Newburyport. The first years of Mr. Brad-
street's business life were spent with the Gorman
Manufacturing Company, in whose offices, at
Providence, he held a responsible position, until
early in the seventies, he decided to come West,
and selected ^Minneapolis as his place of residence
Here he has lived for thirty years, and in the
course of that time has exercised a most beneficial
influence on the artistic life, not only of the city,
Init of the Northwest. On first coming to Min-
iiesuta. he was associated in business with Edward
C. Clark, but he soon embarked for himself, and
continued alone until he formed a partnership
with Edmund J. Phelps, under the name of Phelps
& Bradstreet. On the dissolution of the partner-
ship, the Thurbers of the Gorham Manufacturing
Company, became interested with him, and the
new firm was known as Bradstreet, Thurbcr &
Co. For the last six years F. H. Waterman has
been associated with him in the extensive and
very successful organization whose headquarters
are in the beautiful Craftshousc, a building, which,
128
A HALF CENTURY OF MINNEAPOLIS
JOHN s. i:i:ai>stuekt.
liDtli in it> exterior and intcrinr is entirely uniiiiie,
resenililini; in its cliaraeter and the inllnencc
uliicli il exerts on the pnhlic, an Art Institute,
rather than a place of business. Mr. Bradstreet
lias traveled widely, having made many visits to
Japan, collecting and studying Japanese art, as
well as having been around the world, and being
familiar with most of the European countries. He
is a member, in addition to most of the local
clubs, of the Asiatic Society of London and the
National Arts Club of New York, and has given
valuable services to the public as member of the
Minneapolis Park Board, having had the honor or
naming the latest acquisition to the park system,
"The Parade," and is also member and vice presi
dent of the Municipal /\rt Commission.
CHAM BERLIN, Arthur Bishop, of the (irm
of Bertrand & Chamberlin, architects, was l)orn
at Solon, Ohio, in 1865, the son of Anson B. and
Martha M. Chamberlin. When he was two years
old the family moved to Milwaukee where the
father entered the employ of the Chicago, Mil-
waukee & St. Paul Railway. Mr. Chambcrlin's
early boyhood was spent at Milwaukee and he
has lived in Minneapolis since 1882, completing
Ills education here and at an early age entering
an architect's office. He has followed the profes-
sion for twenty-three years, joining Mr. Bertrand
in the present firm in tRgS. Mr. Chamberlin is a
republican in political belief and is a member of
the Minneapolis Commercial and the St. Anthony
Commercial Clubs; is a member of the Masonic
Order, Khurum Lodge, Scottish Rite Masons
and Zuhrah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. On
January 18, 1885, was married to Miss Georgia
Wood. They have four children.
COLBURN, Serenus Milo, of the architec-
tural firm of Kees & Colburn, was born at
.Vnsonia, Connecticut, October 12, 1871, the son
of Richard R. and Letitia (Terry) Colburn. He
received a public school education and when
fifteen years of age came west and obtained
employment at Minneapolis as draughtsman in
the office of James C. Plant. He remained
with Mr. Plant for five years and after-
wards filled the position of head draftsman
in several architectural offices. In 1S98 he be-
came associated with Frederick Kees in the
present firm, an association which has been very
successful. Among the buildings which they
have designed are: Donaldson Building, Minne-
apolis Chamber of Commerce; Northwestern Na-
tional Bank; Powers r.uilding; Donaldson's
(rlass Block; Deere & Webber Building, and
buildings of the Advance Thresher Company;
J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company; Great
Northern Iinplement Company; Emerson &
Newton; Bement, Darling & Company, and
tiiany large residences. Mr. Colburn is a mem-
ber of the American Institute of Architects and
of the Commercial and Automobile Clubs. He
was married in Minnesota in 1899 to Miss Har-
riet E. Whitcomb.
CORDELLA, Victor, of the architectural firm
of Boehme & Cordelia, is a native of Austrian
Poland but for many years has now studied and
practiced his profession in Minneapolis. He was
born on January i, 1872, at Krakow, in Austrian
Poland, the son of Marian and Florence Cordelia.
His father was a sculptor who was desirous that
his son should have a good academic and pro-
fessional education. The boy was sent to the
graded schools of Austria, obtained his prepara-
tory education in the high schools and then en-
tered the Royal Art .\cademy at Krakow where
he studied for some tiinr. Later he was a stu-
dent of technology under Professor Michael
Kow.alozuk ;U Lemberg. Coming to the LInited
States and locating in St. Paul he began his
architectural training in the office of Cass Gilbert.
Since that time, about eighteen years ago, he
has been engaged in building an office practice.
Following his connection with Mr. Gilbert he
was associated with several architects of this
city — W. H. Dennis, W. B. Dunnell, and Charles
R. Aldrich. Five years ago lie joined C. A.
Boehme in the present firm of Boehme & Cor-
delia, which handles an extensive line of work in
the local field. Mr. Cordelia was married to
Miss Ruth Maser of Canton, Oltio, on Septem-
ber 15, 1902.
ART, ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
129
FANNING, John Thomas, civil engineer, is
the son of John Howard and Elizabeth (Pridde)
Fanning, His family on both sides is of old
New England slock, as he is a descendant cil
Edmund Gilbert b'anning, the first of the name
in America, who came from Ireland in 1652 and
settled near New London, Connecticut; and of
Lieutenant Thomas Tracy who settled in Con-
necticut in 1636. Capt. John Fanning, the sixth
in line from Edmund and the grandfather of
John Thomas, was a veteran of the Revolution-
ary war. Mr. Fanning was born at Norwich,
Connecticut, on December 31, 1837. He com-
menced his education in the public and normal
schools of Norwich and hiter studied architec-
ture and engineering. At the outbreak of the
Civil war in 1861 he enlisted in the Third regi-
ment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry and served
the full term of the regiment. After the close
of the war he was commissioned a lieutenant-
colonel in the Connecticut National Guard, for-
merly having held a lieutenancy. He opened
an office in Norwich, and from that time till
he came to Minneapolis was engaged in the
Iilanning of public and private buildings, mills,
bridges and water supply systems throughout
the New England States. In 1872 he moved his
office to Manchester, New Hampshire, to super-
vise the installation of the public water supply.
He also designed several of the principal build-
ings of that city and while he resided there was
a member of the board of education and chair-
man of the high school committee. He was
employed to report on an additional water sup-
ply for New York, Brooklyn and other cities
of the Hudson valley, and in numerous instances
has been retained as an expert witness in water
and drainage cases. About 1885 he received a
commission to report on improvements in the
system of the St. Anthony Falls Water Power
Company and one year later moved his office to
^Minneapolis. From this point he has supervised
many large engineering operations in the west.
He was appointed engineer and agent of the St.
Anthony Falls Water Power Company in 1886;
and later was the engineer of the Great Falls,
Montana, and Helena, Montana, water powers
on the Missouri river, and of the Spokane water
power on the Spokane river. Col. Fanning also
devised a plan for draining 3,000 square miles of
the famous Red River Valley wheat land and at
different times has been consulting engineer oi
the Great Northern, the St. Paul, Minneapolis
and Manitoba, and Minneapolis Union Rail-
ways. He has been a patentee of several in-
ventions connected with liis profession — a slow
burning building construction, a steam-pumping
engine, steam boilers, water valves, and turbine
wdieels. In 1873 he invented and constructed the
first wood-stave pipes such as are now extensive-
ly used in public water supply and sewerage
works. Mr. Fanning's energies have not, how-
ever, been directed entirely to the practical side
of his work. He has been an occasional lecturer
at the University of Minnesota and before tech-
nical societies; and has written numerous papers
on technical subjects. Fle is the author of "A
Treatise on Hydraulic and Water Supply En-
gineering," wdiich reached the sixteenth edition
in igo6. He is a member of a number of the
professional organizations of the country; an
ex-director of the American Society of Civil
Engineers; an ex-president of the American Wa-
ter Works Association; a Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science;
honorary member of the New England Water
Works Association; and a member of the En-
gineers Club of this city, the Franklin Institute
and several other scientific societies. Politically
he is a republican. On June 14, 1865, he was
married at Norwich, Connecticut, to Miss Maria
Louise Benslcy and they have a son and two
daughters, Rennie Benslcy, Jennie Louise, wife
of Thomas A. Jamison, and Clara Elizabeth,
and was for many years a well known business
JOHN T. r.\NNIN(3.
(jILM.\N, James 1'... chief engineer of the
Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Coinpatiy, is the
son of one of Minnesota's pioneer settlers, and
was born and cdiic.-ilcd in this .state. His father,
130
A HALF CENTURY OF MINNEAPOLIS
James B. Gilman, was a native of New York,
man in his section of tlic state. He resided, prior
to his removal to .Minnesota, at Danville and was
engaged in the fonndry business. in the year
1848 he disposed of his interests in New York
and moved to Minnesota, locating in Dakota
county, remaining in the state until the out break
of the Civil war, when he enlisted with the
famous First Minnesota, and served with that
regiment for three years. Following his muster-
ing out of service, Mr. Gilman, Sr., returned to
Dakota county and was living there at the time
of his son's birth on January 28, 1872.- The
mother of Mr. Oilman, Jr.. was Laura C. (Foster)
Gilman, who was born in Massachusetts and had
moved to Minnesota with her family in the early
pioneer days. Mr. Gilman spent the early years
of his life at the place of his birth and received
his elementary education in the schools of Da-
kota county. In 1880 he came to Minneapolis
and entered the public schools, after which he
attended the University of Minnesota, taking up
the engineering course. He completed his studies
in 1894 and graduated with the class of that year,
taking a civil engineering degree. In addition to
ranking high in his technical studies, Mr. Gilman
was especially well prepared along practical lines
to begin work in the engineering field, by ex-
perience with surveying parties with which he
had worked for parts of two years before his
J.\.\li:S B. (ilLM.\N.
graduation on the survey of the Minneapolis, St.
Paul & Sault Stc. Marie railroad. The Soo was
at that time doing construction work on the right
of way between this city and Portal, North Da-
kota, and Mr. Gilman obtained not only valuable
practice in engineering, but also had an oppor-
tunity to acquaint himself with the greatest grain
producing region in the country. Shortly after
his graduation in 1894, Mr. Gilman accepted a
position as engineer with the Gillette-Herzog
Manufacturing Company, which was afterwards
merged in the .\merican Bridge Company, one
of the largest manufacturers of steel construc-
tion work in the world. Mr. Gilman was ad-
vanced to the office of engineer of the Alinneap-
olis plant and continued in that position until
February, 1907. He then resigned to accept
the post he now occupies as chief engineer of the
Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company, one of
the largest business enterprises of the Northwest
and one of the most extensive structural steel and
machinery plants in the country, ^tr. Gilman's
work covers a large held, as the firm does in all
sections of the country, a general construction
business which gives him unlimited scope for the
application of his technical knowledge and prac-
tical experience of the engineering science. He
is a member of the Minneapolis Engineers Club,
of which he is past president, also a member of
the St. Anthony Commercial Club. Mr. Gilman.
although well known among his business and
social associates, has never been active in po-
litical affairs, as an oflice holder. As a private
citizen, however, he is a republican and supports
the principles of that party. On June 14, 1899,
.\Ir. Gilman was married to Miss Alice A. Hay-
ward and they have one daughter — Dorotliy Gil-
man.
GILES, Robert Tait, a foremost artist in the
ilesigning of stained .ind leaded glass, is a nat-
ive of England, born at (ialeshead on Tyne. May
I. 1872. His father, Peter Giles, was, at the lime
of his son's birth, a building contractor of Gates-
head. Rnbert Tait iiasscd his early life in that
lovvn and when still a boy began his artistic
education, lie al tended the art school located in
his home Iciwii, ilie Gateshead School of Art,
and graduated from that institution, later taking
a course in the Rutherford Scliocd i.f .\rt at
Newcastle on Tyne, where he cinnpleted his
studies when about fourteen years of age. .\
nalur.al talent for the work developed rapidly
under c.ipable instruction, and at the I'lnish of
his work in Imili schools was awarded certificates
of e.NCellrncr, :nid won a scholarship at the South
Kensington School of .\rt. in London. After
leaving school he was for two years engaged in
archilictmal drawing, and then turned his atten-
tion to stained and leaded glass. He served an
.ili|.renticeship for seven years in the. various de-
l.artments of that handicraft; designing, drafting
and iiainting— during this time being under the
direction of W. IT. Drummond, T. R. Spence and
M. H. Marsh, the latter being a member of the
ART, ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
131
uoBKUT T. i;ii.i:s.
Royal Academy. Having mastered this art. Mr.
Giles left England to come to the United States,
and located at Chicago, remaining there for
about four years. During that period he was
associated with the principal firms of Chicago
as artist, but nine years ago he resigned the
position he was holding at the time and came
to Minneapolis. In 1903 he established the firm
of R. T. Giles & Company, and conducted a
stained and leaded glass business in all its
branches. Mr. Giles was the proprietor of the
concern and under his direction the company
was a success, both from a material standpoint
and in building up a reputation for the excellence'
of its work. In fact the business reached sue!
proportions and so many large commissions were
received that larger facilities were needed and
on October 15, 1907, Mr. Giles consolidated with
the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company of Min-
neapolis, and became director of the art depart-
ment of the company. Mr. Giles during the
time of his residence here has been interested
in a number of the movements connected with the
advancement of the arts and handicrafts, and is
a member of the IMinneapolis Society of Fine
Arts, holding also the position of instructor of
stained and leaded glass in that organization.
He is in addition a member of the Empire Club
of St. Paul, and the Church Club of Minnesota.
Mr. Giles w-as married on February 2, 1903, to
Miss Belle Wheeler and they have two children,
Isabel Wheeler and Robert Eldon. Mrs. Giles
is. as well as her husband, a local artist of con-
siderable importance. The family attends Geth-
semane Church.
HEWITT, Edwin Hawley, architect, prac-
ticing in Minneapolis, was born at Red Wing
.Minnesota, on March 26, 1874. He is the son of