Login
Login

Mifflin E. Bell

{{Short description|American architect}}

File:Lee County Courthouse in 1900.jpg]]

{{Infobox architect

|name=Mifflin Emlen Bell

|image=

|birth_date={{Birth date|mf=yes|1847|10|20}}

|birth_place= East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

|death_date={{death date and age|mf=yes|1904|5|31|1847|10|20}}

|death_place= Chicago, Illinois

|significant_buildings= Several US Post Offices, Courthouses, and Customhouses

|significant_projects=

|awards=

}}

Mifflin Emlen Bell (October 20, 1847

{{cite book

|url= https://archive.org/details/historyearlyset00illigoog

|page= [https://archive.org/details/historyearlyset00illigoog/page/n754 740]

|access-date= 2011-12-19

|title= History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois

|author1= John Carroll Power

|author2= Sarah A. Power

|author3= Old Settlers' Society of Sangamon County (Ill.)

|publisher= Edwin A. Wilson & Co.

|year= 1876

}} – May 31, 1904{{cite web|title=Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N72S-N5W|publisher=FamilySearch|access-date=20 September 2013}}), often known as M.E. Bell, was an American architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department. Bell delegated design responsibilities to staff members, which resulted in a large variety of building styles, including Second Empire, Châteauesque, Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque.{{cite web|url=http://www.dnr.missouri.gov/shpo/nps-nr/80002377.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717081554/http://www.dnr.missouri.gov/shpo/nps-nr/80002377.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-17 }} HCRS nomination form

Life and career

Bell was born on a farm in East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania to Chalhly Bell & Mary Emlen.{{cite web|title=United States Census, 1850|website=FamilySearch|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4HM-7CH|access-date=20 September 2013}} He married Addie Vanhoff on June 7, 1871, and by 1876 he was living in Springfield, Illinois with his wife and two children, working as Assistant Superintendent of the statehouse. Bell's tenure as Supervising Architect for the US Treasury began on November 1, 1883, with an annual salary of $4,500 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|4500|1883|r=0}}}} today).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLAoAAAAYAAJ&q=mifflin%20bell%20treasury&pg=PA151 |title=American Almanac and Treasury of Facts, Statistical, Financial, and Political |year=1887 |access-date=2016-05-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921072009/http://books.google.com/books?id=uLAoAAAAYAAJ&dq=mifflin%20bell%20treasury&pg=PA151 |archive-date=2013-09-21 }} American almanac and treasury of facts, 1887 He was member of the Joint Commission to Complete the Washington Monument, and his name is engraved on the north face of the monument's capstone. Bell submitted his resignation from the position by mid-1887 and moved to Chicago. In Chicago, Bell was appointed as superintendent of repairs for the city's federal buildings, and was in charge of federal buildings at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjDZz87NF8AC |title=Architects to the Nation: The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office |isbn=9780195351866 |access-date=2016-05-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704172514/http://books.google.com/books?id=hjDZz87NF8AC |archive-date=2014-07-04 |last1=Lee |first1=Antoinette J. |date=20 April 2000 }} Architects to the nation By Antoinette Josephine Lee He died in Chicago of pneumonia in 1904.{{cite news|title=M.E. Bell, Architect, Dead. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/824172/me_bell_architect_dead/? |access-date=6 August 2014 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=2 June 1904 |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811130453/http://www.newspapers.com/clip/824172/me_bell_architect_dead/ |archive-date=11 August 2014 }} {{Open access}}

Many of his works survive and a number of these are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

Works

  • 1884 — U.S. Custom House and Post Office, Albany, New York [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=4D8E6CA3BBC5F9A68525718B0069FFBD]
  • 1885 — U.S. Custom House, Court House, and Post Office, Memphis, Tennessee [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=07F4A41F36D085F88525718B00732B14]
  • 1885-89 Federal Building, N. Fitzhugh and Church Sts. Rochester, New York. Architects Harvey and Charles Ellis are credited with the design; M.E. Bell was supervising architect during its 1885-9 construction.{{cite journal|title=The American Architect and Building News |date=18 September 1886 |volume=XX |issue=560 |pages=134 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanarchitec20newyuoft |access-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205155805/https://archive.org/details/americanarchitec20newyuoft |archive-date=5 February 2015 }} NRHP-listed.
  • 1886-87 — U.S. Post Office, Lexington Kentuckyhttps://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/78b6fe6a-cb96-43fd-88e9-29fbd72a4627 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}
  • 1887 — U.S. Post Office and Court House, Quincy, Illinois [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=B846587833F5905E8525718B005BB00E]
  • 1887 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Frankfort, Kentucky [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=C85841BC479961F38525718B005E2EB0]
  • 1887 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Greensboro, North Carolina [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=346FBFD44A7972A58525718B006B94D6]
  • 1888 — U.S. Post Office, Hannibal, Missouri
  • 1888 — U.S. Custom House and Post Office, Toledo, Ohio [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=6CBC4C55B51018C28525718B0070806E]
  • 1888 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Council Bluffs, Iowa [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=6F25E8DDC21B482D8525718B005D17DA]
  • 1888 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Dallas, Texas [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=1E3970B0BCEDD3CA8525718C00496E77]
  • 1888 — United States Post Office and Court House, Aberdeen, Mississippi [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=0709D9F150EB0A798525718B006745F6]
  • 1889 — U.S. Post Office and Court House, Peoria, Illinois [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=D9F7053720C3E3428525718B005BA537]
  • 1889 — U.S. Post Office, Minneapolis, Minnesota [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=1AE1B4A654F0D3D78525718B00671D24]
  • 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Jefferson City, Missouri [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=D064E76EA18AC3B68525718B0067CCFD]
  • 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Tyler, Texas [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=D51F493A1ACBE9C98525718C004A00F6]
  • 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Syracuse, New York [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=E7227C022022DE578525718B006A7F85]
  • 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Macon, Georgia [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=73394B4BC52977D58525718B005A4313]
  • 1890 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Augusta, Maine, NRHP-listed{{cite web|author1=Maine Historic Preservation Commission|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form|url={{NRHP url|id=74000172}}|website=NPS.gov|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=8 February 2015|format=PDF|date=11 January 1974}}
  • 1890 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Keokuk, Iowa, NRHP-listed [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=DB4B333FA986311F8525718B005D5B3C]
  • 1890 — U.S. Post Office and Court House, Auburn, New York [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=EAEC1DE6374B34D18525718B006A0B4B]
  • 1890 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Fort Scott, Kansas [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=951837C7306201018525718B005DB639]
  • 1888-1891 — U.S. Court House and Post Office (Carson City), Carson City, Nevada, [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=C557C40D8D70F1678525718B0068F93E], Richardsonian Romanesque, NRHP-listed.{{NRHP url|id=79003440|title=NRHP nom}} with {{NRHP url|id=79003440|title=accompanying photos|photos=y}}
  • 1892 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Denver, Colorado [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=9574402A6E0FFDF28525718B0055BA41]
  • 1892 — U.S. Post Office, Brooklyn, New York [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=4CB5DB7A6DAF4F338525718B006A1B2E]
  • 1893 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Louisville, Kentucky [http://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf/getcourthouse?OpenAgent&chid=2EE7B31F4885DC818525718B005E4AAC]
  • 1895 — Monroe County Courthouse, Sparta, Wisconsin, NRHP-listed{{cite web|title=Monroe County Courthouse | date=January 2012 |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N:4294963828-4294963813&dsRecordDetails=R:HI26976 |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=2015-02-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216075143/http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N%3A4294963828-4294963813&dsRecordDetails=R%3AHI26976 |archive-date=2015-02-16 }}
  • 1896 — DuPage County Courthouse, Wheaton, Illinois
  • 1896 — Marion County Courthouse, Main St. Knoxville, Iowa, NRHP-listed
  • Mercer County Courthouse, SE 3rd St. (IL 17) Aledo, Illinois, NRHP-listed
  • U.S. Post Office, 202 S. 8th St. Nebraska City, Nebraska, NRHP-listed
  • US Customs House and Post Office, 223 Palafox Pl. Pensacola, Florida, NRHP-listed
  • U.S. Post Office – Port Townsend Main, 1322 Washington Port Townsend, Washington, NRHP-listed
  • U.S. Court House and Post Office, Clarksburg, West Virginia
  • U.S. Court House and Post Office, Marquette, Michigan
  • U.S. Post Office, Terre Haute, Indiana
  • U.S. Court House and Post Office, New Albany, Indiana
  • 1897 - Nichols Library, Naperville, Illinois{{Cite web |url=http://napersettlement.org/documentcenter/view/333 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-07-12 |archive-date=2018-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210120957/http://napersettlement.org/documentcenter/view/333 |url-status=dead }}

Gallery of designs

Image:Brooklyn Post Office 0321071421a.jpg|U.S. Post Office, Brooklyn, New York. One of the finest examples of Richardsonian Romanesque

Image:US Post Office & Court House, Quincy, Illinois.jpg|U.S. Post Office, Quincy, Illinois, in the Châteauesque style

Image:Lee County Courthouse in 1900.jpg|U.S. Court House and Post Office, Keokuk, Iowa, now the Lee County Courthouse, in the Queen Anne style

Image:MO-Hannibal 1888 1 Ref.jpg|U.S. Post Office, Hannibal, Missouri, a late Second Empire style

File:Federal Courthouse Auburn NY May 09.jpg|U.S. Post Office, Former, and Federal Courthouse, Auburn, New York, a late Richardsonian Romanesque style

File:Marion County, Iowa Courthouse.jpg|Marion County, Iowa Courthouse; Knoxville, Iowa Richardsonian Romanesque Marion County Courthouse

File:Paul Laxalt State Building.jpg|Paul Laxalt State Building - formerly the U.S. Court House & Carson City Post Office, now home to the Nevada Commission on Tourism in Carson City, Nevada

File:Old Post Office Augusta Maine 2013.jpg|U.S. Court House and Post Office in Augusta, Maine photographed in 2013.

References

External links

  • [https://archive.org/stream/historyofsangamo01inte#page/640/mode/2up 1881 bio]
  • [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50A14FF3B5F15738DDDA80B94D8415B8384F0D3 1883 NYT article]
  • {{find a Grave|129903160}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box |

before= James G. Hill |

title= Office of the Supervising Architect |

years= 1883–1886 |

after= William A. Freret

}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Mifflin E.}}

Category:1847 births

Category:1904 deaths

Category:19th-century American architects

Category:People from Chester County, Pennsylvania

Category:Architects from Pennsylvania

Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois