J. William Schickel

J. William Schickel
Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue, New York, New York
Born	January 29, 1850 Wiesbaden, Hochbein, Germany
Died	1907
Nationality	USA, German
Known for	Architect

J. William Schickel, FAIA, (1850–1907) known professionally as William Schickel, was a German-American architect and founder of the New York architectural firm of Schickel & Ditmars.

Schickel was born January 29, 1850 in Wiesbaden, Hochbein, Germany. He was a student of Wilhelm Bozler. In 1870, at the age of twenty, he emigrated to the United States, passing through Castle Garden in New York City, and the next day started his New York architectural career in the offices of the renowned Richard Morris Hunt. He became a member and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1894. In 1885 he formed William Schickel & Company in association with Isaac E. Ditmars (1850–1934) and Hugo Kafka (1843–1913). He died June 14, 1907 in New York City. Following his death, Ditmars continued the firm.

The John Crimmins House at 40 East 68th Street was the German-born Schickel's first commission in New York.

Schickel was hired in 1879 to design and build a replacement for the original 1867 chapel of the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (New York City). The church was known as the "Gothic Barn" and was demolished in 1914. Along with this commission came one to build a priory that would serve as the provincial headquarters for the Dominicans in New York. The priory's intricate use of materials and its overall polychromy, characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style popular in the late 19th century, reflect Schickel's training in Bavaria and the strong influence there of Friedrich von Gärtner. It was the first of many buildings Schickel would design for the New York diocese. The priory still stands.