Joseph L. Silsbee
| Joseph Lyman Silsbee | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1848 Salem, Massachusetts |
| Died | 1913 Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Harvard Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Baldwin Sedgwick |
| Awards | Peabody Medal (1894) |
| Buildings | |
| Projects | Amos Block |
Joseph Lyman Silsbee (1848–1913) was a significant American architect during the 19th and 20th centuries. He was well known for his facility of drawing and gift for designing buildings in a variety of styles. His most prominent works ran through Syracuse, Buffalo and Chicago He was influential as mentor to a generation of architects, most notably architects of the Prairie School including the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Joseph Lyman Silsbee was born in 1848 at Salem, Massachusetts. Silsbee graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1865 and Harvard in 1869. He then became an early student of the first school of architecture in the United States, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
After graduating from Harvard and MIT, he served an apprenticeship with Boston architects Ware & Van Brundt and William Ralph Emerson, respectively. Silsbee traveled around Europe before moving to Syracuse, New York in 1874. In 1875, he married Anna Baldwin Sedgwick, daughter of influential lawyer and politician Charles Baldwin Sedgwick. He had a prolific practice and at one point had three simultaneously operating offices. He had offices in Syracuse (1875–1885), Buffalo (Silsbee & Marling, 1882–1887), and Chicago (Silsbee and Kent, 1883–1884). From 1883–1885, his Syracuse office was a partnership with architect Ellis G. Hall. Silsbee's Chicago office had a number of architects who were later to become known in their own right, including:
Silsbee was one of the first professors of architecture at Syracuse University, another one of the earliest schools of architecture in the nation. He was a founding member of the Chicago and Illinois Chapters of the American Institute of Architects. In 1894, Silsbee was awarded the Peabody Medal by the Franklin Institute for his design for a Moving Sidewalk. This invention had its debut at the Worlds Columbian Exposition and saw usage in subsequent Worlds Fairs.
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