Louis Weissbein (1831–1913) was a German-born American architect practicing in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Life and career

Louis Weissbein was born July 19, 1831, to Michael A. Weissbein and Johanna (Basch) Weissbein in Krotoschin, then under the control of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

but historically and presently a part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He was educated in a local school and studied with a government architect, followed by two years at the

Bauakademie The Bauakademie (Building Academy, also known as the ''Schinkelsche Bauakademie'') in Berlin, Germany, was a higher education institution for the art of building to train master builders. Founded on 18 March 1799 by King Frederick William II ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1854 he immigrated to the United States, settling in Boston.
Who's Who in New England
', ed. Albert Nelson Marquis (Chicago: A. N. Marquis & Company, 1909): 985. For four years he worked as a draftsman for various architects, including Richard Bond and Nathaniel J. Bradlee. In 1858 he established his own office in Boston. He was a sole practitioner until 1883, when he formed a partnership with William Hatch Jones, who had joined Weissbein as a draftsman . The firm of Weissbein & Jones was active until Jones' death in 1903. Weissbein then returned to private practice, retiring shortly before his death. Weissbein was a Republican. During his term as

Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...

Hugh O'Brien Hugh O'Brien (July 13, 1827 – August 1, 1895) served as the mayor of Boston from 1884 to 1888. O'Brien is notable as Boston's first Irish and Catholic mayor, having emigrated from Ireland to America in the early 1830s. O'Brien was the edito ...

proposed to appoint him City Architect of Boston, though he declined. In 1891 he was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of Prisons by Governor William E. Russell, and he resigned in 1894. Weissbein was a member of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

from 1870 until 1895, and became a Fellow in 1889.

Personal life

Weissbein was Jewish, and may have been the first Jewish architect to practice in Boston. He was one of the best-known German residents of Boston, and was a leader in local German society and philanthropy. For fifty years he was a member of the Orpheus Musical Society, a German singing society, and was president for 22 years. Weissbein never married. He died December 10, 1913, in Boston."Noted as Architect" in ''Boston Daily Globe'', December 15, 1906, 13. At his death he bequeathed four thousand dollars to the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

to support scholarships for Jewish students.

Legacy

Weissbein's major works include the original buildings of

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and Temple Israel, the latter of which is the oldest synagogue building in Massachusetts. He also designed a concentration of large buildings, including the courthouse, in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

, one of which has been listed on the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Many of his other works contribute to listed historic districts. Weissbein established the ''Louis Weissbeing Scholarship Fund (1915)'' at the

"to found a scholarship to be awarded each year to a promising student, preference to be given a Jewish boy in making the award."

Architectural works

(former), 761 Harrison Ave,

(1858–60)Keith N. Morgan, ''Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston'' (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009) * Washington Building, 387 Washington St,

(1859, demolished) * Public Library of Brookline, 361 Washington St,

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

(1866–69, demolished) * House for

Louis Prang Louis Prang (March 12, 1824June 15, 1909) was an American printer, lithographer, publisher, and Georgist. He is sometimes known as the "father of the American Christmas card". Youth Prang was born in Wrocław, Breslau in Prussian Silesia. ...

, 29 Centre St,

Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for neighborhood services coordination. The city states that Roxbury serv ...

(1867)
Illustrated Boston
' (New York: American Publishing and Engraving Company, 1889): 115.Historic Area Detail: BOS.RC
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. * L. Prang & Company factory, 1 Gardner St,

(1867 et seq) * Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building, 5 North St,

(1868, altered 1911, NRHP 1986) * Berkshire County Courthouse, 76 East St,

(1869–71, altered 1908) * Berkshire County House of Correction, 264 2nd St,

(1869–71) * Fire Station No. 1, 140 Washington St,

(1870–71, demolished 1907) * Academy of Music, 160-196 North St,

(1872, burned 1912) * Four houses for George Wheatland Jr., 225, 227, 229 and 231 Marlborough St,

(1873–74) * Dudley School,

(1874, demolished) * Hotel Comfort, 10 Williams St,

(1877–78) * House for Henry Schreiber, 175 Poplar St,

Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan. It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orang ...

(1879) * Morse Block, 58-72 South St,

(1880–83, demolished)Charles S. Damrell, ''A Half Century of Boston's Building'' (Boston: Louis P. Hager, 1895) * House for J. Avery Richards, 103 Newbury St,

(1881, altered) * Blake and Osborne Building, 118 South St,

(1883) * House for

Leopold Morse Leopold Morse (August 15, 1831 – December 15, 1892) was a United States representative from Massachusetts. Biography Morse was born in Wachenheim, Bavaria, in the German Confederation, the son of Charlotte (Mehlinger) and Jacob Morse. H ...

(1884–85, altered 1929) * Hecht Building, 207-209 Federal St,

(1885–86, burned 1893) * Hotel Dunbar, 2401 Washington St,

(1885–86, burned 1982) * Temple Israel (former), 600 Columbus Ave,

(1885)David Kaufman, "Temples in the American Athens: A History of the Synagogues of Boston" in ''The Jews of Boston'', ed. Jonathan D. Sarna and Ellen Smith (Boston: Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, 1995): 165-207. * Soldiers' Home addition,

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

(1889–90, demolished) * Waterman Block, 2328 Washington St,

(1890) * Elysium Club, 218 Huntington Ave,

(1891, demolished) * Hecht Building, 207-221 Federal St,

(1893, demolished) * W. L. Lockhart & Company factory, 120 1st St,

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

(1902, demolished)"Real Estate and Building" in ''Cambridge Chronicle'', August 23, 1902, 1.

Gallery of architectural works

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weissbein, Louis 1831 births 1913 deaths Architects from Boston German emigrants to the United States Fellows of the American Institute of Architects