Alfred Samuel Alschuler (November 2, 1876 – June 11, 1940) was a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

architect. "Alfred S. Alschuler" (history), archINFORM, 2006-10-12, ''Eng.archINFORM.net'' webpage:
archINFORM-ASA

Biography

Alschuler was born in Chicago to Samuel and Fannie (Guggenheimer) Alschuler. He was educated in the public school system. He graduated with a Master in Science from the

Armour Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour ...

in 1899 and spent a year studying architecture at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. In 1900, he began his career as a draftsman for famed architect

Dankmar Adler Dankmar Adler (July 3, 1844 – April 16, 1900) was a German-born American architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his fifteen-year partnership with Louis Sullivan, during which they designed influential skyscrapers that boldly addr ...

. Alschuler studied under Adler for five years before joining the firm of Samuel Treat for two years. Alschuler opened his own office in 1907. Also in 1907, he married Rose Haas; they had five children. His designs included warehouses, department stores, industrial buildings,

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s, and offices. Alschuler's legacy lives on in the form of historically significant buildings such as the London Guaranty & Accident Building (1922–23) at the intersection of N. Michigan Avenue and

Wacker Drive Wacker Drive is a major multilevel street in Chicago, Illinois, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River in the Loop.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Wacke ...

. The

Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is an American derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board ...

Building (1927), another of Alschuler's acclaimed commercial buildings, suffered a less fortunate fate; The Merc was demolished in 2003, despite a spirited set of protests organized by local preservation groups. The silver lining of The Merc's demolition was the creation of a new Chicago law which provides the Landmarks Commission a 90-day period to review and potentially save historically significant buildings. Other significant industrial and commercial works by Alschuler include the Bull Dog and Whistle Restaurant,

Brach's Brach's () is a candy and sweets brand of Ferrara Candy Company. History In 1904, Emil J. Brach invested his $1,000 life savings in a storefront candy store located at the corner of North Avenue and Towne Street in Chicago, Illinois. He named ...

Candy Factory, the Florsheim Shoe Factory, the Garment Center Building, and the Benson-Rixon Department Store. Alschuler was also an accomplished designer of Jewish synagogues in the Chicago area, including the current

K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple KAM Isaiah Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 1100 East Hyde Park Boulevard in the historic Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago, with its ...

, Agudath Achim Bikur Cholim Synagogue, B'nai Sholom,

Anshe Emet Synagogue Anshe Emet Synagogue is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3751 North Broadway, in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Established in 1873, it is one of the oldest congregations in C ...

, Am Shalom in Glencoe, and Am Echod in Waukegan. 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 ...

, Alfred S. Alschuler died on June 11, 1940, near age 64, in Chicago. His son John also trained as an architect, as did Alfred S. Alschuler Jr.. Several of Alschuler's works are listed on the U.S.

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 ...

. One of which was the

KAM Isaiah Israel KAM Isaiah Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 1100 East Hyde Park Boulevard in the historic Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago, with its ...

Synagogue

Notable works

The following is a partial list of known works by Alfred S. Alschuler: *Maurice L. Rothschild Building (now part of

John Marshall Law School (Chicago) The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (UIC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Chicago, a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1899, it became affiliated with the university ...

), 300-306 S. State St. (built in three phases, 1906, 1910 and 1928) *

, 3760 N. Pine Grove Avenue, Chicago (1910) *Shops Building, 21 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago (1912) *John R. Thompson Building, 350 N. Clark St., Chicago (1912) *Chicago Sinai Temple (now Mt. Pisgah M.B. Church), 4622 S. Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago (1912) *Donohue Building Annex, 727 S. Dearborn St., Chicago (1913) *Thomas Flyer Garage and Service Building, 2255 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago (1916 addition) * Goldblatt Bros. Department Store, aka Larkin Store Building, 4700 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, Illinois (1914) NRHP listed * John Sexton & Co. aka Sexton Foods Building, Illinois & Orleans Chicago, Illinois (1916/1928) *Pelouze Building, 230 E. Ohio St., Chicago (1917) * Henry E. Legler Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 115 S. Pulaski Rd., Chicago, Illinois (1919) NRHP listed *Torco Building (upper 7 floors only), 624 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago (1922) *Atwell Building (then Atwell Printing & Binding Company &

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

; 1950s, Pentron Corporation &

Revere Camera Company The Revere Camera Company was started in 1920 by Samuel Briskin, who also started Wollensak Recorders and Opticals. History The Revere Camera Company was founded in the early 1920s in Chicago, Illinois, as the ''Excel Auto Radiator Company'' by ...

; 1960s, 3M; 2001-present, Prairie Avenue Lofts), 221 E Cullerton St., Chicago (1922) * London Guaranty & Accident Building, Chicago (1923) *Hartman Building, 30 E. Adams St., Chicago (1933) *Furniture Exhibition Building, aka American Furniture Mart, 680 N. Lake Shore Dr. (eastern wing, 1923; western wing and tower, 1926) *

, 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago (1924) *Century Building, 808 N. Old World Third St, 230 W. Wells St, Milwaukee (1925) *33 East Congress Building, aka Congress-Wabash Building, Chicago (1925–26) *Michigan and Lake Building, 180 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago (1926) *Florsheim Shoe Company Factory, 3963 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago (1926) *Hart, Schaffner and Marx Building, 728 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago (1926) *Igoe Building, 600 W. Van Buren St., Chicago (1926? addition built 1928 at 328 S. Jefferson St.) *

Building, Chicago (1927) *Hudson Motor Co. Building, 2228 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago (1928) *Marmon-Chicago Showroom, 2230 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago (1928) *Finchley Co. Men's Store Building, aka O'Malley Place, 23 E. Jackson Blvd. (1928) * Harrison Hotel and Garage, 601 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago (1930) *

Benson & Rixon Building The Benson & Rixon Building is a Streamline Moderne building in Chicago's Loop. It was designed by Alfred S. Alschuler, and was built in 1937.230 South State Street, Chicago, IL
,

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

. Retrieved January 15, 2020. *Henry W. Austin Branch, Chicago Public Library, 5615 W. Race Ave., Chicago *Lerman Building, 3045 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago *

Richard Churchill House The Richard Churchill House is a historic house at 1214 Green Bay Road in Highland Park, Illinois. The house was built in 1908 for the Churchill family, which used the last name Kirschberger at the time but later changed it due to anti-German s ...

, 1214 Green Bay Rd., Highland Park, Illinois, NRHP-listed *Park View Manor Apartments, 6834 S. South Shore Dr., Chicago

Notes

References

Alfred S. Alschuler
profile from Columbia College, Chicago.

External links

*, list of Chicago buildings designed by Alschuler.
Images of Alschuler buildings
University of Minnesota digital library. (search on "Alschuler") {{DEFAULTSORT:Alschuler, Alfred S. 1876 births 1940 deaths Architects from Illinois 20th-century American architects School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Jews from Illinois