Anton Werner Lignell (November 7, 1867 – February 9, 1954) was a Finnish architect known for designing buildings in Butte, Montana; Duluth, Minnesota; and two courthouses in Minnesota. His style tended towards Beaux-Arts as well as

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

and

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Biography

Lignell was born in to skipper Pehr Anton Lignell and Ingeborg Ahlstedt in

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, in 1867. In his 20s, he emigrated to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

. He was a member of White and Lignell (later German and Lignell) – with architect William Pole White in Butte – from 1897 to 1902. They designed St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, the Hirbour Building (Anaconda Copper Mining Company Employees Club), McKinley School, Thornton Hotel, and other buildings. He also designed over 60 homes in the city. In 1902, he started his own practice, and the following year married Eva Sarah Strasburger (1871–1943). They moved to

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, where he formed a partnership with Canadian architect Frederick German. Together the two would design a number of residences in Duluth's East End mansion district as well as important buildings in the city, including the YMCA building, the YWCA building, the

Duluth Curling Club The Duluth Curling Club (DCC) is a curling club located in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. DCC is the curling club with the second largest membership in the United States. History The Duluth Curling Club was organized in 1891. The original bui ...

building, and Glen Avon Presbyterian Church. They were described by ''The Labor World'' newspaper in 1905 as having "designed and superintended the erection of several of the largest and most important buildings in this city and surrounding cities". Homes Lignell designed in Duluth include a large Flemish-style house at 202 North 24th Avenue East for Swedish immigrants Gust and Hanna Carlson and the

Craftsman-style American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its i ...

William and Margrette Cole residence at 2204 East 1st Street. In 1906, Lignell and German were hired to draw the plans for the school, Villa Sancta Scholastica Academy, and the

motherhouse A motherhouse or mother house is the principal house or community for a Catholic religious community.YourDictionaryMotherhouse/ref> One example is the Missionaries of Charity's motherhouse in Kolkata, which functions as the congregation's headquart ...

at the College of St. Scholastica. Mother Scholastica Kerst disapproved of the plans due to potential defects in the building's design, and the two architects were fired from the project in 1908; it was taken over by

Franklin Ellerbe Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historica ...

. Lignell partnered with

Clyde Wetmore Kelly Clyde may refer to: People and fictional characters * Clyde (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Clyde (surname), including a list of people * Walt Frazier (born 1945), American basketball player nicknamed "Clyde" * Colin Cam ...

beginning in 1909, designing the Cook County Courthouse in

Grand Marais, Minnesota Grand Marais ( ) is a city and the county seat of Cook County, Minnesota, Cook County, Minnesota, United States, of which it is the only municipality. It is on Lake Superior's North Shore. Grand Marais had a population of 1,337 at the 2020 Unit ...

. Together with Robert Loebeck, he designed the

Roseau County Courthouse The Old Roseau County Courthouse is a former government building in Roseau, Minnesota, United States. It served as the seat of government for Roseau County from 1913 to 1996. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

in Roseau, Minnesota, in 1913. Both courthouses are listed on the

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 ...

. Architect Thomas J. Shefchik, designer of the Duluth City Hall, started his architectural career as a draftsman for Lignell and Kelly. Lignell worked as an architect until the late 1930s and later started the Duluth Steam Bath Company. He spent the last years of his life in

Oahu, Hawaii Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northw ...

, where he died in 1954. At the time of his death, he had four surviving children: Mrs. Charles H. Davis, architect Jack Lignell, magazine artist Lois Lignell, and stenographer Bina Lignell.

Work

With Frederick German

* Clara M. Smith residence (1903) * A. C. Weiss residence (1904) * Glen Avon Presbyterian Church (1905) * Luther Mendenhall houses (1905) * Duluth Yacht Club, Oatka Beach Building (1906) * Marvin Memorial Building (c. 1906) * Freimuth Building (1907) * First Street Department Store (c. 1907) * Donald B. McDonald residence (1908) * Service Motor Company showroom, today Shel/Don (1908) * William and Margrette Cole residence (1908) * YMCA building (1908) * YWCA building (1909) * Duluth Marine Supply Building (1912) * West Duluth Independent Order of Odd Fellows Hall (1911)

With Clyde Wetmore Kelly

* Cook County Courthouse (1911)

With Robert Loebeck

* Roseau County Courthouse (1913)

References