Charles Ronald Aldrich (July 12, 1866 – June 30, 1939) was an architect active in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in the late 19th century and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in the early 20th century.

Life and career

Aldrich was born in

Utica, Michigan Utica is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 5,245 at the 2020 census, up from 4,757 in 2010. History The city now known as Utica was platted by Joseph Stead in 1829, who named it "Harlow". Others referr ...

"Charles Ronald Aldrich", Pacific Coast Architecture Database
/ref> on July 12, 1866. In 1885, he and his family moved to

, where he earned a Bachelors of Science in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1888. After graduating, Aldrich worked as an architect and instructor at his alma-mater, and in 1899, he opened his own practice in the area. In 1905, Aldrich relocated to

. He was listed as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

in 1905, worked as an architect for the Trustee Company from 1905 to 1910, and then as a principal architect for his own firm from 1910 to 1914. He partnered with G.A. Hunt from 1911 to 1914. Aldrich died on June 30, 1939.

Architectural style

Buildings designed by Aldrich were often understated and featured spare use of revival style decorative elements, particularly Beaux Arts.

Works

Aldrich's significant works include:

Minneapolis–Saint Paul

* C.R. Aldrich House, Saint Anthony Park, (1895) * University of Minnesota Armory, 15 Church Street SE (1895-1896), NRHP-listed * Dr. M.H. Reynolds House, Blake Avenue and Langford Park West (1900) UMN-JonesHall

* University of Minnesota Physics Building, (renamed Jones Hall in 1931) (1900-1901), NRHP-listed * Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall (1902) * University of Minnesota State Farm Chemical Laboratory (1902) * Minneapolis Public Library, John S. Pillsbury Branch (1902-1904)

Elsewhere in Minnesota

* Saint John's University Gymnasium (aka "Guild Hall," Collegeville (1901) * Thief River Falls High School, Thief River Falls (1902)

Elsewhere

* Judson-Rives Building, 424 S.

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, Los Angeles, California (1906-7), NRHP-listed * Central Building, Seattle, Washington (1909) * Olds, Wortman and King Department Store, Portland, Oregon (1910), NRHP-listed * Fleischmann's Yeast Factory, Sumner, Washington

References

{{reflist Aldrich, Charles Ronald Aldrich, Charles Ronald