Charles L. Ulricson (1816, Stockholm, Sweden – 1887, Peoria, Illinois) was a Swedish-born American architect, who practiced in Peoria, Illinois. He is best known for designing Old Main (1856–57) – the principal building at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois – now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Biography

The son of Carl Ulricson, architect to the Swedish crown, he graduated from the Royal Institute of Architects in Stockholm.. Following his father's death, he emigrated to the United States in 1835, initially settling in New York City. He was employed by the architect

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892) was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at the American Academ ...

for about four years, where he worked on University Hall (1833–37, demolished 1890) for

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Searching for a place to set up his own practice, he traveled through the American South before settling in Peoria, Illinois, about 1844. Ulricson established a successful practice in Peoria, designing and often acting as contractor for commercial buildings and residences. He designed and built St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1850, demolished 1880s), of which he was a member and later vestryman; and a private school, Peoria Academy (1854). He designed and built a number of

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

and Second Empire mansions on Peoria's West Bluff, overlooking the city and the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

Old Main

His most prominent early commission was for buildings at Knox College. The Female Seminary (1856–57), the first education building and dormitory for women, made the college

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

. Old Main, the centerpiece of the campus, contained men's classrooms and the college chapel. His

Victorian Gothic 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 ...

design for Old Main was inspired by

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's residence outside London. Notably, a year after its opening, Old Main was the site of the October 7, 1858 debate between incumbent Senator

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

and challenger Congressman

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. A crowd estimated at 15,000 people stood on the lawn for the 3-hour event, while the contenders spoke from a platform erected before the building. The primary subject of the

Lincoln–Douglas debates The Lincoln–Douglas debates were a series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas ...

was the expansion of slavery in the United States – Douglas argued in support and Lincoln opposed. Lincoln lost the 1858 Senatorial election, but two years later won the 1860 Presidential election. Old Main is the only surviving building from the debates. In 2010, Knox College professor R. Lance Factor published a book about Ulricson and Old Main, arguing that the building is filled with iconography and associations with

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Knox College was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

institution, and its president during the period when Old Main was built, Reverend Jonathan Blanchard, was vehemently anti-Masonic. Dr. Factor argues that Ulricson kept his Masonic membership a secret.

Personal

Ulricson married Maria Cowham in 1861. Four of their six children reached adulthood: Walter H. (b. 1867), Oscar E. (b. 1870), E. Frank (b. 1873), and Fanny M. (b. 1878). The family lived at 309 W. Armstrong Street, Peoria.

Works

* Buildings at Jubilee College (1845–47), Jubilee Township, Illinois. * John Reynolds house (1847), 305 N. Jefferson Street, Peoria, Illinois. * St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1850, demolished 1880s), Monroe & Main Streets, Peoria, Illinois. * Peoria Academy (1854), Peoria, Illinois. * Old Main (1856–57), Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. NRHP-listed. * Female Seminary (women's education building and dormitory) (1856–57), Knox College, Tompkins Street, Galesburg, Illinois. Later renamed "Whiting Hall," it was greatly expanded in the 1880s and 1890s. Now no longer part of the college, it is used as housing for the elderly. * Peoria Marine & Fire Insurance Company (1859), Main Street, Peoria, Illinois. * Mathew Griswold house (1859), West Bluff, 109 S. Madison Street, Peoria, Illinois. * John L. Griswold house (1859), West Bluff, Moss Street, Peoria, Illinois. * Reuben B. Hamlin house (1859), West Bluff, Peoria, Illinois. * Augustana Lutheran Church (1865–67), 628 Sixth Street, Andover, Illinois. Dr. Factor identifies Masonic iconography also in this building. * Pettengill-Morron House (1867), 1212 W. Moss Avenue, Peoria, Illinois. Part of West Bluff Historic District. NRHP-listed. Now operated as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

by the Peoria Historical Society. * Peoria County Almshouse (1869–70), County Farm, Route 116. Designed to house 100 inmates. * Bushnell High School (1876–77), Bushnell, Illinois, William Quaye, architect, Charles Ulrichson, contractor. * Edward S. Easton house (1880), 1125 Main Street, Peoria, Illinois. Part of West Bluff Historic District. Now occupied by Converse Marketing."Converse Manor, built 1880:"
(pdf), from Converse Marketing. * Stark County Courthouse Annex (1884),

Toulon, Illinois Toulon is a city and the county seat of Stark County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,292 at the 2010 census. Toulon is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the northwestern terminus of the Rock Isl ...

. * Hall of Records, Knoxville, Illinois.

References

*R. Lance Factor, ''Chapel in the Sky: Knox College's Old Main and Its Masonic Architect'' (North Illinois University Press, 2010). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulricson, Charles Swedish emigrants to the United States Historicist architects 1816 births 1887 deaths People from Peoria, Illinois Architects from Stockholm Architects from Illinois 19th-century American architects