F.E. Ruffini
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Frederick Ernst Ruffini (1851 – November 16, 1885) was a notable
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architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
.


Life and career

Ruffini's parents, Ernst Frederick Ruffini and Adelheit (Adelaide) Riehme, immigrated from
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,
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to
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in 1848 and then settled in
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. Ruffini is sometimes identified as Italian, but his ancestors had emigrated to Kamenz, about five hundred years before he was born. Ruffini apprenticed under an architect in Cleveland and worked in
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,
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,
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and Chicago before moving to
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
in 1877. He partnered with J. N. Preston for two years before working on his own. He worked some with his brother, architect
Oscar Ruffini Oscar Ruffini (10 April 1858–18 January 1957) was an architect in San Angelo, Texas. He was the first civic architect in the city and was responsible for many buildings across West Texas in the last 20 years of the 19th century. Early lif ...
of
San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...
. Ruffini designed courthouses and jails, commercial and public buildings, and residences which were built throughout Texas. Ruffini's extant designs in Texas include the Old Blanco County Courthouse in
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, the Collin County Jail in
McKinney McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...
, and the Millett Opera House in Austin. Mnny of his works are listed on the
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. His non-extant buildings in Texas include the Old Main Building of the University of Texas at Austin. Ruffini married Elise (Lizzie) Weitz and they had three children. Ruffini died in Austin in November 1885, a month after his wife died.


References


External links


Texas Courthouses on Texas Escapes.com
Architects from Texas 1885 deaths 1851 births 19th-century American architects {{US-architect-19C-stub