George Bigelow Rogers (1870–1945) was an American

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 ...

, best known for the wide variety of buildings that he designed in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, including mansions in historic European styles and other private residences, churches and public buildings, and the first 11-story skyscraper in Mobile and the Southeast United States. Many of his structures have been 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 ...

Biography

Rogers was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1870. After attending local schools there, he studied painting in

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. He apprenticed as an architect from 1894 to 1898 at a firm in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. While en route to a vacation in

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in 1901, he stopped in Mobile. Rogers was quite taken with the city and decided to settle there. He went on to design many of what today are among its best known buildings. He was made a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

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 ...

in 1941, an honor bestowed on fewer than two percent of all registered architects in the United States. Rogers died in Mobile in 1945. His architectural library is housed in the archives of the Historic Mobile Preservation Society.

Projects in Mobile, Alabama

George Fearn House The George Fearn House is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1904 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by local architect George Bigelow Rogers. It was the first Spanish Colonial Revival building to be b ...

(1904), listed on the

* Van Antwerp Building (1907), on the National Register of Historic Places * Burgess-Maschmeyer Mansion (1907) at 1209 Government Street *Tacon-Bellingrath House (1908) at 60 South Ann Street (Destroyed) *

Dave Patton House The Dave Patton House is a historic house in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The two-story structure was built for Dave Patton, a local African American entrepreneur. He purchased this property in 1900 and completed the Mediterranean Revival st ...

(1915), on the National Register of Historic Places *Albert Bush House (1915) at 1203 Government Street *Government Street Methodist Church (1904–1917) at 901 Government Street * Scottish Rite Temple (1921), on the National Register of Historic Places *Shannon T. Hunter House (1923) * Murphy High School Complex (1926), on the National Register of Historic Places *

Bellingrath Gardens and Home Bellingrath Gardens and Home is the public garden and historic home of Walter and Bessie Bellingrath, located on the Fowl River near Mobile, Alabama, United States. Walter Bellingrath was one of the first Coca-Cola bottlers in the Southeast, ...

(1927), on the National Register of Historic Places *

Mobile Public Library The Mobile Public Library is a public library system primarily serving Mobile County, Alabama. The system is a department of the city of Mobile and receives funding from Mobile County and the city of Saraland. History The Mobile Public Library ...

(1928), on the National Register of Historic Places *Thomas Byrne Memorial Library (1930), Spring Hill College * Davis Avenue Branch of the Mobile Public Library in Mobile, Alabama (1931); now operating as the National African American Archives and Museum, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places *Leo Brown House at 1668 Government Street (1937)

Other projects

Masonic Temple (Foley, Alabama) The Foley Downtown Historic District, in Foley, Alabama, United States, is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Its boundaries originally encompassed parts of Alston St., North and South McKe ...

(c.1925), Mission Revival in style, included in

Foley Downtown Historic District The Foley Downtown Historic District, in Foley, Alabama, United States, is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Its boundaries originally encompassed parts of Alston St., North and South McKe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, George Bigelow 1869 births 1945 deaths Architects from Alabama Spanish Colonial Revival architects Mediterranean Revival architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects People from Mobile, Alabama George Bigelow Rogers buildings

Biography

Projects in Mobile, Alabama

Other projects

See also

References