Herman J. Schwarzmann (1846–1891), also known as Hermann J. Schwarzmann, was a German-born American architect who practiced in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and later in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life

Schwarzmann was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Before emigrating to the United States in 1868, Schwarzmann graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Munich, and was commissioned a lieutenant in the Bavarian Army.

Philadelphia

Schwarzmann began working for the Fairmount Park Commission in 1869 as an assistant engineer, and in 1873 worked on landscaping the grounds of the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859 ...

. He was the chief architect for the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

of 1876, designing Memorial Hall, Horticultural Hall, and other buildings. Beginning in 1876, Schwarzmann attempted to go into private architectural practice, but was unsuccessful in Philadelphia.

New York City

Schwarzmann moved to

and was successful there, achieving national prominence,, p.60 and working until his retirement in 1888. He designed the

New York Mercantile Exchange The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is a commodity futures exchange owned and operated by CME Group of Chicago. NYMEX is located at One North End Avenue in Brookfield Place in the Battery Park City section of Manhattan, New York City. ...

building in 1882.

References

Notes Architects from Philadelphia Architects from New York City Bavarian emigrants to the United States 1846 births 1891 deaths Architects from Munich 19th-century American architects {{US-architect-19C-stub