Leif Jenssen (February 16, 1879 – 1923) was a Norwegian-American architect responsible for designing a number of buildings in

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

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 ...

. He is most known for designing Pilgrim Congregational Church.

Biography

Jenssen was born in Søndre Odalen in Hedmark County,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, in 1879 to Hans Jenssen, a teacher, and Isabella Christiana Lovise née Andreassen. He had an older brother, Jens, and younger siblings Arne, Kolbjørn, Reidar, and Lorents. He grew up in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

. In 1895, he enrolled at in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, the country's leading technical school. He studied architecture, graduating in 1899. He then designed villas for the town of Hamar, including one for a tax collector named Sørsdal, located at Høyensalgata 53, in 1899, and the Trætteberg villa at Sverdrupsgata 23 in 1901. From 1899 to 1901, he worked in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

for the architect Michaelsen and in the city architect's office; Jenssen also designed the cell building at Grønland Police Station in Oslo at this time. In May 1901, Jenssen emigrated to the United States, working 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 ...

for two years in New York City. He then moved to Chicago in 1903, where he married Dagney Larsen. The couple had three children. In 1909, he moved to Duluth and worked for German & Lignell, Frederick German and

Anton Werner Lignell Anton Werner Lignell (November 7, 1867 – February 9, 1954) was a Finnish architect known for designing buildings in Butte, Montana; Duluth, Minnesota; and two courthouses in Minnesota. His style tended towards Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux- ...

's architectural firm. After the firm was dissolved, Jenssen started German & Jenssen in the Exchange Building and worked with German for a time, likely from 1913 until his death in 1923. Together they designed many buildings in the area. Most well known is Pilgrim Congregational Church at 2310 East 4th Street. They also designed the United Protestant Church in the Morgan Park neighborhood, Lincoln Elementary School, Superior Central High School, an addition to the Bradley Building, and a number of residences, including the Starkey House. Jenssen and German also designed the Virginia City Hall in Virginia, Minnesota;

Elwin Berg Elwin may refer to: * Elwen, Cornish saint * Elwin, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Elwin L. Page (1876–1974), justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court * Hastings Elwin (1776–1852), British-Australian politician * ...

was later noted as the associated architect responsible for the project. In 1919, Jenssen became a member 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 ...

. He was also a member of the Architects' Association of Manitoba and the Duluth Engineers' Club. Jenssen died of a stroke in 1923 at 44 years of age.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenssen, Leif 1879 births 1923 deaths People from Odalen 20th-century Norwegian architects 20th-century American architects Norwegian emigrants to the United States