Normand Smith Patton (July 10, 1852 – March 15, 1915) was an American architect based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and Washington, D.C.

Early life

Patton was born 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 ...

, the son of the Reverend William Weston and Mary Boardman Patton (née Smith).Marquis, Albert Nelson. ''The Book of Chicagoans'',
Google Books
, A.N. Marquis, 1911, p. 527. He received a BA from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1873 and an MA in 1876, also from Amherst. He also attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

while he pursued his graduate studies at Amherst.Lathrop, Alan K. and Firth, Bob. ''Churches of Minnesota: An Illustrated Guide'',
Google Books
,

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

, 2003, p. 297, ().

Architectural career

Practices

Patton began practicing architecture in Chicago in 1874, leaving in 1876 for

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where he remained until 1883. He then returned to Chicago and shortly thereafter opened a practice with another architect, C.E. Randall. Randall died in 1885 but Patton's firm survived under various incarnations (as

Patton & Fisher Patton & Fisher was an architectural firm in Chicago, Illinois. It operated under that name from 1885 to 1899 and later operated under the names Patton, Fisher & Miller (1899–1901) and Patton & Miller (1901–1915). Several of its works ...

, then Patton, Fisher and Miller, then Patton & Miller,See Reynolds Fisher and

Grant C. Miller Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the Un ...

. then Patton, Holmes & Flinn ) until his death. As Patton & Miller, it designed over 100 Carnegie libraries around the country, making a specialty of designing libraries and other educational buildings. During his time as a Chicago architect Patton maintained a residence at 225 Grove in the west suburban community of Oak Park (demolished) with his wife Fanny Maria (née Keep, 1856–1895) and their four children. His office was on South Dearborn Street in Chicago. In 1899 he was the president of the Chicago Chapter of the Illinois Institute of Architects.

Works

Patton's firm specialized in public buildings and from 1896 to 1898 he was the architect for the

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently made up of 11 members appoin ...

. Other noted architects from the period affiliated with the school board included August Fiedler (1893-1896),

Robert Seyfarth Robert Seyfarth ( ) was an American architect based in Chicago, Illinois. He spent the formative years of his professional career working for the noted Prairie School architect George Washington Maher. A member of the influential Chicago Architec ...

(1895-?) and William B. Mundie (1898-1904). Patton and his firm were responsible for many public school buildings in Chicago and in other cities. He is responsible for the Fiske building on the

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

campus. He also designed libraries at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

(1905-1908,

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, and Augustana College.Denkmann Hall
, ''The Council of Independent Colleges'', Historic Campus Architecture Project, last updated November 2006, accessed December 18, 2011. He was also responsible for the campus plan of

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

. He designed the Skinner Memorial Chapel at Carleton College but died before its completion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Smith Normand Architects from Chicago 19th-century American architects Architects from Hartford, Connecticut 1852 births 1915 deaths