Rubush & Hunter was an architectural firm in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in the

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. Established in 1905 by architects Preston C. Rubush and Edgar O. Hunter, Rubush & Hunter operated until 1939.

Firm history

Preston C. Rubush and Edgar O. Hunter formed their partnership in 1905. Previously, Rubush had been a member of the firms of Scharn & Rubush and P. C. Rubush & Company. Rubush and Hunter maintained their partnership until 1939, when both retired. In 1940 the firm was taken over by Philip A. Weisenburgh, chief draftsman and designer of the firm.Glory-June Greiff, "Rubush and Hunter," ''The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis'', ed. David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994) Weisenburgh retired in 1969."P. A. Weisenburgh," ''Indianapolis News'', November 13, 1972, 36.

Partners

Preston C. Rubush

Preston C. Rubush was born March 30, 1867, in

Oakford, Indiana Oakford (originally called Fairfield) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in southwestern Taylor Township, Howard County, Indiana, United States. Oakford is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo metropolitan area, Metropolitan Stati ...

, to William G. and Marie E. (Wyrick) Rubush. His father was a general contractor. He attended public schools and completed a special course in architecture at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He initially found employment in the

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

, branch office of architect James F. Alexander, based in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

. He worked for Alexander for two years, and then for others until 1893. In that year he came to Indianapolis and formed a partnership, Scharn & Rubush, with John H. Scharn.Jacob Piatt Dunn, "Preston C. Rubush," ''Greater Indianapolis: The History, the industries, the Institutions, and the People of a City of Homes'', vol. 2 (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1910): 903. In 1900, Scharn retired, and Rubush continued the business as P. C. Rubush & Company. In 1905, he formed his partnership with Hunter. They remained together until they retired in 1939. In 1898, Rubush married Renah J. Wilcox of

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Rubush died February 4, 1947, at his winter home in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. He was survived by his wife and other family members, but no children.

Edgar O. Hunter

Edgar Otis Hunter was born in 1873 in

Versailles, Indiana Versailles is a town in Johnson Township, Ripley County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,113 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Ripley County. History It was decided in 1818 a county seat should be located a ...

. He attended public schools in Indianapolis and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Upon his return to Indianapolis he worked for

Vonnegut & Bohn Vonnegut & Bohn was an architectural firm in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. Founded in 1888 by Bernard Vonnegut Sr., FAIA (1855–1908) and Arthur Bohn (b. 1861), all the partners were German Americans and were trained in both Am ...

before joining Rubush."Edgar Otis Hunter, Architect, Dies," ''Indianapolis Times'', November 20, 1949, 4. He became partner in the firm in 1905, and like Rubush retired in 1939. In 1899, Hunter married Anna Blanche Lee. He died in

, on November 20, 1949. Hunter's younger brother, Frank B. Hunter, was also an architect in Indianapolis.

Philip A. Weisenburgh

Philip Arthur Weisenburgh was born in 1887 in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat, seat of Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County in the Upland Sou ...

. When he joined Rubush & Hunter is unknown, but he was chief draftsman by 1925. He succeeded to the practice when Rubush and Hunter retired in 1939, He himself retired in 1969. He died in Indianapolis November 12, 1972. His wife was Louise Weisenburgh, with whom he had a daughter. He was 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 ...

from 1942 until his death.Philip Arthur Weisenburgh
, aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net, AIA Historical Directory of American Architects, n. d.

Legacy

Many of the firm's buildings in Indianapolis have been listed on the United States

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 ...

, and others contribute to listed historic districts. In addition to their work in Indiana, the firm was hired by Indianapolis developers Carl G. Fisher and Joseph Wesley Young Jr. to do extensive work at their Florida resorts,

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, respectively. Several of their Hollywood buildings survive, and Rubush and Hunter would both own second homes in Miami Beach.

Architectural works

References

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