Theodore C. Link,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-membe ...

, (March 17, 1850 – November 12, 1923) was a German-born American architect and newspaper publisher. He designed buildings for the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mi ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, and the

Mississippi State Capitol The Mississippi State Capitol or the “New Capitol,” has been the seat of the state’s government since it succeeded the old Mississippi State House in 1903. Located in the centrally-located state capital / capital city of Jackson, in H ...

. His best known work is in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style, specifically the

St. Louis Union Station St. Louis Union Station is a National Historic Landmark and former train station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. At its 1894 opening, the station was the largest in the world. Traffic peaked at 100,000 people a day in the 1940s. The las ...

(1894), and the Second Presbyterian Church (1899). The Theodore Link Historic Buildings (c. 1911) in University City are three private residences on Delmar Boulevard that are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Missouri __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Missouri. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis Count ...

Early life

Theodore Carl Link was born on March 17, 1850, near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Germany. He was trained in engineering at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

and the

École Centrale Paris École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

Career

Link immigrated to the United States, arriving in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

in 1873 to work for the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was an American railroad that owned or operated two individual segments of track. One connected St. Louis, Missouri, with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connected Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Needles in Southe ...

company. He married Annie Fuller on September 22, 1875. That year, St. Louis surveyor Julius Pitzman recommended him to the job of superintendent of public parks for St. Louis. In 1889, Link joined 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 ...

and started his own private architectural practice. After a four-year interim as a German-language newspaper publisher in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Link returned to St. Louis just after the turn of the century as one of the architects for the

. In 1901, he won the competition to design the new

building in Jackson, which was completed two years later. He also "designed most of the buildings for LSU when the campus was relocated in the 1920s."

Death and legacy

Link died in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

while working on the new

campus, and was interred at

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine has several architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Su ...

in St. Louis. In 1995 was awarded a star on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years ther ...

Work

Among the 100+ buildings he designed: * 1869 Monticello Seminary (now

Lewis and Clark Community College Lewis and Clark Community College is a public community college in Godfrey, Illinois. It serves approximately 3,973 credit and non-credit students annually. The college has nine locations throughout the St. Louis Metro East, including a campu ...

Godfrey, Illinois Godfrey is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,825 at the 2020 census. Godfrey is located within the River Bend portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. History The village is named for Captai ...

* 1891 gates and several houses for two of St. Louis's

private place A private place is a self-governing enclave whose common areas (e.g. streets) are owned by the residents, and whose services are provided by the private sector. The history of St. Louis, Missouri, and its near suburbs is significant in the devel ...

s, Westmoreland Place and Portland Place * 1894

, modeled on the fortifications of

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

, with architect Edward Cameron * 1899 Second Presbyterian Church, 4501 Westminster Place, St. Louis * 1901 St. John's United Methodist Church, 5000 Washington Place * 1901

Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency The Decatur station, also known as the Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency, is a historic railway station located at 780 East Cerro Gordo Street in Decatur, Illinois. Built in 1901, the station served trains on the Wabash Railroa ...

, 780 East Cerro Gordo Street,

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

* 1902 Wabash Railroad Station, Danville, Illinois * 1903

Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal __NOTOC__ The Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal was a railroad station located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Constructed in 1903 and opened on April 13, 1904, the 11 floor Beaux-Arts domed 197 foot tall terminal was designed by T ...

, Liberty Avenue at Ferry Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * 1903

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

* 1904 Palace of Mines and Metallurgy at the

(razed) * 1904 Reid Hall and campus master plan for

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

* 1906 Barr Branch, St. Louis Public Library * 1908

Wednesday Club Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting the ...

building and auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri * 1910 Roberts Shoe (International Shoe) Company Building, St. Louis, with ornament influenced by

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

* 1911 Theodore Link Historic Buildings, 7100, 7104 and 7108 Delmar Blvd, University City, Missouri * 1919–1923, master plan and nine buildings for the

, including the Memorial Tower, with W. T. Trueblood

Images

File:Westmoreland Place.jpg, Westmoreland Place gates, St. Louis, Missouri File:Portland Place.jpg, Portland Place gates, St. Louis, Missouri Image:Decatur, IL train station.jpg, Wabash Station, Decatur, Illinois File:Annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Illinois (1902) (14572966008).jpg, Wabash Station, Decatur, Illinois Image:04PalaceMines.JPG, Palace of Mines and Metallurgy,

Image:Mississippi State Capitol building.jpg, Mississippi State Capitol Image:PostcardGrandHallOfUnionStationStLouis1909.jpg, Grand Hall, St. Louis Union Station File:ReidHall.jpg, Reid Hall, Washington and Lee University File:St. Louis - Roberts, Johnson & Rand Bldg.JPG, Roberts Shoe Company Building, St. Louis, Missouri Image:Memorial tower at LSU.jpg, Memorial Tower at

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

File:4a12732u.tif, Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

References

External links

*
Online photo and biography

Theodore C. Link Zoological Gardens Sketchbook
i
Digital Collections
at the St. Louis Public Library
Louisiana State University Architectural Drawings by Theodore Link
Louisiana Digital Library, Baton Rouge, La.
Theodore C. Link Collection
finding aid at th
St. Louis Public Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Link, Theodore Carl 1850 births 1923 deaths Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Architects from St. Louis 19th-century American architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Heidelberg University alumni People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery American railway architects 20th-century American architects