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 milli ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, 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 statehouse in 1903. Located in Jackson, it was designated as a Mississippi Landmark in 1986, a National Historic ...

Early life

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

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany. He was trained in engineering at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

and the

École Centrale Paris École Centrale Paris (ECP; also known as École Centrale or Centrale) was a French grande école in engineering and science. It was also known by its official name ''École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures''. In 2015, École Centrale Paris mer ...

Career

Link emigrated to the United States, arriving in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 1873 to work for the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles, California, Needles in ...

company. He married Annie Fuller on September 22, 1875. That year, St. Louis Surveyor

Julius Pitzman Julius Pitzman (1837–1923) was a Prussian-born American surveyor and city planner best known for his development of the private, gated neighborhoods in St. Louis, MissouriPorter, E. F. "Historic: Preservationists Move Toward Quiet Victory", ''St. ...

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. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to ...

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 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

, 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 a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...

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 is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...

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 ...

. His best known work is in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesq ...

style, specifically the St. Louis Union Station (1894), and the Second Presbyterian Church (1899). The

Theodore Link Historic Buildings Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

(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 ...

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 15,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The college has nine locations throughout the St. Louis Metro East, including a camp ...

Godfrey, Illinois Godfrey is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,982 at the 2010 census. Godfrey is located within the Riverbend portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Geography Godfrey is located at (38.94809 ...

* 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 deve ...

s, Westmoreland Place and Portland Place * 1894 St. Louis Union Station, modeled on the fortifications of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

, 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 Railroad, ...

, 780 East Cerro Gordo Street,

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in ...

* 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 Th ...

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

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

* 1904 Palace of Mines and Metallurgy at the

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

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

* 1906 Barr Branch,

St. Louis Public Library The St. Louis Public Library is a municipal public library system in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It operates sixteen locations, including the main Central Library location. History In 1865, Ira Divoll, the superintendent of the St. Louis ...

* 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, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

* 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 Memorial Tower, or the Campanile as it is sometimes called, is a 175-foot clock tower in the center of Louisiana State University's campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. Erected in 1923 and officially dedicated in 1926, it stands as ...

, 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.jpg, Memorial Tower at

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

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

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 German emigrants to the United States Architects from St. Louis 19th-century American architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Heidelberg University alumni People from Baden-Württemberg Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery American railway architects 20th-century American architects