Donaldson and Meier
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Donaldson and Meier was an architectural firm based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1880 by John Donaldson (1854–1941) and Henry J. Meier (d. 1917) the firm produced a large and varied number of commissions in Detroit and south eastern Michigan. Donaldson, the principal designer of the partnership from a design point of view was born in Stirling, Scotland and immigrated to Detroit at a young age. He returned to Europe where he studied at the Art Academy in Munich, Germany, and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France.
The early designs from the firm, such as the Unitarian Church in Ann, Arbor, were frequently in the Richardsonian Romanesque style but as with many other architectural companies whose longevity outlast the style-of-the-day, their output changed with the times, with their last buildings, such as the David Stott Building, being in the art deco genre.
Like most of the prominent architects in Detroit during the 1920s and 1930s, Donaldson and Meier employed sculptor Lee Lawrie to produce a panel for Beaumont Tower and used Corrado Parducci to create sculpture for many of their other buildings.
[edit] Selected commissions
- Unless otherwise noted, buildings are in Detroit, Michigan.
- Campbell Symington House, (ca. 1880)
- First Unitarian Church, (1882), Ann Arbor, Michigan
- First Unitarian Church of Detroit, (1890)
- Julius Melchers House, (1892)
- St. Elizabeth Church, (1892)
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, (1892)
- Union Trust Building, (ca. 1897)
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church (n.d.)
- Woodward Arcade Building, (1901)
- St. Anthony Church, (1902)
- Annunciation Church/Our Lady of Sorrows Church, (ca. 1906)
- YMCA Building, (1907)
- Dental Building, (1909), University of Michigan
- Alumni Hall (University of Michigan Art Museum), (1910), Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Penobscot Building, (1905) and (1916)
- People's State Savings Bank addition, (1914)
- St. David School and Convent (ca. 1920s)
- Holy Redeemer Church, (1921)
- Chancery Building, (1924)
- The Bird House, (1926), Detroit Zoological Park, Royal Oak, Michigan
- Beaumont Tower (1929), East Lansing, Michigan
- St. Aloysius Church, (1930)
- Sacred Heart Seminary, (1923)
- David Stott Building, (1929)
 Beaumont Tower |
 detail of tower sculpture |
[edit] Sources
- Doyle, Right Reverend John M., Saint Aloysius Church: The Old and the New, Centennial Publishing Company, Detroit 1930
- Eckert, Kathryn Bishop, Buildings of Michigan, Oxford University Press, New York 1993
- Ferry, W. Hawkins, The Buildings of Detroit: A History, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, 1968
- Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press.
- Meyer, Katharine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy, Detroit Architecture: A.I.A. Guide, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1980
- Reade, Marjorie and Susan Wineburg, Historic Buildings: Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor Historical Foundation, 1992
- Savage, Rebecca Binno and Greg Kowalski, Art Deco in Detroit (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing, 2004
- Sharoff, Robert, American City: Detroit Architecture 1845-2005, Wayne State University Press, 2005.
[edit] Links
- http://detroit1701.org/CampbellSymington.html
- http://detroit1701.org/Annunciation%20Church.html
- Donaldson and Meier on Arborwiki
