Louis Curtiss

Louis Curtiss
Louis Singleton Curtiss (July 1, 1865 – June 24, 1924) was a Canadian-born American architect. Notable as a pioneer of the curtain wall design, he was once described as "the Frank Lloyd Wright of Kansas City". In his career, he designed more than 200 buildings, though not all were realized. There are approximately 30 examples of his work still extant in Kansas City, Missouri where Curtiss spent his career, including his best known design, the Boley Clothing Company Building. Other notable works can be found throughout the American midwest.
Life and career
Curtiss was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. He studied architecture at the University of Toronto and in Paris before coming to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1887. In 1889, he began an architectural partnership with Frederick C. Gunn that produced over a dozen buildings. When the partnership dissolved in 1899, Curtiss, age 34, continued as a solo architect.
Curtiss designed the Boley Clothing Company Building in Kansas City, which is renowned as "one of the first glass curtain wall structures in the world." The six-story building also features cantilever floor slabs, cast iron structural detailing, and terra cotta decorative elements. The Historic American Buildings Survey described Curtiss' residence for Bernard Corrigan as "an important regional example of the Prairie Style" and "among the earliest residential structures in Kansas City to make extensive use of reinforced concrete."
Curtiss designed several buildings for the Fred Harvey Company including the 1906 El Bisonte Hotel in Hutchinson, Kansas, the 1907 Harvey House and hotel in Emporia, Kansas, the 1907 Harvey House and hotel in Wellington, Kansas, the 1908 Sequoyah Harvey House Hotel in Syracuse, Kansas, and the 1909 El Ortiz Hotel in Lamy, New Mexico.
Other Curtiss railroad architecture included the 1910-1912 Union Terminal in Wichita, Kansas, the 1909-1911 Santa Fe Railroad depot in Sweetwater, Texas, the 1909-1911 Santa Fe Railroad depot in Lubbock, Texas, the 1909-1911 Santa Fe Railroad depot in Snyder, Texas, the 1909-1911 Santa Fe Railroad depot in Post, Texas, and the 1910-1911 Joplin Union Depot in Joplin, Missouri. A number of his works are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.
Curtiss died in 1924 at his studio residence in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He never married.
Works
Boley Clothing Company Building, Kansas City, MO, NRHP-listed
Bernard Corrigan House, 1200 W. 55th St. Kansas City, MO (Curtis,Louis), NRHP-listed
Glick-Orr House, 503 N. Second St. Atchison, KS (Curtiss,Louis), NRHP-listed
Harvey House and hotel in Emporia, Kansas,
El Bisonte Hotel, Hutchinson, Kansas,
Sequoyah House Harvey House hotel, Syracuse, Kansas, 1908.
Norman Tromanhauser House, 3603 W. Roanoke Dr. Kansas City, MO (Curtiss, Louis S.), NRHP-listed
Western Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, US 73 Leavenworth, KS (Curtiss, Louis, et al.), NRHP-listed
Santa Fe depot and Harvey House and hotel in Wellington, Kansas,
Union Terminal in Wichita, Kansas, which is the 1910-1912 Union Terminal in Wichita, Kansas
Santa Fe Railroad depot in Sweetwater, Texas 1909-1911
Santa Fe Railroad depot in Lubbock, Texas, 1909-1911
Santa Fe Railroad depot in Snyder, Texas, 1909-1911
Santa Fe Railroad depot in Post, Texas, 1909-1911
Joplin Union Depot on South Main Street at West A Street in Joplin, Missouri, from 1910-1911 (Curtiss,Louis), NRHP-listed
Argyle Building, 306 E. 12th St. Kansas City, MO (Curtiss, Louis; Arthur S. Keene), NRHP-listed
Mineral Hall, 4340 Oak St. Kansas City, MO (Curtiss,Louis S.), NRHP-listed
Standard Theatre, 300 W. 12th St. Kansas City, MO (Curtiss,Louis S.), NRHP-listed
Louis Curtiss Studio Building, 1116-1120 McGee St. Kansas City, MO (Curtiss,Louis), NRHP-listed
El Ortiz Hotel in Lamy, New Mexico
St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway office building, Kingsville, Texas, 1912
St. Louis–San Francisco Railway depot, 300 West Main Street, Ada, Oklahoma, 1913.
One or more buildings in East Douglas Avenue Historic District, roughly bounded by Topeka, Rock Island, 1st, and English Sts. Wichita, KS (Curtiss, Louis S.), NRHP-listed
One or more buildings in Excelsior Springs Hall of Waters Commercial East Historic District, roughly along portions of East and West Broadway and Main St. Excelsior Springs, MO (Curtiss, Louis S.), NRHP-listed
One or more buildings in Muskogee Depot and Freight District, roughly bounded by Columbus Ave., S. Main St., Elgin Ave., and S 5th St. Muskogee, OK (Curtiss, Louis), NRHP-listed
One or more buildings in Quality Hill historic district, roughly bounded by Broadway, 10th, 14th, and Jefferson Sts. Kansas City, MO (Curtiss,Louis S.), NRHP-listed
One or more buildings in Westheight Manor District, bounded roughly by 18th and 24th Sts., Oakland and State Aves. Kansas City, KS (Curtiss,Louis), NRHP-listed
One or more buildings in Westheight Manor Historic District (Boundary Increase), roughly bounded by State and Wood Aves., 18th and 25th Sts. Kansas City, KS (Curtis,Louis), NRHP-listed
Gallery
References
External links
Louis Curtiss page at the Historic Kansas City Foundation
1865 births
1924 deaths
Canadian architects
19th-century American architects
Prairie School architecture
University of Toronto alumni
Canadian emigrants to the United States
American railway architects
20th-century American architects