Francis W. Fitzpatrick
Francis Willford Fitzpatrick (April 9, 1863 – July 10, 1931) was an architect in Duluth, Minnesota, Washington, DC, Omaha, Nebraska, and Evanston, Illinois. He often abbreviated his name as F. W. Fitzpatrick in publications and correspondence. Fitzpatrick was an early advocate of fireproof buildings, and he was a frequent columnist in architectural trade publications on a variety of topics. Early life. Fitzpatrick was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on April 9, 1863. His parents were John and Mary Fitzpatrick. He immigrated to the United States in 1883 and began working as a drafter in the office of Minneapolis  architect Leroy Buffington, remaining until 1887. Then in 1888, Fitzpatrick worked at the offices of the brothers Fremont D. Orff and George W. Orff. He formed the Minnesota Decorating Company and successfully contracted for the interior painting and decorating of the 107-room Dacotah Hotel in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1889. He joined the American Institute of Architects in 1889. Traphagen and Fitzpatrick. After completing his work at the Dacotah Hotel, Fitzpatrick moved to Duluth, Minnesota and formed a partnership, Traphagen and Fitzpatrick, with Oliver G. Traphagen that lasted from 1890 to 1896. This was his most productive time  as an architect. The partnership ended in 1896 when Traphagan relocated to Hawaii and Fitzpatrick moved to Washington, D.C. Chicago Federal Building. In 1896 Fitzpatrick accepted a position as assistant to the Supervising Architect at the United States Treasury. Prior to the Tarsney Act of 1893, federal buildings were designed by architects at the treasury. Fitzpatrick entered government service at a time when federal architects were becoming advisors and supervisors on federal building contracts with design work more in the hands of private architects. At the treasury, Fitzpatrick worked for Jeremiah O'Rourke and then for William Aiken. Fitzpatrick was assigned  to the Chicago Federal Building project as an assistant to architect Henry Ives Cobb, and he moved to Chicago to become one of many supervisors of construction. Soon Fitzpatrick was the only supervisor of construction, and his relationship with Cobb deteriorated for reasons of procurement and process related to construction. Fitzpatrick resigned from the project in 1903 and returned to private practice two years before the building was completed. Private practice. Fitzpatrick became a consulting architect in 1903, and he specialized in fire prevention designs. He also worked with other architects to solve design problems. His favorite area of expertise  may have been Architectural rendering, and he enjoyed submitting drawings for competition awards. By 1917, Fitzpatrick joined the Bankers Realty Investment Company in Omaha, Nebraska as head of the architectural department. The company designed and built residential and commercial structures capitalized by investors. While at Bankers, he designed the Hotel Yancey in Grand Island, Nebraska, the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, and a hotel in Sioux City, Iowa. The job did not last long, and in 1919 Fitzpatrick moved to Evanston, Illinois and continued as a consulting architect. Invention of the skyscraper. An editorial in the June 22, 1907, issue of  The American Architect and Building News reported that three architects had claimed credit for inventing the skyscraper: The editorial stated that in the opinion of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Jenny had the better claim, although his design was similar to the framing of an 1856 shot tower in the great swamp of New York City. The July 13, 1907, issue of "The American Architect and Building News" contained a letter from F. W. Fitzpatrick refuting the conclusions of the AIA titled, "The Origination of the Steel Skeleton Idea." In his letter, Fitzpatrick claimed that he himself had designed  steel skeletons in support of church towers prior to 1883, and he had sketched the steel column and horizontal beam design for Buffington's 12-story Tribune building when he was working for Buffington in 1883. Then in 1912, an article in "The Washington Post" credited Fitzpatrick with inventing the skyscraper. Claims about Fitzpatrick's role in early skyscraper design were not actively contested, but the opinion of the AIA may have been more accurate. Ideas, opinions, and quotations. Fitzpatrick was a frequent contributor to various trade publications and newspapers. In his research, historic preservationist Ed Zimmer counted over 200  articles and letters to the editor by Fitzpatrick on architecture and other topics. Fitzpatrick's style was frequently grandiloquent and passionate, but his vision was often accurate. On the United States Capitol Building, On progress, On government, A poem on China, On Social Security (postal insurance), On the handwriting of President Cleveland, On corruption at City Hall, On the use of concrete in construction, On step-back construction in urban planning, On plate glass, On the Lincoln Memorial, On the boring work of fellow architects, On the invention of the skyscraper, Death. While crossing the street in Evanston, Fitzpatrick was  fatally struck by a car on July 10, 1931. An obituary at the time described his life,