Donaldson and Meier was an architectural firm based in Detroit. Founded in 1880 by John Donaldson (1854–1941) and Henry J. Meier (died 1917) the firm produced a large and varied number of commissions in Detroit and southeastern 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 Ann Arbor Unitarian Church, 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. Their last buildings, such as the David Stott Building, were 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.

Selected commissions

Additional listings are found in the Wikipedia entry.

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.

External links

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