Mifflin E. Bell

Mifflin Emlen Bell
Born	October 20, 1847(1847-10-20) Birmingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Died	June 2, 1904(1904-06-02) (aged 56) Chicago, IL
Nationality	American
Work
Buildings	Several US Post Offices, Courthouses, and Customhouses

Mifflin Emlen Bell (October 20, 1847^[1] – June 2, 1904^[2]) was an American architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department. Bell delegated design responsibilities to staff members, which resulted in a large variety of building styles, including Second Empire, Châteauesque, Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque.^[3]

Life and career

Bell was born in Birmingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He married Addie Vanhoff on June 7, 1871, and by 1876 he was living in Springfield, Illinois with his wife and two children, working as Assistant Superintendent of the statehouse.^[4] Bell's tenure as Supervising Architect for the US Treasury began on November 1, 1883, with an annual salary of $4,500.^[5] He was member of the Joint Commission to Complete the Washington Monument, and his name is engraved on the north face of the monument's capstone. Bell submitted his resignation from the position by mid-1887 and moved to Chicago. In Chicago, Bell was appointed as superintendent of repairs for the city's federal buildings, and was in charge of federal buildings at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.^[6] He died in Chicago of pneumonia in 1904.

Works

• 1884 — U.S. Custom House and Post Office, Albany, New York [6]
• 1885 — U.S. Custom House, Court House, and Post Office, Memphis, Tennessee [7]
• 1887 — U.S. Post Office and Court House, Quincy, Illinois [8]
• 1887 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Frankfort, Kentucky [9]
• 1887 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Greensboro, North Carolina [10]
• 1888 — U.S. Post Office, Hannibal, Missouri
• 1888 — U.S. Custom House and Post Office, Toledo, Ohio [11]
• 1888 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Council Bluffs, Iowa [12]
• 1888 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Dallas, Texas [13]
• 1888 — United States Post Office and Court House, Aberdeen, Mississippi [14]
• 1889 — U.S. Post Office and Court House, Peoria, Illinois [15]
• 1889 — U.S. Post Office, Minneapolis, Minnesota [16]
• 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Jefferson City, Missouri [17]
• 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Tyler, Texas [18]
• 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Syracuse, New York [19]
• 1889 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Macon, Georgia [20]
• 1890 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Keokuk, Iowa [21]
• 1890 — U.S. Post Office and Court House, Auburn, New York [22]
• 1890 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Fort Scott, Kansas [23]
• 1891 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Carson City, Nevada, [24]
• 1892 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Denver, Colorado [25]
• 1892 — U.S. Post Office, Brooklyn, New York [26]
• 1893 — U.S. Court House and Post Office, Louisville, Kentucky [27]
• 1896 — DuPage County Courthouse, Wheaton, Illinois

Gallery of designs

• 

  U.S. Post Office, Brooklyn, New York. One of the finest examples of Richardsonian Romanesque

• 

  U.S. Post Office, Quincy, Illinois, in the Châteauesque style

• 

  U.S. Court House and Post Office, Keokuk, Iowa, now the Lee County Courthouse, in the Queen Anne style

• 

  U.S. Post Office, Hannibal, Missouri, a late Second Empire style

• 

  U.S. Post Office, Former, and Federal Courthouse, Auburn, New York, a late Richardsonian Romanesque style

References

1. ^ [1] History of the early settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois
2. ^ [2] Chicago Tribune, June 2, 1904
3. ^ [3] HCRS nomination form
4. ^ Same as 1
5. ^ [4] American almanac and treasury of facts, 1887
6. ^ [5] Architects to the nation By Antoinette Josephine Lee

External Links

• 1883 NYT article

Preceded by James G. Hill

Office of the Supervising Architect 1883–1886

Succeeded by William A. Freret

Persondata
Name	Bell, Mifflin E.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 20, 1847
Place of birth	Birmingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Date of death	June 2, 1904
Place of death	Chicago, IL