Elijah E. Myers

Elijah E. Myers (December 22, 1832, Philadelphia – March 5, 1909, Detroit) was a leading architect of government buildings in the latter half of the 19th century, and the only architect to design the capitol buildings of 3 U.S. states, the Michigan State Capitol, the Texas State Capitol, and the Colorado State Capitol. He also designed buildings in Mexico and Brazil. Myers' designs favored Victorian Gothic and Neo-Classical styles, but he worked in other styles as well.

Myers may have studied architecture under Samuel Sloan before serving in the Civil War. He initially lived in Springfield, Illinois after the Civil War, but moved to Detroit, Michigan while working on the Michigan State capitol, where he remained. Myers had conflicts with fellow architects, whom he claimed stole his designs and sued, and sometimes his clients. He was fired from the Texas Capitol project in 1886 over complaints that he was not giving enough attention to the project, and his design was subsequently changed. He was also fired from the Colorado State Capitol project and the Howell Library project, apparently in disputes about money.

In 1879, Myers sued Edwin May, the architect of a new Indiana State House, claiming that elements of design were stolen. Myers lost the lawsuit.

In 1891, Myers applied for the position of Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury but another was chosen.

Myers died at home in Detroit and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit. His grave is currently unmarked but an "Elijah Myers Memorial Commission" is raising funds for an appropriate stone. The only known portrait of Myers hangs in the Elijah Myers room of the Michigan State Capitol.

Post-death litigation

On January 5, 1914, the Supreme Court decided Radford v. Myers in Myers' favor. The cases was a business dispute between Myers and his attorney, George W. Radford, involving litigation about the unbuilt Luzerne County Courthouse.

Works

* design for a Lincoln Memorial, 1868 (unbuilt)
* Macoupin County Courthouse, Carlinville, Illinois, 1870
* Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, Michigan, 1872
* First Presbyterian Church, Albion, Michigan, circa 1873 (burned 1883, but the shell was incorporated in the replacement)
* President's House, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1874 (demolished 1940s)
* Grosvernor House, Jonesville, Michigan, 1874
* Lansing High School, Lansing, Michigan, 1875 (demolished summer 2006)
* Plymouth Congregational Church, 1877 (burned, 1971)
* Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Insane (aka Clinton Valley Center), Pontiac, Michigan, circa 1878 (demolished, 2000)
* Grant County Courthouse, Marion, Indiana, circa 1880
* Texas State Capitol, Austin, Texas, 1881
* Knox County Courthouse, Galesburg, Illinois, circa 1884
* Idaho territorial capitol, circa 1885
* Colorado State Capitol, Denver, Colorado, 1885
* Seneca County Courthouse, Tiffin, Ohio, circa 1886
* (Old) City Hall, Richmond, Virginia, circa 1887
* Central United Methodist Church, Lansing, Michigan, 1888
* Grand Rapids City Hall, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1888 (demolished 1960s)
* San Joaquin County Courthouse, Stockton, California, circa 1891 (demolished 1961)
* Stockbridge Town Hall, Stockbridge, Michigan, 1892
* Columbia Buildings, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1890 (demolished)
* asylum, Mexico City, Mexico, ante 1893
* Brazilian Parliament Building, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ante 1893 (demolished)
* Luzerne County Courthouse, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1894 (unbuilt)
* Bay City City Hall, Bay City, Michigan, 1897
* Howell Carnegie District Library, Howell, Michigan, 1902
* McDonough County Courthouse, Macomb, Illinois
* Stephenson County Courthouse, Freeport, Illinois
* Alumni Hall, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
* Harper Hospital, Detroit Michigan, (demolished early 1970s)

References

*"Asylum: Pontiac’s Grand Monument from the Gilded Age", Bruce J. Annett, Jr., ISBN 0-9719141-0-9
*A Michigan Architect in Indiana: Elijah E. Myers and the Business of Architecture in the Gilded Age, Ronald D. Rarick, "The Michigan Historical Review Vol. 26, No. 2, Fall 2000"
*"Elijah E. Myers: Politics, patronage, and professionalism", Paul Goeldner
*The Designing Architect: Elijah E. Myers, Paul Goeldner, "Southwestern Historical Quarterly 92 (October 1988)"
*Radford v. Myers 231 U.S. 725 (1914)
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A04E0DC1539E733A25755C0A9659C946897D6CF&oref=slogin Obituary] , New York Times, March 6, 1909

External links

*Handbook of Texas|id=MM/fmy2|name=Elijah E. Myers
* [http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/cap/myers.htm Myers biography, Colorado State website]
* [http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/cap/gold.htm construction of the Colorado Capitol, Colorado State website]
* [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/virginia/richmond/cityhall/cityhall.html Old Richmond City Hall]
* [http://public.fotki.com/jtingley/the_great_white/eastern_michigan/pg0.html photo album of the Eastern Michigan Asylum]
* [http://www.michmarkers.com/pages/L0790.HTM historical marker for Central United Methodist Church]
* [http://www.michmarkers.com/pages/S0437.HTM historical marker for Clinton Valley Center]
* [http://www.michmarkers.com/pages/L1695.HTM historical marker for First Presbyterian Church of Albion]
* [http://www.michmarkers.com/pages/L0500.HTM historical marker for Grosvernor House]
* [http://www.michmarkers.com/pages/L1641.HTM historical marker for Plymouth Congregational Church]
* [http://www.michmarkers.com/pages/L0431.HTM historical marker for Stockbridge Town Hall]
* [http://archives.lansingcitypulse.com/060405/news/index3.asp demolition of Lansing High School]
* [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=231&invol=725 Radford v. Myers]
* [http://www.howelllibrary.org/html/history_p1.htm Howell Library history]
* [http://www.grmuseum.org/exhibits/a_to_z/city_hall/city_history.shtml illustration of Grand Rapids City Hall]
* [http://www.sjclawlib.org/courthouse%20photographs.htm photos of San Joaquin County courthouses]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~asylums/harperho_mi/index.html postcards of Harper Hospital]