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Male, US, born 1867-03-10, died 1941-01-01
Associated with the firms network
Adler and Sullivan, Architects; Whittlesey and Terwilliger, Architects; Whittlesey, Charles F., Architect
Résumé
Clerk/Apprentice, Addison and Fiedler, Architects, Hansen Building, 118 Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL, c. 1882-1888. The Chicago City Directory of 1885 (p. 1451) indicated that Whittlesey worked as a clerk at 118 Dearborn Street. At this time, the firm of Addison and Fiedler, Architects, operated at 118 Dearborn. (See advertisement for the Gurney Hot-Water Heater, American Architect and Building News, 12/29/1888, vol. XXIV, no. 679, p. viii.) The book Industrial Chicago included a small biographical entry on Whittlesey and said about his early years in Chicago: "In 1882 he came to Chicago and began his architectural career with Addison & Fiedler, remaining with them until 1890." (See Industrial Chicago The Building Interests Illustrated, [Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891), p. 642.)
Principal, Charles F. Whittlesey, Architect, Chicago, IL, 1889- ; the Chicago City Directory of 1889 indicated that Whittlesey had his own architectural practice in Chicago at 90 LaSalle Street. (See Chicago City Directory, 1889, p. 1966.)
Draftsman, Louis Sullivan, Chicago, IL; (See Donald Hoffman, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and the Skyscraper, [Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1998], p. 88.) Following his employment with Sullivan; Chief Architect, Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company (ATSF), with responsibilities of designing hotels and railroad stations adjacent to the tracks c. 1900. After 1901, Whittlesey worked with architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter (1869-1958) who designed many interiors for Fred Harvey Company cafe's and hotels that were situated close by to ATSF depots. They worked together on the Mission Revival Style Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, NM, in 1901. Colter retired from Fred Harvey in 1948.
Principal, Charles F. Whittlesey, Architect, San Francisco, CA. Principal, Charles F. Whittlesey, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1903. In 1903, Whittlesey maintained an office in Room #301 of the Henne Building in Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles Classified Business Directory, 1903, p. 1705.)
Professional Activties
Whittlesey read his paper entitled, "Concrete Construction" at an AIA meeting in late 1905. (Reported 12/1905, LAPL); Charles F. Whittlesey was appointed chair of the committee to revise Los Angeles's building code, especially regarding reinforced concrete construction. (Reported March 1906, LAPL);
Archives
A drawing of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. Alvarado Hotel building (Albuquerque, New Mexico), circa 1902 was held at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design and Architecture Museum. (See Online Archive of California, "Finding Aid for the Charles Whittlesey drawing of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. Alvarado Hotel building (Albuquerque, New Mexico), circa 1904 0000299," accessed 08/17/2016.) Whittlesey worked with the interior designer Mary Colter on this NM building, torn down in 1970.
High School
It appears that Whittlesey left school at age 15 to work in Chicago.
Relocation
Born in Alton, IL, Charles F. Whittlesey lived with his large family in Effingham, IL, in 1880. At the time, the Whittleseys had ten members, two parents, three daughters and five sons. In addition, the household included a boarder, T.T. Thompson (born c. 1853 in IN). Around 1882, Whittlesey moved to Chicago, IL, and obtained work in the office of Addison and Fiedler, Architects. He remained in their employ for about 8 years, long enough to serve an apprenticeship. From at least 1885 until 1887, he boarded at 449 South Robey Street in Chicago. (See Chicago City Directory, 1885, p. 1451 and Chicago City Directory, 1887, p. 1644.)
Whittlesey worked for a number of years in Chicago, IL. He obtained the job of Chief Architect fof the Chicago-based Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe (ATSF) Railway in 1900, and began traveling the Western US for the company building depots and hotels. From 1904 until 1991, the ATSF maintained its headquarters in the Railway Exchange Building at 224 South Michigan Avenue.
From at least 1907 until 1910, Charles and Mable Whittlesey lived at 1201 Saint Andrews Place in Central Los Angeles. The US Census of 1910 stated that Whittlesey inhabited this Los Angeles address on 04/15/1910. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 72, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_82; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0208; FHL microfilm: 1374095, accessed 08/23/2016.) The architect also worked extensively in San Francisco following the 1906 Earthquake. Given his skill in designing reinforced concrete buildings, demand for his services for earthquake-resistant construction would have been high after this massive temblor. The 1910 US Census also indicated that he and his family lived in San Francisco, at 823 Market Street 04/28/1910.
A year before he died, Whittlesey and his wife Mabel lived in a rented dwelling at 8519 West 3rd Street in Los Angeles. They paid a rent of $25 per month for the accommodations. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation, Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_404; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 60-194, accessed 08/23/2016.)
He died in Los Angeles, CA, at the age of 73.
Parents
His father, E. Whittlesey (born c. 1828 in CT), taught school in 1880. His mother was Ruby E. Winston. She had ten children.
The family included Charles's siblings: Alice R. (born c. 1851 in WI), Elisha (born c. 1855 in WI), Horace (born c. 1857 in WI), Carrie A. (born c. 1859 in WI), Ruby W. (born c. 1861 in WI), Robert C. (born c. 1870 in IL), and Luther (born c. 1872 in IL). The Whittleseys moved from WI to IL in about 1861. In 1880, Elisha was a law student, Horace, a railroad fireman, Carrie a store clerk, and Ruby, a schoolteacher. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation, Year: 1880; Census Place: Effingham, Effingham, Illinois; Roll: 205; Family History Film: 1254205; Page: 345C; Enumeration District: 133; Image: 0451, accessed 08/23/2016.)
Spouse
He married Edith Mable Cruver Whittlesey (1870-1948) on 05/10/1892 in Chicago, IL. Her mother was Caroline D. Cruver (1840-1927). Charles had a sister, .
Children
With Mable, he had four children, two daughters who never married, Enid Caroline (1895-1981) and Beatrice Helen (1898-1988) and two boys whi did marry, Austin Cruver (1893-1950) and Harold Cruver (1896-1959). Austin would become an architect.
PCAD id: 102
