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Male, UK/US, born 1862-04-10, died 1942-06-21
Associated with the firms network
Adler and Sullivan, Architects; Bebb and Gould, Architects; Bebb and Jones, Architects; Bebb and Mendel, Architects; Bebb, Charles H., Architect; Sylliaasen, Bebb, Jones, and Bouillon, Architects
Résumé
Railroad Engineer, Capetown-Kimberley Railroad, Western Division, South Africa, 1877-1882.
Construction Engineer, Illinois Terra Cotta Lumber Company, Chicago, IL, 1882-1888.
Superintending Architect/Chief Superintendent, Adler and Sullivan, Architects, Chicago, IL, 1888-1893 (Bebb was dispatched to Seattle, WA, to supervise construction of the Seattle Opera House, that was never erected). In a résumé published in the Capitol's Who's Who in Seattle (1939), Bebb indicated having worked in Chicago, IL, from 1886-1890, and in Seattle from 1890-on. (See "Charles Herbert Bebb," Capitol's Who's Who in Seattle, [Portland, OR: Capitol Publishing Company, 1939] , p. 522.) Bebb was listed as an architect in the Seattle City Directory of 1891, but was known to have returned to Chicago in 12/1890. He prepared a construction bid for Boone and Willcox's unbuilt Administration and Belles Lettres Building at the University of Washington in 09/1891; he had to find work as a contractor initially in Seattle, before breaking into the architectural business.
Architectural Engineer, Denny Clay Company, Seattle, WA, 09/1893-1898.
Principal, Charles H. Bebb, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1898-1901. In 1901, Bebb and Mendel had an office in Room #110 of the Washington Building. (See Polk's Seattle Directory Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1901, p. 216.)
Partner, Bebb and Mendel Architects, Seattle, WA, 02/1901-1914. Bebb and Mendel had an office in Room #206 of the Denny Block in 1904. (See Bebb and Mendel classified advertisement, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 06/12/1904, p. 6.) In 1910, Bebb and Mendel operated their offices three floors up, in Room #503 of the Denny Building. According to the University of Washington Libraries' "Architecture of the Pacific Northwest" web site, Bebb and Gould had distinct responsibilities within the partnership: "Both Charles H. Bebb and Carl F. Gould came into their partnership having already established themselves in their respective fields as individuals and members of highly successful design teams. Joining their complementary strengths, Bebb and Gould became associates in 1914 with the agreement that Bebb would act as engineer and partner in charge of management, contracts and specifications, and Gould as principal designer and planner. When he partnered with Bebb, Gould modified or carried forward some large projects that Bebb's former partner Louis Mendel had begun...." (See University of Washington Libraries, Digital Collections, "Architecture of the Pacific Northwest: William E. Boeing residence [Seattle, Wash.], entrance gate and lodge elevations," accessed 06/07/2011.)
Principal, Charles H. Bebb, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1914.
Partner, Bebb and Gould Architects, Seattle, WA, 1915-1939.
Partner, Bebb and Jones Architects, Seattle, WA, 1940-1947.
Partner, Sylliaasen, Bebb, Jones and Bouillion Architects, Seattle, WA, 1942.
Professional Activities
Member, American Institute of Architects, Washington State Chapter. Bebb assisted in the foundation of the Washington State Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
President, AIA, Washington State Chapter, 1902-1903, 1908-1909.
Secretary, AIA, Washington State Chapter, 1910-1911.
Professional Awards
Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA), 1911.
Archives
Some of Charles Bebb's papers are located in the University of Washington Library, Department of Special Collections, in the Charles H. Bebb Papers, 1911-1931.
College
B.A., King's College, London, UK, 1873.
Coursework, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, c. 1875.
Civil engineering coursework, Royal School of Mines, London, UK, c. 1877.
Relocation
Born in the UK, Charles Bebb attended private school in Kensington, London and university at King's College, London; he did preparatory coursework at a secondary school in Switzerland prior to entering the University of Lausanne, Lausanne Switzerland. Following this he took coursework in civil engineering at the Royal School of Mines, London. Thereafter, he obtained work on the Cape Town-Kimberley Railroad in South Africa for 5 years (1877-1882) during the First Boer War of 1880-1881. Seeking additional railroad work, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1882. He came to Chicago, IL, in 1886, getting a job with the Illinois Terra Cotta Company and later, working in the architectural office of Adler and Sullivan.
In connection with Adler and, Sullivan's Opera House Project of 1889-1890, Bebb traveled to Seattle, WA, from 10-12/1890. He relocated permanently to the city after he found work as an Architectural Engineer at the Denny Clay Company. He remained in Seattle for the remainder of his life, rising to leadership in the local profession.
In 1901, Charles Bebb boarded in the Blackwell Hotel in Seattle. (See Polk's Seattle Directory Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1901, p. 216.)
Bebb dwelled at the posh, new Hotel Sorrento in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood in 1913. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1913, p. 380.)
Bebb resided at 1004 Boren Avenue in First Hill, the University Club Building. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1941, p. 130.)
He died in Overlook Hospital, Summit, NJ, on 06/21/1942.
Parents
His father was Henry Charles Lewis Bebb, a solicitor, and mother, Jessie Green Bebb. His parents were of English and Irish descent. Her father, Paddy Green, owned the Evans Hotel in Covent Garden, London, UK, a fashionable lodging and eating establishment frequented by the nobility and upper class. Charles Bebb's father and two brothers emigrated to Brisbane, Australia.
Spouse
Charles Bebb married Virginia Rutter Burnes of Ellicott City, MD, in 1882. She was born in Baltimore, MD, 12/31/1859. Her father was Dr. A.P. Burns.
Children
Charles Bebb and Virginia Burnes Bebb had one son, Joseph Crispia Bebb (1883-1957). Joseph C. Bebb worked 46 years for the Otis Elevator Company in offices in Seattle, San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY.
Biographical Notes
In A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of the City of Seattle and County of King Washington, (New York and Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1903), p. 672, it was noted that Charles Bebb was born in Surrey, England on 04/10/1858. This source noted that Bebb, while working with the Illinois Terra Cotta Lumber Company, supervised the Chamber of Commerce Building in Chicago and the Monon Block. For Adler and Sullivan, Bebb was involved in the construction of the Chicago Auditorium Building, Schiller Theatre, Crane Elevator Company Factory, Cold Storage Exchange, the 31st Street and Indiana Avenue Synagogue, the Wright and Hill Linseed Oil Company Factory and the Meyer Building. There is a great deal of confusion about Bebb's birth date. It has been recorded in several places as having been 04/10/1856. John Addison Ballard, an Australian scholar, has discovered that the 1856 or 1858 dates to have been too early. He wrote: "...[I]t appears that his true date of birth was 10 Apr 1862. His parents were married at the Royal Bavarian Catholic Chapel in Westminster Parish, London on 22 Oct 1859. They had a daughter, Agnes, in about 1860. The Times of 15 Apr 1862 contains a birth notice for a son to Mrs H Charles L Bebb of Notting Hill. In the 1871 census the family appears at West Hall in Mortlake, Surrey with Agnes Margaret age 10 born Mortlake, Charles H age 9 born Bayswater in London." (Email from John Addison Ballard to the author, 03/07/2013. Thank you to Mr. Ballard for his detailed information.) Charles H. Bebb was listed as a Director of the Union Savings and Trust Company in 10/1905, a bank operated by James D. Hoge. (See Union Savings and Trust Company ad, Seattle Times, 10/01/1905, p. 10.) Bebb's firm, Bebb and Mendel, would go on to design a high-rise office building for Hoge in 1909-1911.
Bebb was interested in hunting, and purchased land on the Squak (now spelled "Squawk") Slough near Kenmore, WA, on which to hunt wildfowl. The Seattle Daily Times wrote in 1904: "R.J. Fisher, C.H. Bebb, of Bebb & Mendal [sic], and Eldred Tucker, president of the Tucker Printing Company, have purchased 160 acres on the slough between Redmond and York, which they will at once convert into a shooting preserve." (See "To Build Summer Homes," Seattle Daily Times, 06/15/1904, p. 3.)
PCAD id: 1765
