Résumé

Artist, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) c. 1933; (It was thought that Steinbrueck also worked as an artist for the Works Progress Administration [WPA], c. 1935);

Draftsman, William J. Bain, Sr., Architect, Seattle, WA, 1935.

Draftsman, J. Gordon Kaufmann, Architect, Seattle, 1936.

Draftsman, James Taylor, Architect, Seattle, 1936.

Designer, Bjarne Moe, Architect, Seattle, 1937-1938.

Principal, Victor Steinbrueck, Architect, Seattle, 1938-1942.

World War II Service, U.S. Army, 10th Mountain Division, 1942-1946. Victor Steinbrueck enlisted as a private in the US Army on 09/17/1943. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, accessed 03/11/2019.) Another government record indicated that he enlisted on 10/08/1943 and was released from service on 94/16/1946. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 03/11/2019.)

On his return from the war, Steinbrueck began teaching in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. According to the M.A. Thesis written by UW student Anne L. Lindsay in 1987: "Steinbrueck would work during the summers [while not teaching at UW] in several architectural firms in the Seattle area. During this time, he and [Paul Hayden] Kirk became very close friends." (See Anne L. Lindsay, The Evolution of the Faculty Club on the University of Washington Campus 1909 through Present, M.A. Thesis, University of Washington, Department of Architecture, [Seattle: University of Washington, 1987], p. 97.)

Architect, Minoru Yamasaki, Architect, Detroit, MI, 1956-1957. Steinbrueck did not stay long in Yamasaki's corporate office in Detroit before returning to Seattle and his teaching position at the University of Washington.

Architect, Paul Hayden Kirk, AIA, Architect, c. 1955 and c. 1958. According to Lindsay, "In 1956, Steinbrueck packed his family up and moved to Detroit to work in Yamasaki's office. He decided to return to Seattle and when he did return he worked briefly in Paul Kirk's office." (See Anne L. Lindsay, The Evolution of the Faculty Club on the University of Washington Campus 1909 through Present, M.A. Thesis, University of Washington, Department of Architecture, [Seattle: University of Washington, 1987], p. 97.) He worked with Kirk and David McKinley on the University Unitarian Church #2 at 6556 35th Avenue NE in Seattle.

In 1958, Steinbrueck had an office at 1314 East 43rd Street, Room #7. He shared this office space with John R. Sproule. Additionally, Michael Soldano had office space in Room #11 of 1314 East 43rd Street in 1958. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1958, p. 214.)

Teaching

Assistant / Associate / Professor of Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Department of Architecture, Seattle, WA, 1946-1957 and 1958-1976. He retired from teaching in 1976.

Chair, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), Department of Architecture, Seattle, WA, 1961-1964.

Professional Service

Victor Steinbrueck produced a guidebook, Seattle Architecture 1850-1953, (New York: Reinhold Publishing Company, 1953), one of a series produced by architects for each city in which the annual convention of AIA was held.

Steinbrueck moderated a panel discussion of "concepts of design in architecture" held at a 09/08/1960 meeting of the American Institute of Architects. Panel participants included Alan Liddle, Anker Molver, William J. Bain and Stephen Richardson. (See "Architects Will Meet Thursday," Seattle Times, 09/04/1960, p. 22.)

The architect took an active and central role in Seattle public policy during the 1960s, forming coalitions to protect historic buildings in the city's downtown, including Pioneer Sqaure and Pike Place Market. He took an oath of office as a State of WA Planning/Community Affairs officer in 1968, according to state records.

Steinbrueck served on the jury of the 1963-1964 Home Awards Jury put together by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Sunset magazine. Halprin served with a distinguished cast of designers including Harris Armstrong (1899-9173, an architect from the Saint Louis, MO, area), Edward Larrabee Barnes (1915-2004), Architect of New York, Dorothy W. Liebes (1897-1972), a distinguished Bay Area weaver, Lawrence Halprin (1916-2009), the noted Bay Area landscape architect, and Calvin Straub (1920-1988), an architect from Southern California and teacher at USC's Architecture School, who moved to become an Architecture Professor at Arizona State University between 1961 and 1988. Proctor P. Mellquist (born 08/14/1915), Editor of Sunset, presided on the committee.

Professional Awards

Steinbreuck won a Northwest Artist Awards for a watercolor of Yesler Terrace, 1934.

The Washington Chapter, American Institute of Architects (AIA), gave the Steinbrueck's own house (1949-1953), Seattle, WA, and the Alden Mason House #2 (1951), Richmond Beach, Seattle, WA, Honor Awards in 1952 and 1953, respectively.

Steinbrueck was named "First Citizen of Seattle in 1977."

Seattle's Mayor, Charles Royer (b. 08/22/1939), proclaimed 11/02/1982 as "Victor Steinbrueck Day."

Pike Place Park, which Steinbrueck helped design with Richard Haag (b. 1923), was renamed "Victor Steinbrueck Park" after his death.

Recipient, University of Washington, Seattle (UW), College of Built Environments, Distinguished Faculty Award for Lifetime Achievement, Seattle, WA, 2018. The College of Built Environments said of his achievement in teaching at the UW in 2018: "Victor Steinbrueck (1911-1985) graduated from UW in 1935. He joined the UW architecture faculty in 1946, served as Architecture Department Chair from 1961 to 1964, and taught until 1976. Steinbrueck is most recognized for his civic involvement, his role in the creation of the Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market historic districts, and his focus on the buildings and open spaces of Seattle as an embodiment of local culture. Steinbrueck Park is named in his honor." (See University of Washington, Seattle (UW), College of Built Environments.edu, "Ten honored with new CBE Distinguished Faculty Award for Lifetime Achievement," published 2018, accessed 08/02/2022.)

Archives

"An Architect's Studio and Residence," a second-year student project, dated 12/10/1932, is preserved in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) Drawings Collection at the University of Washington (UW) Libraries' Department of Special Collections. (In 2009, all student drawings formerly stored by the Department of Architecture were transferred to the UW Libraries, Department of Special Collections.)

In addition, a "Protestant Church in Suburb, an analytique drawing done by the architect in 1933, has also been preserved in the UW Libraries' Special Collections Division (Item #ARC0891).

Steinbrueck's personal papers were also stored in the UW Libraries University Archives.

Many of Victor Steinbrueck's own photographs are preserved in the (UW) College of Built Environments' Visual Resources Collection, a gift of Peter Steinbrueck.

High School/College

He attended primary and secondary (Franklin High School) schools in Seattle.

He entered the University of Washington in 1928; he began studying at the School of Fisheries but came to the School of Architecture in 1930.

B.Arch., University of Washington, Seattle, WA (UW), 1935; (Peter Steinbrueck mentioned that his father graduated in 1934.) While at the UW, Victor was an editorial staff member of Columns, the campus humor magazine. In 1932, he served on this board with another architect, Jack Sproule (1908-1993).

Relocation

Born in Mandan, in central ND nearby to Bismarck, Steinbrueck's family settled in Seattle, WA, in 1913, when Victor was two; he spent his childhood and university years in the city. In 1918, the Steinbruecks lived at 707 Homer Street in Seattle. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Washington; Registration County: King; Roll: 1992013; Draft Board: 12, accessed 03/11/2019.) Two years later, the US Census located the family at 6353 Maynard Avenue in Seattle. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: T625_1930; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 320, accessed 03/11/2019.)

In 1930-1931, he lived with his family at 2707 33rd Avenue South in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1930, p. 1618 and
Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1931, p. 1594.)As a senior in college, Victor continued to live at home in 1935, when the family resided at 2633 Ferdinand Street in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1935, p. 1426.) By 1940, Rose and her two sons had a residence at 3714 40th Avenue South.(See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: m-t0627-04381; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 40-245, accessed 03/11/2019.)

Early jobs were also obtained in Seattle. He served in the military for about four years during World War II, and then returned to teach at the University of Washington and practice in Seattle. Steinbrueck accepted a job with the architect Minoru Yamasaki in Detroit, MI, in 1957, but did not live here a full year before returning to Seattle; Steinbruck also spent a sabbatical in London, UK, in 1967-1968.

His last residence was located in the 98102 zip code of Seattle, which included the Eastlake and Portage Bay Neighborhoods. He had a house at 2622 Franklin Ave East in 1981.

Parents

His father, John Cashmere Steinbrueck (born 08/24/1881 in Cleveland, OH-d. 01/15/1935 in Seattle, WA), worked as a railroad worker, machinist, and, later, an auto mechanic. The US Census of 1910, listed John as being a machinist in the Northern Pacific Railroad's shops in Mandan, ND. In 1918, John Steinbrueck worked for Patterson MacDonald on East Marginal Way in Seattle as a machinist. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: Washington; Registration County: King; Roll: 1992013; Draft Board: 12, accessed 03/11/2019.) By 1935, John worked as an automobile mechanic at the James Street Garage in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1935, p. 1426.)

Steinbrueck's paternal line came from Germany, one strand of it having lived in Berlin. The family of Victor's mother, Rose Dolores Rittle (born 02/21/1885 in Saint Paul, MN-d. 09/07/1960 in Seattle, WA), also came from Germany. His paternal grandparents were Ernst Reinhold Steinbrueck (born 10/23/1836 in Dusseldorf, Germany-d. 01/25/1918 in Mandan, ND) and Waleska Veronica Meilbitz (born 01/21/1844-d. 06/04/1921 in Mandan, ND). Waleska was of Polish and German descent. At age 75 in 1920 and recently widowed, she lived with John, Rose, and their family at 6353 Maynard Avenue in Seattle

Victor had a brother, John Cashmere Steinbrueck.

Spouses

Victor married Elaine Pearl Worden (born 11/10/1931 in Raymond, WA-d. 01/13/2019) on 09/25/1950 in Seattle, WA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Reference Number: kingcoarchmc168660, accessed 03/11/2019.) He divorced his first wife and wed his second, Marjorie Da Silva, on 09/08/1964 in Seattle. His children lived with Elaine in a Denny Blaine house.

Children

Victor and Elaine Steinbrueck had four children; Matthew, Lisa, David and Peter.

Peter Steinbrueck, (b. 1957), also an architect, became a long-time City Councilman in Seattle, WA, retiring in 2007;

Personal Notes

Steinbrueck had a significant heart attack in 1953 that forced him to reduce strenuous activity; this setback encouraged him to find new pastimes, most significantly sketching. By 1959, his sketches of Seattle street scenes were featured in the Argus newspaper, a liberal weekly that operated from 1894-1983; his first sketch focused on the corner of 1st Avenue and Cherry Street. Steinbrueck traveled to Japan in 07/1962 for a six-month study tour of Japan financed by a $4,887 grant from the Asian Arts Foundation. According to Seattle Times article of 07/01/1962: "Steinbrueck will sketch Japanese architecture and visual city forms in Kyoto." (See "Steinbrueck Going to Japan," Seattle Times, 07/01/1962, p. 56.) Because of his work to save the Pike Place Market from demolition, a Seattle City Park was named in his honor. Victor Steinbrueck Park is located at the corner of Western Avenue and Virginia Street, just to the north of the Pike Place Market. In 1967-1968, Steinbrueck lived in London, UK and wrote two letters to the editor of the Times of London that were published.

SSN: 536-01-4925.

• Mandan, ND (Architect's Birth)
  Mandan, ND

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• Seattle, WA (Architect's Death)
  Seattle, WA

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