Résumé

Draftsman, Saint Louis, MO, 1884. (See Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1884, p. 1057.)

Partner, [Richard] Berger and Steinmann, Architects, Saint Louis, MO, 1885. This firm maintained an office at 1721 Morgan Streeet in Saint Louis. Richard Berger lived down the street at 1431 Morgan. (See Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1885, p. 146 and 1109.) In 1884, Berger worked as an architect for the Belchers Sugar Refining Company. (See Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1884, p. 143.)

Partner, [Frank J.] Capitain and Steinmann, Architects, Saint Louis, MO, 1887. Capitain and Steinmann operated at 814 Chestnut Street. (See Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1887, p. 1138.) Capitain would move to Los Angeles in 1888, and partner with James Lee Burton (1846-1901) for about two years.

Principal, Hermann Steinmann, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1888-1894. On 05/13/1888, Steinmann maintained an office in Room #5 of the Reinig Building in Seattle. (See Classified advertisement for Hermann Steinmann, Architect, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 05/13/1888, p. 7.) He had expanded his office space in 1889, occupying Rooms #56 and 57 of the Boston Block. (See R.L. Polk’s Seattle City Directory, 1889, p. 415.) In 1890, he had only one space, Room #56, of the Boston Block. (See R.L. Polk’s Seattle City Directory, 1890, p. 666.) By 1894, he leased Room #600 of the Burke Building. This was his last office in Seattle, as he left the city during the economic lull occurring after 1893.(See Polk's Seattle Directory Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1894, p. 770.)

Principal, Hermann Steinmann, Architect, New York, NY, 1894-1905.

Professional Activities

Steinmann made a name for himself designing breweries in Seattle, WA, Victoria, BC, Canada, and New York, NY. In the 19th century, German-American brewers often turned to fellow German immigrant architects to design their facilities.

Relocation

According to Dennis Andersen and Duane Dietz, Steinmann worked in Saint Louis, MO, from 1883-1887. An "Herman H.T. Steinmann" worked as a clerk and lived in Saint Louis in 1883, boarding in a house at the corner of Arsenal Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Saint Louis's Tower Grove East neighborhood. In 1884 and 1885, he inhabited a dwelling at 1125 Washington Avenue. (See Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1884, p. 1057 and Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1885, p. 1109.) By 1887, he resided at 6708 South Broadway. (See Saint Louis, Missouri, City Directory, 1887, p. 1138.)

From Saint Louis, he relocated to Seattle, WA, in 11/1887. Steinmann remained until 1894. (See Duane Dietz, "Architects and Landscape Architects of Seattle, 1876 to 1959," typescript, 1994, np.)

According to the 1889 Seattle city directory, Steinmann resided on the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and Pine Street. (See R.L. Polk’s Seattle City Directory, 1889, p. 415.) The directories for 1890 and 1891 situated him living on the northwest corner of Pine Street and 12th Avenue.(See R.L. Polk’s Seattle City Directory, 1890, p. 666.) The street number was 1601 12th Avenue in 1894.(See Polk's Seattle Directory Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1894, p. 770.)

An architect with the name "Herman Steinmann" lived with his wife Elise at 686 Prospect Place in Brooklyn, NY, according to the US Census of 1900. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 24, Kings, New York; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0415; FHL microfilm: 1241062, accessed 12/18/2020.) The 1900 Census recorded that Steinmann came to the US in 1883, and that he had already been naturalized, contradicting his naturalization paperwork of 1904. It is possible that there were two architects named Herman Steinmann living in the New York area c. 1900.

In 09/1904, this Steinmann lived at 1431 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957; Microfilm Serial: M1164; Microfilm Roll: 16, accessed 12/18/2020.)

Despondent over a lack of work, Steinmann committed suicide at his office in New York, NY, at 66 New Street in Lower Manhattan on 04/14/1905. An article discussing Steinmann's death in the Seattle Times, stated that the architect had worked in Seattle between 1880-1898. (See "Architect Takes Gas," Seattle Times, 04/25/1905, p. 4.)

Spouse

He wed Elise Steinmann (born c. 04/1855 in IL) c. 1886, probably in Saint Louis, MO. Her parents were both born in Germany, as per the 1900 US Census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 24, Kings, New York; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0415; FHL microfilm: 1241062, accessed 12/18/2020.)

Children

The 1900 US Census noted that Elise Steinmann had had one child that was not alive in that year. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 24, Kings, New York; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0415; FHL microfilm: 1241062, accessed 12/18/2020.)

Biographical Notes

Steinmann's first name was often spelled "Herman" and his last, "Steinman."

A US naturalization card dated 09/01/1904 indicated that an architect named Herman Steinmann came to the US from Germany on 02/11/1881 and entered the country in New York, NY. He became an American citizen in the US District Court in Brooklyn, NY. Charles Speh served as his naturalization witness, a clerk who lived at 8 Pilling Street in Brooklyn. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Index to Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1865-1957; Microfilm Serial: M1164; Microfilm Roll: 16, accessed 12/18/2020.)