Master Architects in West Virginia Context Study: Edward Bates Franzheim

Avdakov, Steven; Griffin, Deborah; Schmidtke, Lisa

Abstract: "Edward Bates Franzheim was a prominent architect in West Virginia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He received his architectural training in Boston, and he practiced architecture in Wheeling from 1889 until shortly before his death in 1942. Franzheim created designs for many building types, including offices, courthouses, banks, stores, theaters, schools, churches, clubs and residences. His early non-residential work was designed in the Romanesque and Richardsonian Romanesque styles, but his later work was largely in the Neo-Classical Revival style. He also designed a few non-residential buildings in the Collegiate Gothic, Carpenter Gothic, English Revival and Art Deco styles. His residential work included designs in the Queen Anne, Shingle, Tudor/English Revival, Colonial Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, Bungalow, Neo-Classical Revival and Mediterranean Revival styles. In the early part of his practice, he executed designs for many building types, but for the last 20 years, his work was almost entirely residential. Although he designed many significant non-residential buildings, his architectural legacy lies mostly in his residential work, which included many grand homes designed for the leading citizens of Wheeling. Many of his buildings are extant, and his work continues to be valued and appreciated." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Arts, Culture, and History, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grants division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (grant number P20AF00057).

Master Architects in West Virginia Context Study: Edward Bates Franzheim

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