Hermann V. Von Holst - Overseeing Frank Lloyd Wright's Practice

Overseeing Frank Lloyd Wright's Practice

As has been increasingly well-documented, before Wright and Mrs. Cheney went off together to Europe, Wright asked various architects to take on the responsibility of his office, including Marion Mahony and George Grant Elmslie, both of whom refused. Finally, he arranged for Hermann V. von Holst to oversee the work. Along with continuing Wright architects Isabel Roberts and John Van Bergen, von Holst contracted with Marion Mahony (who as stipulated had complete control of architectural design) and her husband Walter Burley Griffin (for landscape architecture). Together, they brought what work they could of Wright's to completion—much of it modified to Marion Mahony Griffin's designs.

The happy result of this time period for the Prairie School is a graceful collection of Prairie Style residences in a Griffin-planned landscape on Millikin Place in Decatur, Illinois and a pair of charming Prairie homes, one by Wright and the other by von Holst and Mahony, across the street from each other in Grand Rapids. Unfortunately, Clara and Henry Ford did not grasp the potential of the home designed for them; by dismissing von Holst and Mahony, they ended up with a ponderous, ungainly home. Fair Lane as finally designed by others, has but rare hints of Prairie concepts remaining (the south end and in some of the outbuildings, such as Ford's beloved Powerplant). The Ford residence is awkward of proportion, cold in demeanor and unfortunate in detail.

Architectural historians have tended to underestimate von Holst's abilities and influence in the world of architecture. However it is clear that a man with degrees from two outstanding architecture departments, who had served as head draughtsman for the leading firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, who taught design and served as treasurer of the Architectural League of America was a solid choice for this task. Also, architectural critics have tended either to undervalue or misattribute work done while Wright was mostly incommunicado in Europe. The output of Wright's office in the years 1909-1911 should be assessed on its own merit as Prairie School work of the first order by the design team headed by Marion Mahony under the auspices of von Holst.

Modern architectural critics have wondered in print why Wright selected an architect not known for the Prairie Style to supervise his office. However, even a cursory glace at his work both during and after supervising Wright's office shows an impressive collection of buildings contributing to the Prairie School's output in Chicago and the Midwest (see partial listing of work, below, especially the non-Wright work of 1910-1911).

While von Holst was supevising Wright's office, he and Lucy Edith Hammond were married. von Holst continued to practice in Chicago through the 1920s. He served as President of the Chicago Architectural League. For a time he shared a parntership with James L. Fyfe. He collaborated with George Grant Elmslie on a number of Prairie Style commercial and industrial structures, particularly a series of train stations and power company buildings. On June 10, 1928, Condell Memorial Hospital which von Host designed was dedicated in Libertyville, Illinois.