Ernest R. Graham
Ernest Robert Graham (August 22, 1868 — November 22, 1936) was an American architect.
Also recorded as Ernest Robert Graham
Ernest R. Graham

Halliday Witherspoon: Men of Illinois. Chicago: H. Witherspoon, c 1902. (p. 3) · Public domain
- Name
- Ernest Robert Graham
- Born
- 22 August 1868
- Birthplace
- Lowell, Michigan
- Died
- 22 November 1936
- Place of death
- Chicago, Illinois
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Known for
- Postal Square Building
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Ernest Robert Graham (August 22, 1868 — November 22, 1936) was an American architect.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Ernest R. Graham was an architect, of American nationality. The architect was born in Lowell and died in Chicago. Ernest R. Graham worked for Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.
Among the works is Postal Square Building. Languages used include English. Works are held at Art Institute of Chicago.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 2118704-6 · wikidata · Q5393709
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. Works named in the authority record are Postal Square Building. Work by Ernest R. Graham is recorded in the collections of Art Institute of Chicago.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ernest Robert Graham • Born — 22 August 1868 • Birthplace — Lowell, Michigan • Died — 22 November 1936 • Place of death — Chicago, Illinois • Practice — Graham, Anderson, Probst & White • Significant Buildings — National Postal Museum, Equitable Building, Union Station (Washington, D.C.), Terminal Tower
Biography
Biography
Graham was born in Lowell, Kent County, Michigan, the son of Robert William and Emma Elizabeth (Post) Graham. Employed first by Burnham and Root in Chicago, then by D.H. Burnham & Co., Graham was involved in the engineering and design of Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893. He was a co-founder of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, the successor firm to Daniel Burnham's practice. Graham designed the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Equitable Building in New York City, among many others. According to an obituary in The New York Times (November 23, 1936, page 21, column 1): "For nearly half a century, he was one of the great builders of Chicago." Among the buildings that Graham planned or contributed to in Chicago were the Merchandise Mart, Field Building (now the LaSalle Bank Building), Wrigley Building, Field Museum of Natural History reconstruction, Shedd Aquarium, Continental Illinois Bank Building, Union Station, Marshall Field & Company Stores, the old Chicago Main Post Office Building, Pittsfield Building, State Bank of Chicago Building, and the Civic Opera House. Graham also designed many noteworthy structures in other cities. These included the Equitable Building, Chase National Bank, and 80 Maiden Lane in New York City; Union Station and the General Post Office in Washington, D.C., and the Union Trust, Union Station and Terminal Tower Building in Cleveland.
Personal life
Personal life
Graham married Carlotta Vonwagonen (Jackson) Hull in 1893. Carlotta died in 1923. He married his second wife, Ruby Fitzhugh (Powell) Leffingwell, in 1925 at Stokes Poges Church, England. He adopted her son, William E. Leffingwell. Graham is the uncle of Robert Klark Graham, founder of the controversial "Nobel Sperm Bank".
Death
Death
He died on November 22, 1936, at his home at 25 Banks Street, Chicago, Illinois, aged 68.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Works and production
Works and production
The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Graham is recorded with the gender male. Institutional cataloguing adds that ernest R. Graham was born on 22 August 1868. It is also recorded that ernest R. Graham died on 22 November 1936.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Ernest R. Graham was born at Lowell.
Birthplace
Ernest R. Graham died at Chicago.
Deathplace
Lowell.
Birth place
Chicago.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5393709: Ernest R. Graham
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 2118704-6, Ernest R. Graham Study Center for Architectural Drawings.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920
- 2."Michigan Biographical Dictionary", Caryn Hannan
- 3.LEAVES $1,570,000 FOR SCHOOL OF ART; Will of Ernest R. Graham Gives Fortune to Free Chicago Institution. The New York Times. 1936-12-04. 0362-4331.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q5393709: Ernest R. GrahamWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 2118704-6, Ernest R. Graham Study Center for Architectural Drawings.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Design
11,558 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Ernest N. BoydenDesigner
- Ernest NewtonDesigner
- Ernest OberholtzerDesigner
- Ernest PrestwichDesigner
- Ernest Reginald RidgwayDesigner
- Ernest Richard Eckett SuttonDesigner
- Ernest RichmondDesigner
- Ernest SansonDesigner
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