Hermann V. von Holst

The von Holsts lived in Germany with visits to the United States until they emigrated from Germany to Chicago in 1891, where von Holst, Sr., became head of the department of history at the University of Chicago.

• Name — Hermann V. von Holst • Born — 17 June 1874 • Died — 1955

Von Holst graduated from the architecture program at the University of Chicago in 1893 and the architecture program at MIT in 1896. He found employment as a draughtsman at the prestigious architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, in their Chicago office, one of the successor firms of the celebrated architect Henry Hobson Richardson. By 1900, von Holst was head draughtsman at the firm. Following extensive travels, von Holst opened his own practice in Chicago in 1905, with offices in The Rookery Building, Chicago. In 1909, he moved his office to Chicago's Steinway Hall, where he was among a collegial group of Prairie School architects. Active in professional organizations, von Holst served as treasurer of the Architectural League of America in 1905. He published several books on architectural subjects, including Cyclopedia of Drawing (1907) and Modern American Homes (1913) which featured work of fellow architects, including Walter Burley Griffin, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Lawrence Buck. He served as professor of architectural design at the Chicago School of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also taught design in the Department of Architecture at the Armour Institute of Technology (later IIT). In the period 1904–1906, von Holst created summer countryside estate architecture in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for socially prominent and wealthy clients, including Pittsburgh glassmaking millionaire George A. Macbeth and International Harvester partner John Glessner, whose Chicago Glessner House was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson.

Von Holst was lured to Florida by the possibilities for work there during the land boom as well as the relief from Chicago winters. Practicing in Boca Raton, he was engaged in architecture and land development from the late 1920s onward. In Boca Raton, von Holst headed a group that completed a subdivision of 29 Florida Spanish Revival homes named Floresta, which means a delightful rural place. In addition to designing many of the homes, including his own (Lavender House, c. 1928), von Holst named the suburb and named its streets for native Florida birds and plants, denoting an appreciation von Holst shared with noted Florida artists Sam Stoltz and Joy Postle (who drew von Holst's portrait). It was von Holst who brought the subdivision to completion following the Florida land bust. Modern real estate agents in Boca Raton tend to mistakenly describe von Holst's residential work there as by the colorful, quixotic Addison Mizner. While Mizner did serve as the general contractor / developer of "Floresta" the architectural plans for these homes were von Holst's. Moreover, Mizner defaulted on payments to contractors, was successfully sued by von Holst, et al., and thereafter von Holst took chief responsibility for its success. Lucy von Holst, along with the wives of their two remaining partners (John Verhoeven and Fred Aiken), prepared unsold homes for stylish winter rentals for snowbirds. The true story of old Floresta has been documented by Dr. Donald W. Curl in the journal of the Boca Raton Historical Society. Von Holst retired from architecture in 1932. He was chairman of the Boca Raton Town Planning Board in 1940. Von Holst served on the Boca Raton Council from 1934 to 1947 and again in 1948–1949 and was granted honorary life membership on the board in 1953.

• The Glamis, summer country estate of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Macbeth, Bethlehem, New Hampshire – 1904–05 • Agricultural buildings at The Rocks, the John Glessner Summer Estate, Bethlehem, New Hampshire – 1905 • David Amberg Residence, Grand Rapids, Michigan (office of Frank Lloyd Wright; Hermann V. von Holst, architect, Marion Mahony, associate architect) – 1909 • E. P Irving Residence, Millikin Place, Decatur, Illinois, (office of Frank Lloyd Wright; Hermann V. von Holst, architect, Marion Mahony, associate architect) – 1909 • Robert Mueller, Millikin Place, Decatur, Illinois, (office of Frank Lloyd Wright; Hermann V. von Holst, architect, Marion Mahony, associate architect) – 1909-11 • Adolph Mueller Residence, Millikin Place, Decatur, Illinois, (office of Frank Lloyd Wright; Hermann V. von Holst, architect, Marion Mahony, associate architect) – 1909 • Clubhouse for Howe School, Howe, Indiana – 1910-12 • Residence, with gable roof, side entry porch and urn bearing plinths, location unknown, c. 1911 • Maurice LeBosquet Residence, Tracy, Illinois - c. 1911 • A. J. Mason Residence, Flossmore, Illinois – c. 1911 • C. H. Wills Residence, Detroit, Michigan, (project) (office of Frank Lloyd Wright, with Marion Mahony) – 1912 • "Fair Lane" residence for Henry Ford, Detroit (office of Frank Lloyd Wright, unbuilt original design, with Marion Mahony Griffin) – 1912 • Commonwealth Edison Electric Power Substation, 4401 N. Clifton Ave., Chicago, Illinois – 1916 • Howe School Chapel, Howe, Indiana – 1917 (von Holst and Fyfe) • People's Light & Gas Company, Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, c. 1923/1924 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie, associate architect) • Lake Lawn Hotel, 2400 E. Geneva St., Delavan, Wisconsin, c. 1923/1924 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie associate architect) • People's Light & Gas Company, Larrabee Street, Chicago, Illinois, c. 1924/1925 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie associate architect) • People's Light & Gas Company, 114 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois c. 1926 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie associate architect) • Condell Memorial Hospital, 303 East Cleveland, Libertyville, Illinois, c. 1927/1928 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect). Spanish revival hospital with a floor plan in the shape of a cross. Demolished 2004. • People's Light & Gas Company, Irving Park Store, Illinois, c. 1927/1928 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie associate architect) • Humboldt Park Distributing Station, Humboldt Park, Illinois, (no date) (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie, delineator) • Lavender House, Hermann V. von Holst residence, "Old Floresta", 875 Allamanda St., Boca Raton, Florida – 1927 • Oleander House, Rev. Henry Mizner residence, "Old Floresta", 888 Oleander St., Boca Raton, Florida – 1927 • Ilex House, 775 Azalea St., "Old Floresta", Boca Raton, Florida – 1927 • Elgin Station, Elgin, Illinois, 1928 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie associate architect) • Aurora Terminal, Aurora, Illinois, 1928 (Hermann V. von Holst, architect; George Grant Elmslie, associate architect) • Wisconsin Power and Light Company Building, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 1929-30 • Maxwelton Braes Hotel (Rosslyn Hall), Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, 1930 (Hermann V. von Holst, associated architect; George Grant Elmslie, associate architect) • Ocean Beach Pavilion II, Boca Raton – 1930