Walter C. Root Explained

Walter Clarke Root
Nationality:American
Birth Date:8 December 1859
Birth Place:Atlanta
Death Place:Kansas City

Walter C. Root (December 8, 1859 - June 26, 1925) was an American architect practicing in Kansas City, Missouri. He is best known for his major works in Missouri and Kansas, including Dyche Hall on the University of Kansas campus.

Early life and career

Walter Clarke Root was born on December 8, 1859, in Atlanta to Sidney Root, a merchant, and Mary (Clarke) Root. He had two siblings including his older brother, John Wellborn Root. During the American Civil War Sidney Root supported secession. Root's role in aiding the confederacy severely damaged his property interests, and after the war the family relocated to New York City, where Walter Clarke was educated. He attended the New York public schools and the City College of New York. In 1879 he moved to Chicago and joined his brother's office, Burnham & Root.[1] In 1886 he was sent to Kansas City to supervise several of their large projects, including the Kansas City Board of Trade building, and when they were completed he opened his own office. After about eight years of independent practice Root formed the firm of Root & Siemens with architect George M. Siemens in 1896.[2] They worked in partnership for almost thirty years.[3]

He designed many buildings including the Francis and Harriet Baker House, a historic site listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4] With George M. Siemens, he designed Dyche Hall at University of Kansas, now the University of Kansas Natural History Museum and the Scarritt Building in Kansas City, Missouri.[4]

Personal life and death

Root was married in 1891 to Lora Bullene, and they had three children.[2] Root died suddenly in Kansas City on June 26, 1926.[5]

Works

Works include:

Works credited to Root & Siemens include:

Notes and References

  1. Harriet Monroe, John Wellborn Root: A Study of His Life and Work (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 1896)
  2. Men Who Are Making Kansas City: A Biographical Directory, ed. George Creel and John Slavens (Kansas City: Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Company, 1902): 124.
  3. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration: Harrisonville Courthouse Square Historic District . Linda F. Becker . Cydney E. Millstein . April 1993 . July 18, 2018. Includes photos.
  4. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=03000838}} National Register of Historic Places Registration: Francis and Harriet Baker House / Frank Harwi House; Jerome Pillow House ]. National Park Service. Susan Jezak Ford . January 10, 2003 . July 18, 2018. With
  5. News: Walter C. Root, Architect, Dies. . July 18, 2018 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . June 27, 1925. 9. Newspapers.com. registration .
  6. David Sachs, "Grace Episcopal Cathedral", [Topeka, Kansas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/KS-01-177-0004.

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