1. George Awsumb was a prominent Norwegian-American architect in the first half of the 20th century.
28 Facts About George Awsumb
1. 2.
George Awsumb was influenced by his early life, European travels, and prevailing architectural trends of his time.
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Several buildings that George Awsumb designed have been in continuous use in the American Midwest and South for over 100 years.
4.
In particular, George Awsumb began a family architectural legacy that contributed to the progress and development of Memphis, Tennessee.
5.
George Awsumb is credited with designing "some of the most beautiful churches in the South," including Idlewild Presbyterian Church, called "the South's Cathedral of Presbyterianism".
6.
George Awsumb designed several buildings which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their architecture, including the Dermon Building and the Baron Hirsch Synagogue in Memphis, Tennessee, and Dorchester Academy near Midway, Georgia.
7.
George Awsumb was born on July 20,1880, in Skien, Norway to father Sigvard Johannessen of Vinger and mother Amborlina of Porsgrunn.
8.
George Awsumb spent the rest of his childhood in Wisconsin, where his father, later known as Sigvart J Awsumb, worked as a cutter in a tailor shop, and he was cared for by his mother Amborlina Awsumb.
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George Awsumb attended high school in Whitewater, graduating in 1898 as the youngest member of his class.
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George Awsumb later matriculated at the University of Illinois in Champaign to study architecture, and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1906.
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George Awsumb was awarded a $500 scholarship from the Chicago Architecture Club in 1908 to study architectural works in Norway, England, France, and Italy.
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George Awsumb traveled around England and France on bicycle and found inspiration from the design of Gothic cathedrals.
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George Awsumb again traveled to Europe in 1910 visiting Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, and England.
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George Awsumb operated his own architectural firm in Chicago from 1913 to 1919.
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In 1915, Awsumb designed the Charles C and Katharyn Sniteman House in prairie style.
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In 1916, George Awsumb designed the Eau Claire City Hall, modelling it after the Petit Trianon, though not as a complete copy.
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George Awsumb has been described as both a "successful" and "struggling" architect during this time period.
18.
In 1919, at the request of Memphis-based architect Charles O Pfeil, George Awsumb co-entered a competition with him to design the Memphis Municipal Auditorium.
19.
George Awsumb designed the Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory in 1935 and Brownlee Hall and Sweeney Hall in 1936, among other works.
20.
Norway-born George Awsumb became a naturalized United States citizen at the age of 25 at Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, on June 28,1906.
21.
George Awsumb married Ella Mabel Wells, a Lincoln, Nebraska, native and University of Nebraska alumna, at the First Methodist Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, on January 1,1915.
22.
George Awsumb moved his family from Illinois to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1919.
23.
George Awsumb designed the church's Gothic Revival style building in 1926.
24.
George Awsumb was a member of the several architectural leagues and civic groups in Memphis.
25.
George Awsumb died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 79 in 1959.
26.
George Awsumb began a family architectural legacy in the City of Memphis and elsewhere.
27.
Carl George Awsumb helped establish the first architectural training school in Cameroon as a US Peace Corps volunteer in the country from 1965 to 1966.
28.
George Awsumb later continued the operation of an architectural firm in Memphis under the family's surname into the 21st century.