Frederick William Cappelen

Who was Frederick William Cappelen?

Frederick William Cappelen was a Norwegian-born architect and civil engineer who held the office of Minneapolis City Engineer.

Frederick William Cappelen was born in Drammen, Norway. He attended school in Fredrikstad in Østfold county, Norway. He was educated at the Technical School in Örebro, Sweden and then at the Royal Saxon Polytechnicum in Dresden, Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1880.

Cappelen was initially employed by the Northern Pacific Railroad and in 1886 became a City of Minneapolis bridge engineer. He was elected City Engineer in 1893 and re-elected in 1913. He held membership in the American Society of Municipal Improvements and the Minneapolis Society of Engineers. He was elected a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers on April 3, 1895.

Cappelen was responsible for the design of many public works buildings in Minneapolis, for example the Prospect Park Water Tower, the Kenwood Park Water Tower, and the Cappelen Memorial Bridge, which is named in honor of him.

Frederick William Cappelen died during the construction of the bridge, and as a memorial to his life and career, the bridge still bears his name.