Oliver G. Traphagen

Who was Oliver G. Traphagen?

Oliver Green Traphagen was an American architect who designed many notable buildings in Duluth, Minnesota, during the late 19th century and in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century. Among his most famous landmarks are the Oliver G. Traphagen House in Duluth, called the Redstone, and the Moana Hotel in Honolulu, both of which are on the National Register of Historic Places, as are several other buildings he designed.

In the 1870s Traphagen moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, with his parents where he worked as a carpenter, and later as apprentice to the architect George Wirth. He moved north to Duluth in 1882, and soon became one of the city's first major architects. The 1880s were boom times in Duluth; the population was 30,000 in 1887 compared with 13,000 in 1883. Over the next fifteen years, either on his own or in partnership with Wirth and later Francis W. Fitzpatrick, Traphagen designed buildings for both public and private owners, such as the First National Bank, Turner Hall, Wieland Block, old City Hall and Jail, Fire Station No. 1, First Presbyterian Church, and Duluth Central High School. Many of Traphagen's designs show the influence of the Richardsonian Romanesque style that was popular at the time.