William Holabird

Who was William Holabird?

William Holabird was an American architect.

Holabird studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point but resigned and moved to Chicago, where he later got married.

He worked in the architectural practice of William Le Baron Jenney next to O. C. Simonds. Shortly after receiving the commission to extend Graceland Cemetery, Jenney passed it on to his assistants who, in 1880, established the firm of Holabird & Simonds to carry out this job. In 1881, Martin Roche, who had also worked in Jenney's office, joined them as a third partner. In 1883 the firm was renamed Holabird & Roche after Simonds left to concentrate solely on Graceland Cemetery and landscape design.

Together they contributed many innovations to the architecture of the time, especially in what is now referred to as Chicago School. They designed several influential buildings, including the Marquette Building and the Gage Building. The latter included a façade designed by Louis Sullivan and was cited a Chicago architectural landmark in 1962.

William Holabird died in 1923, and Martin Roche died in 1927. Holabird's son John took over the firm with John Wellborn Root, Jr., and it was renamed Holabird & Root.