William J. Brinkmann

Who was William J. Brinkmann?

William J. Brinkman was an architect most well known for his work designing Chicago area churches. A son of German immigrants, he received his architectural training at the firm of Burnham and Root, where he eventually supervised the construction of Chicago's Masonic Temple, a skyscraper that was the world's tallest building at the time of its completion in 1892. After a tour of Europe to further his architectural knowledge, Brinkmann settled in California where he designed homes for political and industrial notables such as Ulysses S. Grant Jr.. His contemporaries described him as a "staunch Catholic." After his return to Chicago he made a name for himself designing churches, among which are St. Josaphat's, St. Michael's in the South Chicago neighborhood of Chicago near the Indiana border, St. Mary's in Buffalo Grove, and, most notably, the Mausoleum and Chapel for the Archbishops of Chicago in Mount Carmel Cemetery, as well as being one of the three architects involved in the design of Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica. He also designed exhibits for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 as well as some of the earliest large steel frame buildings in Atlanta, San Francisco and Chicago.