Today in Wheeling History: March 13—Wheeling-born architect Kenneth Franzheim, designer of Houston landmarks such as the Gulf Building and Foley’s Department Store, along with additional major Houston commissions including the Humble Oil Building, the Prudential Building, the Texas National Bank Building, the Bank of the Southwest Building, and the United States Courthouse, as well as New York City’s August Wilson Theatre, dies in Mexico City (1959).
Kenneth Franzheim was born in Wheeling on October 28, 1890, to Charles William and Lida Riddle Merts Franzheim, members of a well‑established German-American family active in the city’s pottery and business circles. He grew up in an environment shaped by industry and civic ambition, influences that later aligned with his interest in large-scale commercial architecture. His extended family also included Edward Bates Franzheim, one of West Virginia’s most accomplished architects, whose work in Wheeling set an early example of professional architectural achievement within the family.
Franzheim attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and earned his architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1913. After early work in Boston and service in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Ellington Field during World War I, he practiced with C. Howard Crane in Chicago and Boston before opening his own New York firm in 1925. His career accelerated through his partnership with Houston developer Jesse H. Jones, leading to major commissions such as the Gulf Building, Foley’s Department Store, the Humble Oil Building, the Prudential Building, the Texas National Bank Building, the Bank of the Southwest Building, and the United States Courthouse in Houston, along with New York’s August Wilson Theatre. Franzheim moved permanently to Houston in 1937 and remained active in civic and philanthropic work until his death in Mexico City on March 13, 1959.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives (https://tinyurl.com/58n44nph) (https://tinyurl.com/y2zs4nuz); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/w5vdmbk3), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/y2cksrvk), Texas State Historical Association (https://tinyurl.com/btenj8ff), Houston Mod (https://tinyurl.com/3nkppybm)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, Texas State Historical Association, Old Post Cards, Field Trip
Kenneth Franzheim was born in Wheeling on October 28, 1890, to Charles William and Lida Riddle Merts Franzheim, members of a well‑established German-American family active in the city’s pottery and business circles. He grew up in an environment shaped by industry and civic ambition, influences that later aligned with his interest in large-scale commercial architecture. His extended family also included Edward Bates Franzheim, one of West Virginia’s most accomplished architects, whose work in Wheeling set an early example of professional architectural achievement within the family.
Franzheim attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and earned his architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1913. After early work in Boston and service in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Ellington Field during World War I, he practiced with C. Howard Crane in Chicago and Boston before opening his own New York firm in 1925. His career accelerated through his partnership with Houston developer Jesse H. Jones, leading to major commissions such as the Gulf Building, Foley’s Department Store, the Humble Oil Building, the Prudential Building, the Texas National Bank Building, the Bank of the Southwest Building, and the United States Courthouse in Houston, along with New York’s August Wilson Theatre. Franzheim moved permanently to Houston in 1937 and remained active in civic and philanthropic work until his death in Mexico City on March 13, 1959.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives (https://tinyurl.com/58n44nph) (https://tinyurl.com/y2zs4nuz); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/w5vdmbk3), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/y2cksrvk), Texas State Historical Association (https://tinyurl.com/btenj8ff), Houston Mod (https://tinyurl.com/3nkppybm)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, Texas State Historical Association, Old Post Cards, Field Trip
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