Background
Henry G. Koch was born in 1840 in Germany. He was brought to the United States in boyhood by his parents.
Henry G. Koch was born in 1840 in Germany. He was brought to the United States in boyhood by his parents.
After the end of the Civil War while in his late twenties, he began architectural work in the city, and some years later organized the firm of Henry G. Koch & Son.
During the late nineteenth century he was responsible for the design of a number of public buildings in Milwaukee, the most important of which were the o.d City Hall built in 1895, and the Hotel Phister, the city’s first fire-proof public structure. Mr. Koch was also architect of Science Hall at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, about 1888, and the Catholic Church or 11 Gesu at Marquette, Wis., and under the firm name designed at least twenty Court Houses and twelve school buildings in Wisconsin and other states.
He married and had two sons, Harry and Armand D. Koch. The latter also became an architect, joining his father's firm in the 1890s and helping with the design of the Milwaukee City Hall.