Background
Leroy S. Buffington was born on September 22, 1847 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He was the son of a mechanical engineer.
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architecture
Railroad Station at St. Paul
residence of the late James J. Hill
Leroy Sunderland Buffington
Edit ProfileEducation
Leroy Sunderland Buffington studied architecture and engineering at the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1869.
Career
Leroy Sunderland Buffington acquired experience in draftsmanship in the local office of Anderson & Hannaford. In the early 'eighties Buffington moved to Chicago, and while working there conceived the idea of erecting a steel frame as structural support for the fabric of a building, and subsequently filed his application in Washington for a patent on his plan of a 26-story building. However in 1887, a year before he received his patent, the Chicago firm of Holabird 6 Roche erected in that city the 13-story Tacoma Buiding in which a form of steel frame construction was utilized. Claiming an infringement on his patent, Buffington fought for a legal recognition of his rights but without success until 1929, in which year Rufus Rand of Minneapolis paid him a royalty for the use of his patented process in erecting the Rand Tower
Building. Also in that year the American Architect Magazine editorially conceded that Mr. Buffington was to be credited as the originator of the type of steel frame construction then in use. In the controversy which continued for years over the matter, Mr. Buffington’s work as a practicing architect was almost overlooked. He had designed a number of public buildings ("almost always in good taste" while maintaining an office in Minneapolis, the most important of which were: the first North Dakota State Capitol (c 1889), replaced in 1932 by the present structure; Railroad Station at St. Paul; Pillsbury Flour Mills at Minneapolis and also in European cities; St. Mary’s Hospital: the Jewish Temple and the Unitarian Church in Minneapolis. In addition he was the architect of two note-worthy buildings at the University of Minnesota, the old Library (now Burton Hall), designed in the Greek Revival, and Pillsbury Hall, a Romanesque building. Among various other works he planned many fine homes for prominent Minneapolis families, including the residence of the late James J. Hill.
Works
Membership
Leroy Sunderland Buffington was an early member of the American Institute of Architects.
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Born
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Died
February 16, 1931 (aged 82) -
Nationality
American