Background
Robert C. Berlin was born in 1851 at Granville, Illinois, United States.
Robert C. Berlin was born in 1851 at Granville, Illinois, United States.
He was sent to Germany in his youth to study under the noted architect, Gottfried Semper, and later attended the Polytechnic Institute at Zurich, Switzerland.
In Chicago he began his career as a draftsman in the office of Egan & Hill, and was with the firm when plans were being prepared for the competition of the new Court House. He left there to join Louis Schaub in partnership (Schaub 6 Berlin), and after that was dissolved carried on his work alone until 1919, in which year he organized the firm of Berlin & Swern.
Of the several public and commercial buildings which Mr. Berlin designed, independently or with partners, the following were perhaps the most important: St. Stanislaus Church (c. 1905); Y.M.C.A. Hotel on Wabash Ave. (1916) and eleven other buildings for the Association at different periods; the Crown Theatre (1908); and the McCormick Y.W.C.A. Building (1928).
Active in civic affairs, Mr. Berlin served on the City Planning Commission a number of years.