Available for use in the Manuscripts Division reading room. Advance notice is requested.
There are no restrictions on the use of materials in this collection. Copies can be requested if the condition of the originals warrants it.
Thomas Ellerbe papers (N 4 A), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
Thomas Ellerbe, the son of architect Franklin Ellerbe, was born in St. Paul in 1892. Nothing is known of his education. He entered his father's firm following military duty before and during World War I with the Minnesota National Guard. After his father's death in 1921, Ellerbe led his company in an expansion that resulted in the creation of the largest architectural practice in Minnesota. The firm specialized in the design of medical facilities, educational, industrial, and commercial structures. Among them are the Plummer Building of the Mayo Clinic (1922-1928); St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Court House (1931-1932); Cardozo Building (St. Paul) (1931); College of St. Thomas (St. Paul) (1928-1946); the Northwest Airlines hanger at Holman Field (St. Paul) (1942-1943); Cleveland (OH) Clinic and Hospital (1922); Mayo Clinic Diagnostic Building (1953-1969); and Sacred Heart Church (St. Paul) (1949). The firm also completed a number of buildings for the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN) and for State Farm Insurance Company. Thomas Ellerbe retired in 1966 and died in St. Paul on November 5, 1987.
The collection consists of several manuscript drafts by four
successive authors for a book-length history of Ellerbe & Company,
published in 1980 as
An unpublished finding aid with detailed contents is available in the Manuscripts Division.
Ellerbe Architects papers (N 4)
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