Elmer H. Fisher (c. 1840 or c. 1851 – 1905) was an architect best known for his work during the rebuilding of the American city of Seattle after it was devastated by fire in 1889. He began his career as a carpenter and migrated from Massachusetts to the Pacific Northwest, where he practiced architecture from 1886 to 1891. After his reputation was damaged by litigation and personal scandal in Seattle, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1893, where he only had modest success as an architect before returning to carpentry, dying around 1905 with his final years almost as mysterious as his early years; the details of his death and his burial location remain unknown. His commercial building designs played a major role in reshaping Seattle architecture in the late 19th century and many still survive as part of the Pioneer Square Historic District.
Elmer H. Fisher
San Francisco Journal of Commerce Publishing Co., 1890
Fisher claimed he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1840 and immigrated to Massachusetts at age 17 where he received an architectural apprenticeship in Worcester; this has yet to be substantiated by research and much conflicting information exists, most of it from coming from Fisher himself.[i][1] In the 1870s he moved west to Minnesota, where he first appeared in the 1874 Minneapolis City Directory as a cabinet maker,[2] the following year as a sash maker for R.P. Russell & Co.,[3] and the year after as a moulder for Smith, Parker & Co.[4] He continued his journey west, arriving in Denver, Colorado around 1880[ii] where after first working as a foreman for a sash & door factory,[5] began trading as an architect as well as a carpenter and builder with partner J.H. Corrin until his departure from that city in 1885.[6][7]
After a brief residency in Butte, Montana,[8] Fisher arrived in the Pacific Northwest in early 1886 where he established an architectural office in Victoria, British Columbia. Business in the booming city was brisk and within a year he had multiple substantial business buildings and homes to his credit and began receiving commissions further afield in Vancouver, British Columbia and Port Townsend, Washington.[1] Around this time he received his first major commissions in Seattle including the first Korn Block (1888, Destroyed) and 1st Regiment Army Hall (1888, Demolished), giving him a foothold in the competitive architectural scene there. In early 1888 Fisher established two partnerships in order to balance his workload between Victoria and Seattle; one with an unidentified Mr. Clark in Seattle as Fisher & Clark and one with William Ridgeway Wilson in Victoria as Fisher & Wilson. With the growth and size of projects in Seattle greatly outpacing those in Victoria, Fisher decided to end his partnerships by the new year, and consolidated operations to his Seattle office where he began overseeing many large projects including the Austin A. Bell Building, the Gilmore & Kirkman Building and Henry Yesler's Pioneer Building. By early 1889 Fisher employed four draughtsmen at his James Street office[iii] and was so busy that all small-scale and residential commissions were turned away.[9]
While the first few months of 1889 were some of Fisher's busiest, he and every other hopeful architect in the city would be given a clean slate when the Great Seattle fire of June 6, 1889 wiped out the majority of the business district. Many of Fisher's recent commissions were either outside of the burnt district or were only in the excavation stages at the time of the fire and despite common belief, many of his most famous buildings would have been built whether Seattle burned or not. Regardless, new commissions in the wake of the fire were numerous to the degree that several pre-fire commissions were halted or left un-built due to the glut of new construction.[10] He is still considered the most prolific of the architects involved in rebuilding the city for designing almost half of the major downtown buildings between 1889 and 1890.
Fisher began 1891 with an impressive list of buildings to his credit but large commissions became scarce as the economy began to cool. Besides finishing several buildings begun the previous year and repairing settling damage to an existing building, there were no new projects and Fisher turned to buying and selling real estate to supplement his income.[11] Then in June 1891 Fisher was publicly accused of embezzlement by business associate and mill owner Fred Woodaman.[12] Claiming to be owed a large amount by Fisher, Woodaman began spreading rumors that Fisher was cheating his creditors by transferring his properties to a friend's name and was even telling people that he had already skipped town. Other suits against Fisher soon followed. He countersued Woodaman in response for $15,000 for libel but the damage to his reputation and credit had already been done and his last classified ad as an architect appeared in Seattle newspapers on August 10, 1891.[13] Only 2 days after his last ad as an architect, he was among those listed as being granted liquor licenses.[14] Fisher spent the next year running the Abbott House Hotel at the Southeast corner of Pike Street and 3rd Avenue in a building that he had previously designed and built.[15]
In early 1893, mere months after his marriage to Charlotte M. Willey (They would divorce by 1900),[16] a former mistress that Fisher had traveled with from Colorado to Victoria brought a civil suit against him claiming to be his true wife.[8][17] Although he was acquitted of any wrongdoing, the scandal ruined what was left of his reputation in Seattle. He had the contents of his home and office auctioned off and permanently removed to Los Angeles where he would form a new partnership with Carroll H. Brown. In Los Angeles he struggled to re-establish the career success he had enjoyed in Seattle, which had less to do with his reputation and more as a result of the Panic of 1893 which halted building projects across the nation. After a major commission for the Van Nuys Building in downtown Los Angeles fell through, his partnership with Brown was dissolved and he all but retired from architecture. After leading an unsuccessful 1897 expedition to Alaska during the Yukon Gold Rush, he returned to his first profession, carpentry, last appearing in the 1903 Los Angeles city Directory working as a construction superintendent for his former Seattle peer, John Parkinson who, unlike Fisher, had taken Los Angeles by storm upon his arrival.[18][19] He died around 1905 in relative obscurity. His official date of death as well as his final resting place is unknown.
Work
Fisher's early commercial designs were of Victorian and Italianate influence and were typified by exposed brick with corbelling, selective exterior plastering and massive Aedicular window surrounds; motifs were reused to the extent that several buildings built between Victoria, Vancouver and Port Townsend in the mid-1880s were nearly identical. Romanesque elements heavily utilizing decorative terra cotta began to make their way into his designs by 1888 and would play a major role in his later work, such as the now demolished Burke block (1889–91), whose many elaborate terra cotta elements were incorporated into the public plaza surrounding the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building (1975).
On June 6, 1889, a fire destroyed most of Seattle's business district. The buildings were primarily constructed of wood so the large-scale rebuilding campaign focused on new "fireproof" buildings constructed of brick, stone and iron. Fisher designed many of the new buildings and some can still be seen in what is now the Pioneer Square neighborhood.[20]
Fisher favored the Richardsonian Romanesque style which led to a unity of appearance in the district.[20] He also tended to divide the facades of his buildings into a grid, a style influenced by Victorian architecture.[21]
His best-known work is the Pioneer Building in Seattle. Designed and first proposed in 1888, It was completed in 1892 for Henry Yesler and it served as a "prestige office address" throughout the decade.[22][23] It won an award from the American Institute of Architects for "being the finest building West of Chicago".[24]
Projects
Byrnes Block in Vancouver BC, one of Fisher's earliest extant designs
State Building (1890–91) - 300 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA
Semi-Detached House at Washington St & 11th (now 10th) Ave (1890, Demolished) - Seattle, WA[39]
George & Nugent Building (1890, Demolished) - 211 S Washington St, Seattle[40]
J.W. George Building [Lebanon Building/Tourist Hotel] (1890–91, Destroyed) - 224 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA[31]
Brown & Fisher, Los Angeles
Griffith Block (1894, Demolished) - Azusa Ave, Azusa, CA
2 Houses for John Wallenslager (1894, possibly still standing) - W 17th & Toberman St, Los Angeles, CA
Geo S. Gregson Residence (1894-5, status unknown) - Harper Tract, Los Angeles, CA
2 story building for J.W. Hinton (1894, status unknown) - Santee St, Los Angeles, CA
Cottage for Emerson (1895, status unknown) - near Pico St, Los Angeles, CA
D.A. Crichton Residence (1895, Demolished) - Flower St, near 15th, Los Angeles, CA
Van Nuys Building (1895, unbuilt) - 4th & Main St, Los Angeles, CA[41]
Meek's Bakery Co. (1896, Demolished) - 6th & San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA[42]
Notes
^According to Massachusetts State Birth records, an Elmer Fisher was born on August 6, 1851 near Royalston, Massachusetts to parents Horace and Lucy Jane Fisher. This Elmer next appears in the 1865 Massachusetts State Census living with his family on a farm near Royalston, which confirms his father's birth place to also be Massachusetts and Elmer's middle initial to be "H", likely for "Horace". He appears in the 1870 United States census as a farm laborer living as a boarder in Orange, Massachusetts
^By the time of the 1880 census, Elmer's given age was 36, a seven year discrepancy, and his parents' birth place had changed to Scotland, though his own birth place was still listed as Massachusetts
^Among these draughtsmen were Emil De Neuf, John C. Keith, Joseph L. Middlebrook and William Kauffman, most of whom later have successful practices of their own.
^Officially the first brick building completed after the fire, it was finished by August 1889 and was intended to be temporary, the two-story portion was replaced by the Lowman & Hanford Building in 1892 and the 1 story corner portion would stand until 1907, when the Lowman Building took its place.
^This was a 3-story wood frame building built for Mrs. M.D. Pease as a hotel, it has since lost its top two floors and now houses a Mud Bay pet store; no traces of Fisher's design remain.
^This building comprises the western 30' of the current Mutual Life Building, completed in 1905 and would have supposedly followed the same intended design had Fisher's been carried through.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elmer H. Fisher.
^ ab"Summary for 300 Occidental Way / Parcel ID 5247800695". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^Minneapolis City Directory. Minneapolis: Campbell & Davison. 1874. p. 162. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^Minneapolis City Directory. Minneapolis: W.M. Campbell. 1875. p. 172. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^Minneapolis City Directory. Minneapolis: Campbell & Davison. 1876. p. 130. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^Corbett & Ballenger's 9th Annual Denver City Directory (9 ed.). Denver: Corbett & Ballinger. 1881. p. 216. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^Corbett & Ballinger's Eleventh Annual Denver City Directory. Denver: Corbett & Ballinger. 1883. p. 143. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^Corbett & Ballenger's 12th Annual Denver City Directory (12th ed.). Denver: Corbett & Ballenger. 1884. p. 202. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^ ab"Wife, Yet No Wife: Architect Fisher Accused of Deceiving a Woman". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress: Chronicling America. 16 Mar 1893. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^ ab"A Complementary Letter - The Denny Hotel Committee's Tribute to Architect Fisher's Skill". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress. 6 Feb 1889. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
^"Summary for 119 Yesler Way / Parcel ID 5247800545". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^"Occidental Is Safe: Architects and Builders Say There Is No Danger". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress: Chronicling American. 22 Apr 1891. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^"Damages for Libel; Fisher Charges Woodaman with Hurting His Credit". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress: Chronicling America. 28 Jul 1891. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^"Architects [Classified Listings]". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress: Chronicling America. 10 Aug 1889. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^"The City Council: Board of Alderman [Liquor licenses were granted to...]". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress: Chronicling America. 12 Aug 1891. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^"Summary for 105 1st Ave / Parcel ID 5247800046". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^"Marriage of Architect Fisher". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress. 15 Feb 1893. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^"Answer to Architect Fisher: Miss Smith Claims That She Was Forced by Necessity to Release Him". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress. 16 Apr 1893. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^Los Angeles City Directory. Los Angeles: General Directory Publishers. 1903. p. 443.
^Los Angeles City Directory. Los Angeles: Los Angeles City Directory Co. 1902. p. 391. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
^ ab. National Park Service. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^"Summary for 219 1st Ave / Parcel ID 5247800105". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^"Yesler's Six-Story Block". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress. 4 Dec 1888. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
^. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^"Summary for 606 1st Ave / Parcel ID 0939000150". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^"Spencer's New Building". Daily British Colonist. Victoria Newspapers 1858-1936. 30 Mar 1886. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
^ ab"New Buildings". Daily British Colonist. Victoria Newspapers 1858-1936. 22 May 1886. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
^"From Yesterday's Daily". Weekly Puget Sound Argus. Washington State Library. 13 Jan 1887. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
^"Architect's drawing of a building with sign for E. Pimbury and Company, Victoria, British Columbia, between 1880 and 1890". University of Washington Special Collections. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^"Bids! [Advertisement]". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. 1 Mar 1888. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^"From Saturday's Daily". Puget Sound Weekly Argus [Port Townsend]. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. 7 Oct 1888. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaab"Two and a Half Million; Fisher's List of Buildings for the Past Year". The Seattle Post-Intellignecer. Library of Congress. 1 Jan 1890. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
^"Young men's Christian Association (YMCA) Building, probably 1890". University of Washington Special Collections. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^"YMCA building at 1417 1st Ave., Seattle, 1903". University of Washington Special Collections. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^"Gatzert & McDonald Block". University of Washington Special Collections. Washington Magazine. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^"To Builders". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. 21 Aug 1889. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^"Rengstorff Block and Building, probably 1890". University of Washington Special Collections. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^"Sullivan Building, probably 1891". University of Washington Special Collections. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^"Local Brevities". The Yakima Herald. Library of Congress. 2 Jan 1890. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^"Bids Will Be Received... [Classified Ad]". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. 14 Apr 1890. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
^"More Fine Bricks". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Library of Congress. 29 May 1890. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
^"Real Estate and Building". Los Angeles Herald. Library of Congress. 23 Mar 1895. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
^"Real Estate and Building - Uncontracted Work". Los Angeles Herald. Library of Congress. 27 Dec 1895. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
External links
Goldstream Hotel, Langford - BC Archives
Bank of British Columbia, New Westminster - BC Archives
Stelly Block [Clarence Hotel], Victoria - University of Washington Digital Collections
Pimbury Block, Nanaimo - BC Archives
H. Young & Co. Building (White House), Victoria - BC Archives
Craft & Norris Block, Victoria - BC Archives
Armory Hall, Seattle - University of Washington Digital Collections
1st Korn Block, Seattle - University of Washington Digital Collections
Gilmore & Kirkman Building [Arlington Hotel], Seattle - University of Washington Digital Archives
March 09, 2023
elmer, fisher, 1840, 1851, 1905, architect, best, known, work, during, rebuilding, american, city, seattle, after, devastated, fire, 1889, began, career, carpenter, migrated, from, massachusetts, pacific, northwest, where, practiced, architecture, from, 1886, . Elmer H Fisher c 1840 or c 1851 1905 was an architect best known for his work during the rebuilding of the American city of Seattle after it was devastated by fire in 1889 He began his career as a carpenter and migrated from Massachusetts to the Pacific Northwest where he practiced architecture from 1886 to 1891 After his reputation was damaged by litigation and personal scandal in Seattle he relocated to Los Angeles in 1893 where he only had modest success as an architect before returning to carpentry dying around 1905 with his final years almost as mysterious as his early years the details of his death and his burial location remain unknown His commercial building designs played a major role in reshaping Seattle architecture in the late 19th century and many still survive as part of the Pioneer Square Historic District Elmer H FisherSan Francisco Journal of Commerce Publishing Co 1890Bornc 1840 in Scotland or c 1851 in Royalston Massachusetts USDiedc 1905 Los Angeles California United StatesOccupationArchitectBuildingsPioneer BuildingAustin A Bell Building Contents 1 Life 2 Work 3 Projects 3 1 Pre Fire 3 2 Post Fire 3 3 Brown amp Fisher Los Angeles 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksLife Edit Fisher s Pioneer Building shortly after its completion in 1890 Fisher claimed he was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1840 and immigrated to Massachusetts at age 17 where he received an architectural apprenticeship in Worcester this has yet to be substantiated by research and much conflicting information exists most of it from coming from Fisher himself i 1 In the 1870s he moved west to Minnesota where he first appeared in the 1874 Minneapolis City Directory as a cabinet maker 2 the following year as a sash maker for R P Russell amp Co 3 and the year after as a moulder for Smith Parker amp Co 4 He continued his journey west arriving in Denver Colorado around 1880 ii where after first working as a foreman for a sash amp door factory 5 began trading as an architect as well as a carpenter and builder with partner J H Corrin until his departure from that city in 1885 6 7 After a brief residency in Butte Montana 8 Fisher arrived in the Pacific Northwest in early 1886 where he established an architectural office in Victoria British Columbia Business in the booming city was brisk and within a year he had multiple substantial business buildings and homes to his credit and began receiving commissions further afield in Vancouver British Columbia and Port Townsend Washington 1 Around this time he received his first major commissions in Seattle including the first Korn Block 1888 Destroyed and 1st Regiment Army Hall 1888 Demolished giving him a foothold in the competitive architectural scene there In early 1888 Fisher established two partnerships in order to balance his workload between Victoria and Seattle one with an unidentified Mr Clark in Seattle as Fisher amp Clark and one with William Ridgeway Wilson in Victoria as Fisher amp Wilson With the growth and size of projects in Seattle greatly outpacing those in Victoria Fisher decided to end his partnerships by the new year and consolidated operations to his Seattle office where he began overseeing many large projects including the Austin A Bell Building the Gilmore amp Kirkman Building and Henry Yesler s Pioneer Building By early 1889 Fisher employed four draughtsmen at his James Street office iii and was so busy that all small scale and residential commissions were turned away 9 While the first few months of 1889 were some of Fisher s busiest he and every other hopeful architect in the city would be given a clean slate when the Great Seattle fire of June 6 1889 wiped out the majority of the business district Many of Fisher s recent commissions were either outside of the burnt district or were only in the excavation stages at the time of the fire and despite common belief many of his most famous buildings would have been built whether Seattle burned or not Regardless new commissions in the wake of the fire were numerous to the degree that several pre fire commissions were halted or left un built due to the glut of new construction 10 He is still considered the most prolific of the architects involved in rebuilding the city for designing almost half of the major downtown buildings between 1889 and 1890 Fisher began 1891 with an impressive list of buildings to his credit but large commissions became scarce as the economy began to cool Besides finishing several buildings begun the previous year and repairing settling damage to an existing building there were no new projects and Fisher turned to buying and selling real estate to supplement his income 11 Then in June 1891 Fisher was publicly accused of embezzlement by business associate and mill owner Fred Woodaman 12 Claiming to be owed a large amount by Fisher Woodaman began spreading rumors that Fisher was cheating his creditors by transferring his properties to a friend s name and was even telling people that he had already skipped town Other suits against Fisher soon followed He countersued Woodaman in response for 15 000 for libel but the damage to his reputation and credit had already been done and his last classified ad as an architect appeared in Seattle newspapers on August 10 1891 13 Only 2 days after his last ad as an architect he was among those listed as being granted liquor licenses 14 Fisher spent the next year running the Abbott House Hotel at the Southeast corner of Pike Street and 3rd Avenue in a building that he had previously designed and built 15 In early 1893 mere months after his marriage to Charlotte M Willey They would divorce by 1900 16 a former mistress that Fisher had traveled with from Colorado to Victoria brought a civil suit against him claiming to be his true wife 8 17 Although he was acquitted of any wrongdoing the scandal ruined what was left of his reputation in Seattle He had the contents of his home and office auctioned off and permanently removed to Los Angeles where he would form a new partnership with Carroll H Brown In Los Angeles he struggled to re establish the career success he had enjoyed in Seattle which had less to do with his reputation and more as a result of the Panic of 1893 which halted building projects across the nation After a major commission for the Van Nuys Building in downtown Los Angeles fell through his partnership with Brown was dissolved and he all but retired from architecture After leading an unsuccessful 1897 expedition to Alaska during the Yukon Gold Rush he returned to his first profession carpentry last appearing in the 1903 Los Angeles city Directory working as a construction superintendent for his former Seattle peer John Parkinson who unlike Fisher had taken Los Angeles by storm upon his arrival 18 19 He died around 1905 in relative obscurity His official date of death as well as his final resting place is unknown Work EditFisher s early commercial designs were of Victorian and Italianate influence and were typified by exposed brick with corbelling selective exterior plastering and massive Aedicular window surrounds motifs were reused to the extent that several buildings built between Victoria Vancouver and Port Townsend in the mid 1880s were nearly identical Romanesque elements heavily utilizing decorative terra cotta began to make their way into his designs by 1888 and would play a major role in his later work such as the now demolished Burke block 1889 91 whose many elaborate terra cotta elements were incorporated into the public plaza surrounding the Henry M Jackson Federal Building 1975 On June 6 1889 a fire destroyed most of Seattle s business district The buildings were primarily constructed of wood so the large scale rebuilding campaign focused on new fireproof buildings constructed of brick stone and iron Fisher designed many of the new buildings and some can still be seen in what is now the Pioneer Square neighborhood 20 Fisher favored the Richardsonian Romanesque style which led to a unity of appearance in the district 20 He also tended to divide the facades of his buildings into a grid a style influenced by Victorian architecture 21 His best known work is the Pioneer Building in Seattle Designed and first proposed in 1888 It was completed in 1892 for Henry Yesler and it served as a prestige office address throughout the decade 22 23 It won an award from the American Institute of Architects for being the finest building West of Chicago 24 Projects Edit Byrnes Block in Vancouver BC one of Fisher s earliest extant designs Cameron Building Victoria BC James amp Hastings Building Port Townsend Burke Building Seattle Demolished Hastings Building Port Townsend Starr Boyd Building Seattle Demolished Lottie Roth Block Bellingham State Building Seattle Pre Fire Edit Spencer s Arcade 1886 Destroyed Government amp Broad St Victoria BC 25 Stelly Block Clarence Hotel 1886 7 Demolished Johnson amp Blanshard St Victoria BC Denny Building 1886 7 Destroyed Broad St Victoria British Columbia 26 Reid Residence 1886 Demolished Esquimalt Road Victoria BC 26 McCurdy Block 1887 Water St amp Taylor St Port Townsend WA 27 Goldstream Hotel 1887 Destroyed Langford BC 2 Houses for A J Langley 1887 1133 amp 1141 Fort St Victoria BC Byrnes Block 1887 Vancouver British Columbia Willie Bakery 1887 537 Johnson St Victoria BC Seavy Block 1887 Destroyed Water St Port Townsend Washington Bank of British Columbia 1887 Destroyed Columbia amp Mary St New Westminster British Columbia McLennan amp McFeely Block 1887 8 Demolished 132 Cordova St Vancouver BC Pimbury Block 1887 8 Demolished Nanaimo British Columbia 28 Cameron Bldg 1888 581 Johnson St Victoria BC Young Building White House New Facade 1888 Demolished 67 Government St Victoria BC Sheam amp Lee Building 1888 539 45 Fisgard St Victoria BC 4 Terrace Houses for A A Bell Fisher amp Clark 1888 Demolished NW Corner of Bell St amp 2nd Ave Seattle WA 29 Craft amp Norris Block 1888 Altered 95 Douglas St Victoria BC Armory Hall 1888 Destroyed Union Ave near 4th St Seattle WA Bow Block 1888 Destroyed 314 1st Ave S Seattle WA Korn Block 1888 Destroyed 119 Yesler Way Seattle WA James amp Hastings Building Fisher amp Clark 1888 89 940 Water St Port Townsend WA 30 Pioneer Building Fisher amp Clark 1889 91 600 1st Ave Seattle WA N D Hill Building 1889 635 Water St Port Townsend WA Hastings Building Fisher amp Clark 1889 899 Water St Port Townsend WA Gilmore amp Kirkman Building 1889 90 Destroyed 1225 1st Ave Seattle WA 31 Y M C A Building 1889 only 1 floor built demolished 1417 1st Ave Seattle WA 32 33 Denny Hotel Fisher amp Clark 1889 Unbuilt 9 Denny Hill Seattle WA Scurry Terrace 1889 Demolished 3rd Ave amp Cherry St Seattle WA 31 Howard Lewis Residence 1889 Demolished 10th Ave amp James Street Seattle WA Burke s New York Building 1889 90 Demolished 2nd Ave amp Marion Street Seattle WA 31 Burke Building No 2 The Burke 1889 Demolished 3rd Ave amp Marion St Seattle WA Austin A Bell Building 1889 90 2330 1st Ave Seattle Washington 31 Sullivan Building 1889 Unbuilt NE corner Occidental Ave S amp Main St Seattle WA 31 Gatzert amp McDonald Building 1889 Unbuilt SE corner 1st Ave amp Madison St Seattle WA 31 34 Hull Building 1889 2405 1st Ave Seattle WA 31 Post Fire Edit Lowman amp Hanford Building Puget Sound Bank 1889 Demolished 1st amp Cherry Seattle WA iv 31 Naher Terrace 1889 Demolished Yesler Way near 7th Ave Seattle WA 31 Pease Building 1889 Demolished 1st Ave amp Lenora St Seattle WA 31 T O Brien Residence 1889 Demolished 9th Ave amp King St Seattle WA 31 J L Middlebrook Residence 1889 unknown Jackson Street Addition Seattle WA 35 Seattle Times Building 1889 Demolished 113 Columbia St Seattle WA 31 Methodist Protestant Church 1889 90 Demolished 3rd Ave amp Pike St Seattle WA 31 Trinity Episcopal Church 1889 90 Altered 8th Ave amp James St Seattle WA 31 Pease House Hotel 1889 Altered 2113 1st Ave Seattle v 31 Haller Block 1889 90 Destroyed 801 2nd Ave Seattle WA 31 Starr Boyd Bldg 1889 90 Destroyed 621 1st Ave Seattle WA 31 Schwabacher Building 1889 90 altered 1st Ave S amp Yesler Way Seattle WA 31 Rengstorff Building 1889 90 Destroyed 815 2nd Ave Seattle WA 31 36 New England Hotel 1889 90 Altered 219 1st Ave S Seattle WA 31 Korn Block 1889 90 119 Yesler Way Seattle WA 31 Feurer Building 1889 90 1 floor of original design built vi 92 Yesler Way Seattle WA 31 Douthitt Building 1889 90 Demolished 2nd Ave north of Columbia Seattle WA 31 Washington Building 1889 90 Destroyed 700 Block 1st Ave Seattle WA 31 Sullivan Building 1889 91 Destroyed 714 1st Ave Seattle WA 31 37 Scurry Residence 1890 Demolished 11th Ave amp James St Seattle WA 31 Fisher Building 1889 90 Demolished 3rd Ave amp Pike St Seattle WA 31 Bank of Commerce 1889 90 1st Ave amp Yesler Way Seattle WA Yesler Building Mutual Life Building 1889 90 1 floor of original design built 605 1st Ave Seattle WA E H Fisher Residence 1890 91 status unknown West of Yakima WA 38 Lottie Roth Block 1890 91 W Holly St at G St Bellingham WA State Building 1890 91 300 Occidental Ave S Seattle WA Semi Detached House at Washington St amp 11th now 10th Ave 1890 Demolished Seattle WA 39 George amp Nugent Building 1890 Demolished 211 S Washington St Seattle 40 J W George Building Lebanon Building Tourist Hotel 1890 91 Destroyed 224 Occidental Ave S Seattle WA 31 Brown amp Fisher Los Angeles Edit Griffith Block 1894 Demolished Azusa Ave Azusa CA 2 Houses for John Wallenslager 1894 possibly still standing W 17th amp Toberman St Los Angeles CA Geo S Gregson Residence 1894 5 status unknown Harper Tract Los Angeles CA 2 story building for J W Hinton 1894 status unknown Santee St Los Angeles CA Cottage for Emerson 1895 status unknown near Pico St Los Angeles CA D A Crichton Residence 1895 Demolished Flower St near 15th Los Angeles CA Van Nuys Building 1895 unbuilt 4th amp Main St Los Angeles CA 41 Meek s Bakery Co 1896 Demolished 6th amp San Pedro St Los Angeles CA 42 Notes Edit According to Massachusetts State Birth records an Elmer Fisher was born on August 6 1851 near Royalston Massachusetts to parents Horace and Lucy Jane Fisher This Elmer next appears in the 1865 Massachusetts State Census living with his family on a farm near Royalston which confirms his father s birth place to also be Massachusetts and Elmer s middle initial to be H likely for Horace He appears in the 1870 United States census as a farm laborer living as a boarder in Orange Massachusetts By the time of the 1880 census Elmer s given age was 36 a seven year discrepancy and his parents birth place had changed to Scotland though his own birth place was still listed as Massachusetts Among these draughtsmen were Emil De Neuf John C Keith Joseph L Middlebrook and William Kauffman most of whom later have successful practices of their own Officially the first brick building completed after the fire it was finished by August 1889 and was intended to be temporary the two story portion was replaced by the Lowman amp Hanford Building in 1892 and the 1 story corner portion would stand until 1907 when the Lowman Building took its place This was a 3 story wood frame building built for Mrs M D Pease as a hotel it has since lost its top two floors and now houses a Mud Bay pet store no traces of Fisher s design remain This building comprises the western 30 of the current Mutual Life Building completed in 1905 and would have supposedly followed the same intended design had Fisher s been carried through References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elmer H Fisher a b Summary for 300 Occidental Way Parcel ID 5247800695 City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Retrieved September 24 2009 Minneapolis City Directory Minneapolis Campbell amp Davison 1874 p 162 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Minneapolis City Directory Minneapolis W M Campbell 1875 p 172 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Minneapolis City Directory Minneapolis Campbell amp Davison 1876 p 130 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Corbett amp Ballenger s 9th Annual Denver City Directory 9 ed Denver Corbett amp Ballinger 1881 p 216 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Corbett amp Ballinger s Eleventh Annual Denver City Directory Denver Corbett amp Ballinger 1883 p 143 Retrieved 7 August 2018 Corbett amp Ballenger s 12th Annual Denver City Directory 12th ed Denver Corbett amp Ballenger 1884 p 202 Retrieved 7 August 2018 a b Wife Yet No Wife Architect Fisher Accused of Deceiving a Woman The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress Chronicling America 16 Mar 1893 Retrieved 3 March 2021 a b A Complementary Letter The Denny Hotel Committee s Tribute to Architect Fisher s Skill The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress 6 Feb 1889 Retrieved 9 September 2019 Summary for 119 Yesler Way Parcel ID 5247800545 City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Retrieved September 24 2009 Occidental Is Safe Architects and Builders Say There Is No Danger The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress Chronicling American 22 Apr 1891 Retrieved 3 March 2021 Damages for Libel Fisher Charges Woodaman with Hurting His Credit The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress Chronicling America 28 Jul 1891 Retrieved 3 March 2021 Architects Classified Listings The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress Chronicling America 10 Aug 1889 Retrieved 3 March 2021 The City Council Board of Alderman Liquor licenses were granted to The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress Chronicling America 12 Aug 1891 Retrieved 3 March 2021 Summary for 105 1st Ave Parcel ID 5247800046 City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Retrieved September 24 2009 Marriage of Architect Fisher The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress 15 Feb 1893 Retrieved 7 December 2020 Answer to Architect Fisher Miss Smith Claims That She Was Forced by Necessity to Release Him The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress 16 Apr 1893 Retrieved 7 December 2020 Los Angeles City Directory Los Angeles General Directory Publishers 1903 p 443 Los Angeles City Directory Los Angeles Los Angeles City Directory Co 1902 p 391 Retrieved 15 August 2018 a b Pioneer Square Skid Road Historic District National Park Service Archived from the original on January 14 2010 Retrieved September 24 2009 Summary for 219 1st Ave Parcel ID 5247800105 City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Retrieved September 24 2009 Yesler s Six Story Block The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress 4 Dec 1888 Retrieved 25 July 2018 Pioneer Building National Park Service Archived from the original on September 1 2009 Retrieved September 24 2009 Summary for 606 1st Ave Parcel ID 0939000150 City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Retrieved September 24 2009 Spencer s New Building Daily British Colonist Victoria Newspapers 1858 1936 30 Mar 1886 Retrieved 25 July 2018 a b New Buildings Daily British Colonist Victoria Newspapers 1858 1936 22 May 1886 Retrieved 25 July 2018 From Yesterday s Daily Weekly Puget Sound Argus Washington State Library 13 Jan 1887 Retrieved 24 April 2020 Architect s drawing of a building with sign for E Pimbury and Company Victoria British Columbia between 1880 and 1890 University of Washington Special Collections Retrieved 4 May 2020 Bids Advertisement The Seattle Post Intelligencer Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers 1 Mar 1888 Retrieved 7 December 2020 From Saturday s Daily Puget Sound Weekly Argus Port Townsend Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers 7 Oct 1888 Retrieved 7 December 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Two and a Half Million Fisher s List of Buildings for the Past Year The Seattle Post Intellignecer Library of Congress 1 Jan 1890 Retrieved 1 August 2018 Young men s Christian Association YMCA Building probably 1890 University of Washington Special Collections Retrieved 17 October 2019 YMCA building at 1417 1st Ave Seattle 1903 University of Washington Special Collections Retrieved 17 October 2019 Gatzert amp McDonald Block University of Washington Special Collections Washington Magazine Retrieved 17 October 2019 To Builders The Seattle Post Intelligencer Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers 21 Aug 1889 Retrieved 11 December 2020 Rengstorff Block and Building probably 1890 University of Washington Special Collections Retrieved 4 May 2020 Sullivan Building probably 1891 University of Washington Special Collections Retrieved 4 May 2020 Local Brevities The Yakima Herald Library of Congress 2 Jan 1890 Retrieved 29 July 2018 Bids Will Be Received Classified Ad The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers 14 Apr 1890 Retrieved 27 October 2021 More Fine Bricks The Seattle Post Intelligencer Library of Congress 29 May 1890 Retrieved 15 December 2020 Real Estate and Building Los Angeles Herald Library of Congress 23 Mar 1895 Retrieved 29 July 2018 Real Estate and Building Uncontracted Work Los Angeles Herald Library of Congress 27 Dec 1895 Retrieved 29 July 2018 External links EditGoldstream Hotel Langford BC Archives Bank of British Columbia New Westminster BC Archives Stelly Block Clarence Hotel Victoria University of Washington Digital Collections Pimbury Block Nanaimo BC Archives H Young amp Co Building White House Victoria BC Archives Craft amp Norris Block Victoria BC Archives Armory Hall Seattle University of Washington Digital Collections 1st Korn Block Seattle University of Washington Digital Collections Gilmore amp Kirkman Building Arlington Hotel Seattle University of Washington Digital Archives Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elmer H Fisher amp oldid 1131845832, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
