J. F. Alexander & Son, Architects, Lafayette, Indiana
The firm of J. F. Alexander & Son. began c.1872 with the firm of Melton & Alexander, carpenters and builders. About 1876, James F. Alexander began an independent architectural practice. He continued on his own until about 1892, when his son, William C. Alexander, joined the firm. At this time the name of the firm was changed to J. F. Alexander & Son, and it operated under that name until about 1917-1918. J. Frank Alexander, Jr., another son, joined the firm in the 1890s. Frank P. Riedel and Theodore A. Zink later joined the firm as draftsmen. William C. Alexander moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, after the turn of the century, and J. Frank Alexander became the second in command. Frank Alexander died Aug. 20, 1917, just after the plans for the Lafayette Life Building were completed. Frank Riedel and Theodore Zink had served as assistants in the design and seem to have purchased the firm from J. F. Alexander soon after his son's death. J. F. Alexander moved away from Lafayette and died in the 1920s. The firm of Riedel & Zink operated throughout the 1920s, after which Frank P. Riedel seems to have practiced on his own.
The firm of J. F. Alexander & Son was, without a doubt, the most prominent architectural firm in Lafayette prior to 1920. After the firm sold out to Riedel & Zink, the firm of Nichol, Scholer & Hoffman, led by Charles W. Nicol, seems to have become the dominant architectural firm in Lafayette.
J. F. Alexander & Son produced some of the finest buildings in Indiana in a radius that extended up to about 90 miles from Lafayette by the late-1890s. Among the most famous of the firm's works was the Indiana Knights of Pythias Building (c.1906-1907) in Indianapolis. The Indiana State Soldiers' Home (1895-) was another prominent project. Many of the buildings designed by the firm have been demolished and several of the best surviving examples are endangered at this time. The work of this firm is largely undocumented, leaving the scope of its projects unknown to most architectural historians. If you have any information relating to a building by J. F. Alexander & Son, please contact me.
Email: blross@bsu.edu
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