H I S T O R I C • I L L I N O I SIl l inoi s His tor ic Pre servat ion Agency • Divi s ion of Pre servat ion Service s • Vol . 28 • No. 6 • Apri l 2006

Two competing family firms manufactured a prodigious amount ofstamped-metal facades and exterior architectural features that graced build-

ings in Illinois and around the nation. Bernard and Frank Mesker operatedMesker Brothers Iron Works in St. Louis, while their brother, George, com-peted with them from his Eansville, Indiana, location of George L. Mesker

& Co. Both companies, established in the 1880s, continued to manufac-ture products well into the mid-twentieth century. Pictured here is the

Hotel Mann in Virginia, Illinois, with its elaborate facade pro-duced by the St. Louis brothers. Inset: The cover of the 1904Mesker Brothers catalog features a versatile range of products,

from milled storefronts, plate-steel columns, and ornamen-tal sheet-metal panels, to rock-face-sheet-metal siding,

elaborate cornices, and pediments.

Three Brothers, Two Businesses Add up to Architecture Galore

—story on page 3

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H I S TH I S T O R I C • I L L I N O I SO R I C • I L L I N O I S

he eclectic Arts & Crafts bungalowin what was once the working-classneighborhood of Winnetka was builtfor one of the wealthiest women inthe largely wealthy north-shore Chicago suburb. Lola Maverick Lloydcould have afforded—and at one time did live—in a much biggerhouse in Winnetka. Her other Winnetka home was Wayside, whichher husband, William, inherited from his prominent parents, HenryDemarest and Jessie Bross Lloyd. Even the Wayside estate, though, wasnot a home where the wealthy family sat idle. Characterized as “anannex to Hull House,” the home often provided shelter to Hull Houseresidents.

Wayside was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966 for itsassociation with Henry Demarest Lloyd, prominent social reformadvocate. In February 2006 the modest house that Lola built on theother side of the tracks was listed in the National Register of HistoricPlaces for its association with Lola, a tireless social activist who devotedmuch of her life to pursuing global peace.

Lola Maverick Lloyd left Wayside after a bitter (and scandalous,because it happened in 1916) divorce, settling across town in themuch smaller stucco and board-and-batten-sided house built by familyfriend Charles Haag. A Swedish immigrant, Haag was a sculptorwhose favorite medium was wood. Lola’s diaries reveal that the housedesign was a team effort. Many of Haag’s carved-wood details andcustom woodwork are modeled after furnishings and fixtures common-ly found in Swedish houses. Other details in the house reflect Lola’sTexas roots, including a mural of her parents’ Maverick Ranch and theinstallation of amber glass in the living room window that would allowthe sun to stream through and simulate the “glowing light of Texas.”

The home is filled with charming details at every turn, and Lloydwanted to make it comfortable for her children, who had been accus-tomed to much larger quarters. But Lloyd also wanted her home toreflect her philosophy: “Too much culture, sophistication, complexityof life will drive the race insane. What to live without—that’s the art.”

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The Independent Order of Odd Fellows chapter in St. Francisville (Lawrence County) purchaseda facade that appeared in the 1909 catalog of George L. Mesker & Co. Both Mesker companiesroutinely included renderings and testimonials in their catalogs to showcase the popularity of theirproducts.

Sibling Rivalry Good for Illinois ArchitectureThe Meskers’ Sheet-Metal Businesses

A look up at the facades of oldcommercial buildings on Illinois mainstreets reveals much more than just anabundance of intricate ornamenta-tion. The decorative features of thesebuildings offer insight into architec-tural history, providing examples ofstyles commonly employed in the latenineteenth century, includingRenaissance, Romanesque, andGothic revivals. The adornments alsoinform us of the role of changingtechnology in the construction indus-try. Although the casual observer maythink that these pilasters, scrolls, pedi-ments, brackets, dentils, and otherornaments are rendered in carved

Nauvoo to Paris, featured productsoffered by the Mesker brothers’ com-panies, which were among the largest

and most famous architecturalsheet-metal manufacturers.Although the two companieswere owned by brothers—

Bernard (1851-1936) and Frank(1861-1952) owned the St. Louiscompany, while brother George(1857-1936) owned theEvansville factory—they wereoperated independently andwere in fierce competition.

Collectively, the two companiesproduced thousands of sheet-metal building fronts, andthrough their catalogs they soldand distributed them all overthe country. In addition tohaving contracts in every state,the Mesker Brothers filled con-

tracts in Hawaii, Mexico, Canada,Cuba, and India, while George L.Mesker & Co. sold building fronts inBermuda. Mesker Brothers companyrecords show that during the course oftwenty-three years more than 5,200fronts were sold and shipped, whileGeorge’s Evansville company had alsosold thousands of “house fronts.”

stone, carved wood, or cast metal(bronze or iron), a closer look revealsthat most of them are made of galva-nized sheet metal, stamped into a vari-ety of architectural motifs. Leastobvious, but perhaps more interesting,is where the facades came from.

The story of sheet-metal facades inIllinois is largely one of two compet-ing companies. While numeroussheet-metal companies existed nation-wide, two in particular dominated theIllinois landscape: Mesker BrothersIron Works of St. Louis, Missouri,and George L. Mesker & Co. ofEvansville, Indiana. Thousands ofbuildings from Galena to Cairo, from

The T.J. Abbott Building in Golconda features facade components made by George L. Mesker &Co. The cornice, window hoods, lintel cornice, and cast-iron columns were a popular choice formany owners of “brick fronts.” In the company’s 1896 catalog, a nearly identical facade is listedfor about $120.

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The facade of the Union Block Building in Taylorville, which dates to1887, was manufactured by Mesker Brothers Iron Works.

The Meskers were an enterprisingfamily, and they understood thepotential profits that could be madeusing the new sheet-metal technolo-gy. The use of sheet metal for archi-tectural ornament began in the1870s, and in the following decadesit supplanted iron as the metal ofchoice for most architectural work.Because one of steel’s advantages wasthat it was stronger than iron and itcould be rolled and stamped intolarge ornamental sheets, by the endof the nineteenth century it hadreplaced iron for cornices, buildingfronts, and other architectural designfeatures.

Galvanized sheet metal providedan economical means of architecturalornamentation. This was particularlyappealing to smaller communitieswhere professional architectural serv-ices were scarce or nonexistent.Because sheet metal was so light-weight, it was suitable for new orexisting buildings of frame or mason-ry construction.

Bernard Mesker (1823-1899). Settlingin Cincinnati, John trained as a “tin-ner,” a craftsman who worked withtinplate—small sheets of iron dippedin molten tin. He worked primarilyfor stove and tinware businesses untilhe struck out on his own in 1844,when he began making trips up anddown the Ohio and Mississippi rivers,providing services from a flatboat ofhis own construction. Three yearslater he co-founded Mesker andBusse, a stove manufacturer, and in1850 he opened a store in Evansville,where he produced stoves, copper, tin,sheet-iron ware, and eventually begangalvanizing iron for buildings. In1874 John’s business changed itsname to J. B. Mesker & Son. Thecompany, which flourished into the1890s, provided a fertile trainingground for John’s sons, all of whomattended private and business schoolsto prepare for work in the familytrade.

Like their father, the Mesker boyswanted to establish their own

The cover of this George L. Mesker & Co. 1896 catalog showcasesexamples of the company’s facade work below a drawing of their facto-ry, which the company called “the largest and most complete establish-ment in the United States.” (Photo courtesy David Mesker)

Sheet-metalfacades were alsoeasy to get and easyto install. The pre-fabricated pieceswere made accord-ing to the dimen-sions sent in by thebuilding owner. Inaddition, the sheet-metal facades andcomponents couldbe ordered throughcatalogs andshipped to a com-munity by raildirectly from themanufacturer, elim-

inating the cost of a wholesaler. Alocal builder or even the owner, couldconstruct the building and attach thefaçade assembly to it by following themanufacturer’s detailed step-by-stepinstructions. A complete sheet-metal“front,” as it was called, could beerected in as few as two days, vastlyquicker than a masonry or cast-ironfacade and—even moreimportantly—atroughly one fifththe cost.

The Meskerbrothersembraced thisindustry-chang-ing technology, alogical step fromtheir father’sexperience in themetals. TheMesker brotherswere the sons ofGerman immi-grant John

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The story of the Mesker brothers is as fascinating as thatof their companies. It is clear that Bernard, being the old-est, was the leader of the group and exerted the mostinfluence on his brothers. A man of old-fashioned values,he was the first in line for the morning paper and beganeach day by reading it front to back. He preferred person-al contact for business meetings and refused ever to usethe telephone, professing “If they want to talk to me, theyknow where I am.” It is no wonder that Bernard (or Benas he was called for short), through his precise bookkeep-ing and meticulous organization, steered the MeskerBrothers company through several business panics intofinancial success. It wasalso Ben, who uponhis visit to England,foresaw the changingof architectural tastesat the turn of thetwentieth century, andlaunched the companyinto steel window fabrication—a verysuccessful move thatensured the company’sstability for decades tocome.

Ben’s partner andyounger brother Frankwas quite on par withBen in terms of business savvy. Frankappears to have handled most of thetechnical issues,including the compa-ny’s patented inven-tions. An extensive traveler, his great hobby was fly-fishing, and he practiced the sport in the best knownplaces worldwide. In 1903 he married Pauline Gehner,daughter of prominent investor Augustus Gehner. Frank’smarriage later caused friction between Ben and Frank,when Frank began to withdraw more money from thecompany’s funds to support his family. It is unclear howserious the feud was or how it was eventually resolved, butthe company continued to operate successfully with thetwo brothers in charge. Despite causing a skirmish withhis brother, Frank’s marriage proved to be fruitful—he was

the only of the three brothers to have children. It was hisson Francis, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, who operated the business after Frank’s deathin 1952.

Despite being competitive with his brothers, Georgemaintained a close relationship with them, evidenced bytheir frequent correspondence. His own marriage yearslater proved to be somewhat of a scandal. In 1913, at theage of fifty-six, George married Elizabeth DianaMacEachen, the eighteen-year-old daughter of miningengineer Neil MacEachen. Three years later, he and hiswife left Evansville and moved to New York. Although a

millionaire and aknown philanthro-pist, Georgeappears to havelived modestlywhile inEvansville. In fact,the entire Meskerfamily, along withfather JohnBernard Mesker,lived in the samehousehold, as didBen and Frank inSt. Louis untilFrank’s marriage.After he married,however, Georgebegan spendingmore freely, mostlyto support the lav-ish tastes of hisyoung wife. Heeven commis-

sioned architect Addison Mizner to design a house inPalm Beach, Florida. La Fontana, named for the marblepatio fountain with life-sized sculptures, was designedaround Mrs. Mesker’s collection of Italian paintings andfurnishings.

The three brothers were the most successful of a largeMesker family, which included four additional brothersand two sisters. Imprinting themselves into architecturalhistory, however, was never their goal. They simply want-ed to earn a living.

Darius Bryjka

The Three Meskers

Although three of the Mesker brothers competed with each other for business, theyremained on good terms as family members. Pictured here is the family gatheredfor Frank Mesker’s wedding in St. Louis in 1903. In the photo are: (seated, left toright) George L. Mesker, Anna Schmidt, Frank Mesker, Pauline Gehner Mesker,Ben Mesker, Oscar Schmidt, and (standing, left to right) John Mesker, AlbertGehner, August Gehner, and Willamina Gehner. The boy seated on the floor isunidentified. (Photo courtesy David Mesker)

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1960s. Though it passed out ofMesker hands, it continued to oper-ate under the Mesker name in St.Louis until the 1980s, when itmoved to Huntsville, Alabama,

where, as MeskerDoor, Inc., it manu-factures steel doorsand frames.

While Bernardand Frank were build-ing their St. Louisbusiness, their brotherGeorge continued towork for their fatherin Evansville as abookkeeper and iron-worker at J. B.Mesker & Son. In1880 he was namedpartner and he head-ed his father’s firmwith another brother,John Henry Mesker(1855-1898). It wasduring this phase ofGeorge’s increasedinvolvement that thecompany receivedseveral importantcommissions. Amongthese was a contractfor the iron, zinc, andtin work for theCloud State Bank inMcLeansboro,Illinois. Designed bythe architecture firmof Reid & Reid ofEvansville, the build-ing was completed in1881. It features anexuberant array of

architectural motifs, including severalcornices and a square mansard roofcovered with tin. The building’scrowning element is a “bull’s eye”tower covered with zinc shingles andtopped with wrought-iron work.Adjacent to the bank, the Cloudfamily constructed another Reid &Reid design—the McCoy MemorialLibrary—which also features sheet-

concentrated on metal windows andrelated building elements. DuringWorld War I, the company also pro-duced large quantities of ranges andbread ovens for the U.S. and Allied

governments. Frank became presi-dent of the company after Bernard’sdeath in 1936, and during WorldWar II, Mesker Brothers producedairplane landing mats, fragmentationbombs, ammunition lockers, and oiland water tanks for submarinechasers. When Frank died in 1952,his sons and grandsons took over thecompany and held it until the mid-

businesses. In 1876 John Mesker andhis oldest son, Bernard, formed apartnership with J. B. Buehner, achair manufacturer, under the nameBuehner, Mesker & Company, withBernard in charge ofthe Mesker interestsin the venture. In1879, however, arestless Bernard leftEvansville, lured bythe prospect of strik-ing silver inColorado. He soldhis interest in thechair manufacturingcompany and headedwest, stopping in St.Louis to visit hisbrother Frank.Discussions withFrank led Bernard toa change of heart,and he decided thatthe sheet-metalindustry would pro-vide a more stableand more lucrativebusiness venture thansilver prospecting.Together, Bernardand Frank establishedthe firm of Meskerand Brother (alsoknown as MeskerBrothers IronWorks). One of thefirm’s earliest com-missions was a sheet-metal project for theCrow MemorialBuilding (1879-1881), designed bythe prominent Boston architecturalfirm of Peabody & Stearns. StillMesker and Brother was virtuallyunknown until 1883, when the com-pany was awarded a contract formetal work on the St. LouisExposition and Music Hall building.The heyday of the company’s facadework spanned from the mid-1880s toabout 1910, after which the firm

Mesker company nameplates were either molded into the bases of columns or bolted onas a plate.

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metal cornices and decorative iron-work, likely made by J. B. Mesker &Son.

Despite the success of his father’sbusiness, George had ambitions ofhis own. While the exact date of hisdeparture from J. B. Mesker & Son isunclear, in 1885 George establishedhis own company, George L. Mesker& Company, eventually building itinto the country’s largest architecturalironworks. It appears that in order toavoid competition among theEvansville family businesses, eachcompany chose a specialized nichewithin the sheet-metal and iron mar-ket. J. B. Mesker and his son Edward(1860-1898) focused on stove andrange manufacture, while JohnHenry Mesker, who established hisown business in 1883, dealt in ironfences, railings, and similar buildingcomponents. The architectural sheet-metal and iron work became George’sspecialty. Starting with local commis-sions, George soon began receivingorders from other nearby towns suchas Henderson, Kentucky. Taking apage from his brothers in St. Louis,he eventually began sending out cata-logs and similarly garnered a nation-wide clientele. Unlike its St. Louiscompetitor, the Evansville foundry

continued to sell large numbers ofbuilding fronts into the 1910s, capi-talizing on both the economic resur-gence that followed the Panic of1907 and the decreased competitionfrom the St. Louis Mesker firm.From 1908 to 1913 George L.Mesker & Co. sold almost as manyfronts as during the previous twenty-three years of operation. In the 1920sthe company sold storefronts as wellas structural steel components,including roof trusses. Mesker oftenworked with other manufacturers tooffer a complete line of metal build-ing products. Despite remaining thecompany’s titular head until his deathin 1936, George Mesker departedEvansville in 1916 never to return,leaving the running of the companyto business manager Henry Koch.During World War II, George L.

Mesker & Co. secured numerousgovernment contracts. After severalyears of financial decline, the compa-ny was sold in 1974 to the FabsteelCompany, a structural steel fabricatorfor the petrochemical industry. TheEvansville foundry closed in 1981after ninety-six years of operation.

The business of both firms wasbased on mail-order sales, but the St.Louis Mesker Brothers in particularrealized the full potential of the cata-log as a sales tool. Spurred by thePanic of 1884 and strong local com-petition, the brothers traveled to theEast Coast with the idea of relocat-ing. In Washington, D.C., they dis-covered a mail-order architecturalmetalworks company that was goingout of business. The brothers reusedthat company’s trade catalogs, whichfeatured virtually the same productsthat Mesker Brothers produced.Frank and Bernard simply replacedthe covers of the already printed cata-logs and mailed about 1,500.Surprised by the amount of ordersreceived, they increased the catalogmailing number to 5,000, then to50,000, and afterwards to half a mil-

The cast-iron columns and upper-storyornamental panels, as well as milled wood-en storefront, were provided by George L.Mesker & Co. and adorn this otherwisebasic two-story structure in Crossville(White County).

Ornamentation provided by the MeskerBrothers Iron Works lends character to thisotherwise simple structure in Belleville’sbusiness district.

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lion per year. Both firms’ handsomelydesigned catalogs sought to impresswould-be customers with the qualityof their products. Mesker buildingfronts also alleviated the need for anarchitect, designer, or skilled crafts-man, since the only aesthetic decisiona building owner needed to makeinvolved selecting an engraving fromthe catalog. The two Mesker compa-nies also provided renderings basedon rough sketches with dimensionssent in by potential customers. Theirextensive product lines ranged fromsheets of galvanized steel to entirestorefront assemblies. They sold cor-nices, window hoods, and columns,as well as stairs, elevators, skylights,steel roofing, and stamped steel ceil-ings. They also offered wooden mill-work and glass for storefronts. Theircustomers could put together anycombination of stock elements thatthey wished or take advantage of pre-selected packages. Custom work wasalso available, but naturally it wasmore expensive than stock designs.Combined with efficient production,this marketing strategy allowed thecompanies to become the leaders ofthe industry.

Despite the popularity of theircast-iron offerings, the companies’primary architectural products wereupper story facades of sheet-metal,which were affordable, elegant, fire-proof, and easily installed. Thoughavailable elsewhere as early as 1872, itwasn’t until the 1880s that these“fronts” seriously competed with themore established but more expensivecast-iron facades. Cast-iron store-fronts, on the other hand, alwayswere popular, so the Meskers offeredboth materials in combination. Acast-iron storefront would oftenaccompany galvanized sheet metalcomponents on the upper story. Thewear and tear of street activitydemanded the sturdiness of cast ironon the ground floor, but at the upperlevels, sheet-metal was lighter, easierto use, and cheaper.

The galvanized steel sheets werestamped into a variety of architectur-al motifs that were a fusion of late-nineteenth-century popular architec-tural styles, the Classical Revival styleas the dominating influence. As evi-denced by the catalogs, the stockdesigns of both companies did notchange very much over the quarter

century of production. Through theyears, the companies tended toemploy several design motifs thatwere repeated throughout the variousfacade components. George L.Mesker fronts often featured a styl-ized “morning glory” motif, while theMesker Brothers fronts utilized the“fleur-de-lis,” a nod to the earlyFrench heritage of St. Louis.

Both Mesker companies routinelyincluded embossed nameplates ontheir storefronts, a method practicedby foundries nationwide. Over theyears, the nameplates appeared inseveral designs, which were eithermolded into the bases of columns orbolted on as a plate. Unfortunately,they do not always survive, makingidentification more challenging.

The designs and elements offeredby Mesker Brothers are believed tohave been designed by BernardMesker, who concentrated on thedesign side of business. Bernard lovedto travel and was likely exposed tovarious styles of architecture world-wide. In addition, he owned dozensof books on Classical architecture,which served as a basis for many ofhis designs. His brother, Frank, on

The elaborate cornice on the Tunnell Building in Edwardsville is a product of Mesker Brothers Iron Works in St. Louis.

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While not the first tomanufacture sheet-metalfronts or utilize mail-order sales, the Meskercompanies did both onan unprecedented scale.Through their products,they infused architecturalornament into townswhere it was scarce or didnot previously exist. Inmany cases a buildingwith a Mesker front wasand remains among themost ornamental andidentifiable structures ina community. Nearlythree hundred suchbuildings have alreadybeen identified in 135towns across the state.However, there are hun-dreds still to be docu-mented. The IllinoisHistoric PreservationAgency is maintaining adatabase of the structures,with hopes of statewideand perhaps nationalrecognition of their sig-nificance. Do you thinkyou have Mesker frontsin your town? For moreinformation, including anillustrated identificationguide, current database,and 1904 companies’ cat-alogs, please visitwww.gotmesker.com.

Darius Bryjka

Got Mesker?

the other hand, traveled mostly for business andsupervised the company’s sales. He was not ignorantof design principals, though, having previouslyworked as a draftsman in the office of St. Louis archi-tect J. B. Legg. A graduate of Kliner's CommercialCollege in 1876, Frank also gained valuable experi-ence as a bookkeeper and estimator for Huzzell andCozzens, a sheet-metal firm in St. Louis, prior togoing into business with his brother. It is unknown atthis point who designed the ornaments for George L.Mesker & Company.

Always ahead of the competition, Mesker BrothersIron Works invented and patented various improve-ments to architectural sheet-metal work. Of the com-pany’s 62 patents, 44 were issued between 1887 and1892, demonstrating the St. Louis company’s commit-ment to becoming the leader in the sheet-metal-frontbusiness. Perhaps the company’s most importantpatents are for metal building fronts that focus onproviding speedy and economic construction of ele-ments of various dimensions. Other significantpatents relate to several versions of a steel column,which since its introduction in 1888 began replacingits cast-iron counterparts. Weighing considerably lessthan cast-iron, steel also cost less to ship, was easier tohandle, and provided a smooth and even surface and agreater carrying capacity. Mesker Brothers clearlyfavored the steel column, and by 1894 the companyno longer offered cast-iron columns.

In contrast, George L. Mesker & Company heldno patents for sheet-metal production. The companysold only cast-iron columns, claiming that they weresuperior to those made of steel or sheet iron. But thereal reason for not using steel columns may have beenthat the patents were held by the family competitorsin St. Louis.

While both companies distributed their productsnationally, their records and catalogs indicate thatIllinois was one of the largest beneficiaries of Meskerproducts. Perhaps Illinois has so many of both compa-nies’ products because it lies directly between the twofoundries, making it a fertile ground for competition,offers, and counteroffers. The abundance of survivingMesker facades is a testament to the companies’impact on the architectural fabric of Illinois commu-nities, more so than any other sheet-metal or iron-works establishment. The endurance of the Meskerfacades also demonstrates both companies’ commit-ment to quality, and with proper maintenance, thereis no reason why these galvanized sheet-metal frontsand cornices should not last for generations longer.

Darius BryjkaProject Designer, Preservation Services Division