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Guide to the Thomas P. Dockendorff Collection Relating to the Parkinson and Dockendorff Architectural Firm, 1981-1997
MSS 127
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- Thomas P. Dockendorff is an Emeritus Professor of Geography at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and has an interest in the La Crosse, Wisconsin, architectural firm of Parkinson and Dockendorff. Bernard Dockendorff and English-born Albert E. Parkinson designed many of the most significant surviving Early Modern (1900-1940) commercial and public buildings in La Crosse, Wis., under the aegis of Parkinson and Dockendorff Architects including many school buildings, Catholic churches, commercial structures, and residences. This collection consists of the research materials created and gathered by Thomas P. Dockendorf regarding the architectural legacy of Parkinson & Dockendorff in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, with the majority of documented structures in Wisconsin in the La Crosse, Wis., area. The collection is divided into two series of descriptive information labeled SUBJECT FILES which includes indices of Parkinson and Dockendorff designed buildings, and correspondence, papers and research material of Thomas P. Dockendorff concerning Parkinson and Dockendorff. VISUAL MATERIALS include 4” x 6 “ prints and 35 mm color slides of known Parkinson & Dockendorff designed buildings taken during the period 1990-1997. The collection does not include architectural drawings of the firm.
- Collection Title
- Thomas P. Dockendorff Collection Relating to the Parkinson and Dockendorff Architectural Firm
- Date of Materials
- 1981-1997
- Creator
- Dockendorff, Thomas P.
- Call Number
- MSS 127
- Amount
- 1.2 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 2 archives boxes, 1 card box
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Thomas P. Dockendorff Collection Relating to the Parkinson and Dockendorff Architectural Firm, MSS 127, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Biographical Note
Bernard Dockendorff (b. January 22, 1878, d. September 23, 1952), a La Crosse native, was the son of Bernard J. and Elizabeth Hoeschler Dockendorff. He attended St. Joseph's Cathedral School and secondary school at La Crosse High School, after which he worked for two years (c. 1895-1897) with the local architectural firm of Stolze and Schick before leaving in 1897 to study architecture at the Polytechnic Institute, University of Darmstadt, Germany. He worked for two years with Ludwig Becker, a cathedral architect in Mainz, Germany. Returning to La Crosse around 1902, he formed a partnership with Albert Parkinson, which lasted until their deaths in 1952.(1) A. E. Parkinson (b. February 17, 1870, d. September 21, 1952), a native of England was trained in the practices of architecture by his father and the schools of Scranton. He worked as an engineer and contractor in Sparta, Wisconsin, shortly before forming the architectural firm with Dockendorff.
Licensed to practice in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, and Illinois, the Parkinson and Dockendorff offices located in the Linker Building in downtown La Crosse provided practical training for several young area architects including Otto Merman, associated with Percy D. Bentley and later Herbert W. Skogstad, and Robert Cerney, who later became an architect in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Credited with the design of over 800 public buildings, the firm‟s commissions included schools, residences, hospitals, commercial structures and civic buildings.
Thomas Dockendorff described the architectural firm as existing from 1902-1952. “[Parkinson and Dockendorff] were commissioned to design approximately 150 schools and/or additions. Three distinct periods of design may be classified from their work. The early period, 1902-1912, is the classic Georgian style with pyramidal roof, dormer windows, and centrally placed cupola. The principle period, 1912-1930, is characterized by the "academic" or "collegiate" Gothic style with multi-stories of reddish brick and Bedford limestone trim. The third style occurred during the Depression and World War II period and is denoted by a lack of ornamentation, the use of yellow brick, and fewer commissions.” Dockendorff contended that “the influence of one architectural firm upon the design of so many structures had a significant impact of the perception of how schools should look.”
Parkinson and Dockendorff are responsible for the design of four of the school buildings in the city of La Crosse, including the Holy Trinity Catholic Church (built in 1907) on 1417 South 13th Street, the Aquinas Catholic High School on 11th Street, the Blessed Sacrament School (built in 1938), and the physical education building, known as Wittich Hall, at the La Crosse Normal School at 1724 State Street, in 1916.(2)
Following the deaths of Parkinson and Dockendorff, their drawings and supplies were given to another La Crosse architectural firm, Schubert, Boyum and Sorenson, and subsequently to Kratt & Associates Architects.
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Sources:
(1) “Dockendorff, Architect Here 46 Years, Dies,” La Crosse Tribune (September 1952). (2) Architectural Researches, Inc., City of La Crosse, Wisconsin Architectural and Historical Intensive Survey Report (1996), 225-226.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the research materials related to the architectural legacy of Parkinson and Dockendorff gathered between 1981 and 1997 by Thomas P. Dockendorff, Emeritus Professor of Geography in the College of Social Sciences at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The materials include descriptive information (labeled subject files), and visual materials regarding structures in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, with the majority of documented structures in Wisconsin in the La Crosse area. The collection does not include architectural drawings of the firm.
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 2010-2011
800 Main St.La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 2005.065) Donated by Thomas P. Dockendorff, 2005
Processing Information
Processed by Sloan Komissarov, 2010-2011
Related Materials
Related Materials
- (MSS 061)
- Parkinson and Dockendorff Architectural Drawings
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- Parkinson & Dockendorff (Architectural firm).
Subject(s)
- Architects--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Architecture--Wisconsin--La Crosse
Collection Inventory
(Series 1) Subject FilesScope and ContentsSubject Files include indices of Parkinson and Dockendorff designed buildings, and correspondence, papers and research material of Thomas P. Dockendorff concerning Parkinson and Dockendorff. |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Architecture Consultants Seminar keynote address, 1995 |
1 | 9 | ||
|
Association of American Geographers (AAG) annual meeting poster submission, 1992 |
1 | 7 | ||
|
AAG West Lakes Division annual meeting, 1993 |
1 | 8 | ||
|
"Breaking New Ground on Old Buildings" paper, 1994-1996 |
1 | 10 | ||
|
Brochures (by city), 1981-1989 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
Building indicies |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Clippings (by city) |
1 | 4 | ||
|
Correspondence, 1990-1997 |
1 | 11 | ||
|
Twenty-Five Years of School House Planning, 1902-1927, by Paul F. Neverman |
1 | 5 | ||
|
|
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(Series 2) Visual MaterialsScope and ContentsVisual Materials include 4” x 6 “ prints and 35 mm color slides of known Parkinson & Dockendorff designed buildings taken during the period 1990-1997. |
||||
| Box | ||||
|
Architectural photos (by city) |
3 | |||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Negatives |
1 | 2 | ||
|
Photographs and elevations (by city) |
1 | 1 | ||
|
Slides (by building type), 1990-1997 |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Churches |
2 | 1 | ||
|
Churches, businesses |
2 | 2 | ||
|
Hospitals, civic buildings |
2 | 3 | ||
|
Residences, schools |
2 | 4 | ||
|
Schools, |
2 | 5-6 | ||
|
Schools, architecture firm |
2 | 7 | ||
|
Maps |
2 | 8-9 | ||
|
|
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