Rogers and MacFarlane

Rogers and MacFarlane was an architectural practice established in Detroit, Michigan, in 1885 by James S. Rogers and Walter MacFarlane. The firm operated during a period of rapid industrialization and urban growth in Detroit, designing commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential buildings for manufacturers, merchants, professionals, and affluent families. Its work extended beyond Detroit into southern Michigan and included at least one commission in Toledo, Ohio. The partnership’s portfolio reflected the diverse building requirements of a growing late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century American city. It designed factories for industrial companies, office and commercial blocks, banks, transportation-related structures, public facilities, apartment buildings, hotels, recreational buildings, and substantial private residences. Among its industrial commissions were the Morgan & Wright Bicycle Tire Company plant, later associated with Uniroyal, the Cadillac Motor Works, and the Murphy Power Plant on Congress Street. Commercial and civic work included the L. B. King and Company Building, commonly known as the King's China Store, the Marquette Building, the Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Battle Creek, and Detroit Fire Department Ladder Company No. 11. The firm was also associated with a substantial body of residential architecture. Its commissions included houses for figures such as Samuel L. Smith, John N. Bagley, James C. Buckley, David C. Whitney, Edward Hunting Jewett, and James S. Rogers, as well as multiple residences along Detroit’s East Jefferson Avenue, Seminole Avenue, Iroquois Avenue, Virginia Park, and other prominent residential streets. Several of these properties have been demolished, while others were later recognized for their architectural or historical importance. The Samuel L. Smith House and the L. B. King and Company Building were listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places; the Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Battle Creek also received National Register recognition. James S. Rogers was born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1859, was educated in Baltimore, attended Baltimore City College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and later practiced in Detroit. Walter MacFarlane, also born in 1859, was educated in Detroit and studied at West Point before working in a Detroit architect’s office. Although MacFarlane did not complete college training in architecture, he became Rogers’s partner and helped establish the firm’s long-running Detroit practice. The partnership maintained offices in the Penobscot Building, including an address at 1330 Penobscot Building. MacFarlane left the partnership in 1910 after suffering a nervous breakdown. Following a period of rest in Colorado and Arizona, he returned to Detroit and entered a new partnership with Walter Maul and Walter Lentz in 1912. Rogers subsequently practiced under the name Rogers & Bonnah. The original firm’s active period is generally given as 1885–1912. MacFarlane died in 1919, while the available reference material does not establish a later institutional continuation of Rogers and MacFarlane. The firm is therefore best understood as a historical architectural practice rather than a continuing contemporary brand.

Rogers and MacFarlane emerged in Detroit in 1885, when James S. Rogers and Walter MacFarlane formed an architectural partnership. Their practice developed alongside Detroit’s transformation into a major manufacturing and commercial center. The firm’s commissions show that it worked across the principal categories of building demanded by the city’s expansion: factories, power facilities, commercial blocks, office buildings, retail premises, civic structures, transportation buildings, hotels, apartments, recreational facilities, and private houses. Rogers brought formal educational experience that included attendance at Baltimore City College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MacFarlane attended Detroit public schools and studied at West Point before working in the office of a Detroit architect identified in the reference material as Mr. Lloyd. Although MacFarlane was not college-trained in architecture, he became an important participant in the partnership and in Detroit’s architectural profession. The firm maintained offices in Detroit for nearly three decades and was associated with the Penobscot Building, including an office at 1330 Penobscot Building. During the 1880s and 1890s, the firm designed a range of residences and commercial structures. Early listed work included the Lake St. Clair Fishing and Shooting Club, the Banner Cigar Factory, the Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Battle Creek, the Samuel L. Smith House, the Commercial Block, and residences for Detroit residents including John N. Bagley, Robert A. Jamieson, Rufus Goodell, and others. The practice continued to receive residential commissions through the 1890s and 1900s, particularly in established and developing Detroit neighborhoods such as East Jefferson Avenue, Seminole Avenue, Iroquois Avenue, Virginia Park, and the area around Palmer Park. The firm’s industrial work became particularly significant as Detroit’s manufacturing economy grew. Its commissions included the Morgan & Wright Bicycle Tire Company plant, the Cadillac Motor Works, and the Murphy Power Plant on Congress Street. The Murphy facility was later purchased by Detroit Edison in June 1914, after the original partnership’s active period. Other important commercial and institutional projects included the Marquette Building, Crescent Brass and Pin Company Building, Detroit Fire Department Ladder No. 11, and the L. B. King and Company Building at 1274 Library, associated with the city’s King's China Store. Rogers and MacFarlane also designed buildings outside central Detroit. The Battle Creek Michigan Central Railroad Depot, completed in 1888, remains in use in an altered commercial context and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The firm also designed the Iroquois Hotel in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and the Judge Julian Tyler House in Toledo, Ohio. Several Detroit commissions, including the Samuel L. Smith House and the L. B. King and Company Building, later received National Register recognition. The partnership changed near the end of its existence. Walter MacFarlane left in 1910 after a nervous breakdown. He spent time recovering in Colorado and Arizona, returned to Detroit in 1912, and formed the partnership MacFarlane, Maul, and Lentz with Walter Maul and Walter Lentz, both University of Michigan architectural graduates. James S. Rogers later practiced with Walter Bonnah under the name Rogers & Bonnah. The original Rogers and MacFarlane practice is recorded as having produced commissions from 1885 through 1912. MacFarlane died in Detroit in 1919. The firm’s legacy survives through surviving and documented buildings, although many listed commissions were demolished, destroyed, or substantially altered.

• 1912

  Original practice ends and partners pursue new practices

  [1]Rogers and MacFarlaneen.wikipedia.org

  MacFarlane returned to Detroit and formed MacFarlane, Maul, and Lentz, while Rogers later practiced as Rogers & Bonnah. The original firm’s active period is generally recorded as ending in 1912.

• 1910

  MacFarlane leaves the partnership

  [1]Rogers and MacFarlaneen.wikipedia.org

  Walter MacFarlane departed the firm after suffering a nervous breakdown.

• 1905

  Morgan & Wright factory designed

  [1]Rogers and MacFarlaneen.wikipedia.org

  Rogers and MacFarlane designed the Morgan & Wright Bicycle Tire Company plant on East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. The structure later became associated with Uniroyal and was demolished in 1985.

• 1888

  Michigan Central Railroad Depot completed

  [1]Rogers and MacFarlaneen.wikipedia.org

  The firm designed the Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Battle Creek, Michigan, a building later listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• 1885

  Partnership founded in Detroit

  [1]Rogers and MacFarlaneen.wikipedia.org

  James S. Rogers and Walter MacFarlane established the architectural firm Rogers and MacFarlane in Detroit, Michigan.

A Detroit-based general architectural practice serving the city’s industrial, commercial, civic, and residential building markets during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

• Industrial buildings

  Industrial architecture

  The firm designed manufacturing and utility facilities for Detroit’s expanding industrial economy. Documented examples include the Morgan & Wright Bicycle Tire Company plant, the Cadillac Motor Works, the Crescent Brass and Pin Company Building, and the Murphy Power Plant on Congress Street. These commissions demonstrate the practice’s involvement in factories and industrial infrastructure rather than only domestic architecture.

• Commercial, office, retail, and public buildings

  Commercial and civic architecture

  Rogers and MacFarlane produced designs for commercial and public-use buildings, including the Marquette Building, the L. B. King and Company Building, the Banner Cigar Factory, Detroit Fire Department Ladder No. 11, and the Belle Isle Ferry Pavilion. The commissions served merchants, office users, public departments, and transportation or recreational functions.

• Private houses and apartment buildings

  Residential architecture

  Residential work formed a substantial part of the firm’s portfolio. The practice designed individual houses, duplexes, apartments, and large suburban residences for Detroit clients and families in nearby communities. Documented commissions include the Samuel L. Smith House, residences for John N. Bagley, James C. Buckley, Edward Hunting Jewett, David C. Whitney, and James S. Rogers, along with numerous houses on East Jefferson, Seminole, Iroquois, and related avenues.

• 1910

  MacFarlane exits the partnershipStrategy

  Background

  Walter MacFarlane left Rogers and MacFarlane after suffering a nervous breakdown.

  Action taken

  MacFarlane withdrew from the firm and later pursued recovery outside Michigan before returning to Detroit.

  Aftermath

  After returning in 1912, MacFarlane established a new practice with Walter Maul and Walter Lentz. James S. Rogers later practiced with Walter Bonnah.

  Source

1. 1Rogers and MacFarlaneen.wikipedia.org