Ny arkitektur for nordmenn i Iowa. Arkitekt C.H. Griese, Luther College og kirker i 1860-årene

Jens Christian Eldal

doi:10.7557/13.3696

Abstract

The Norwegian Evangelical-Lutheran Church in America decided in 1861 to build their first college close to the western frontier of The Upper Midwest. The site chosen was a bluff above Upper Iowa River, highly visible from Decorah, a small town founded only 12 years earlier, few years after the first settlers arrived. The college building became a relatively vast structure erected between 1862 and 1865, completed to its originally planned symmetrical composition in 1874. The building style and its composition were common among American colleges and universities further east in the US. It is also demonstrated how the Luther College building façade in composition and detailing shows clear influences from a specific German building. This particular building has been designated as especially typical of the German Rundbogenstil (Style of the Rounded Arch) with its great mix of various stylistic elements.The architect was known as C. H. Griese from Cleveland, Ohio. He is identified as Charles Henry Griese (1821–1909), who immigrated from Germany about 1850 and was known as a mason and contractor, from now on also as an architect. In 1869, Griese also designed the three Norwegian Lutheran churches of Washington Prairie, Stavanger and Glenwood in rural Decorah. They represented a Neo Gothic style which was new to the area, and had an evident architectural character contrasting the more ordinary vernacular churches in the area. They signify a change of style and, like the college building, they demonstrate architectural ambitions new to these Norwegians, giving insight also into the general architectural and vernacular development in the area.

Highlights

Den norske masseutvandringen til Midtvesten i Nord-Amerika startet i 1830-årene, og norskamerikanerne stiftet snart sine egne samfunn og institusjoner, ikke minst knyttet til religiøse forhold
Bare unntaksvis aner man at en arkitekt har vært involvert og skapt arkitektur som skiller seg spesielt ut i fra det alminnelige og vanlige
En av de bygningene som tidlig skilte seg ut i både dimensjoner og stilvalg var hovedbygningen ved det norsk-amerikanske Luther College i Decorah, Iowa, oppført 1862–1865 med full utbygging til symmetrisk utforming i 1874

Summary

Introduction

Den norske masseutvandringen til Midtvesten i Nord-Amerika startet i 1830-årene, og norskamerikanerne stiftet snart sine egne samfunn og institusjoner, ikke minst knyttet til religiøse forhold. En av de bygningene som tidlig skilte seg ut i både dimensjoner og stilvalg var hovedbygningen ved det norsk-amerikanske Luther College i Decorah, Iowa, oppført 1862–1865 med full utbygging til symmetrisk utforming i 1874.

Results

Conclusion