Credits and Acknowledgements

The information on this website is a result of almost 20 years of my personal research on Silsbee, his works and his clientele.  It would not have been possible without the contributions of numerous scholars and historians across the country.  All of the works displayed, unless noted otherwise, can be substantiated with printed sources.  Typically, the sources for identification are local building records or construction notices in contemporary architectural journals or newspapers.   Though a comprehensive list of Silsbee’s work has yet to appear in print, compiling lists of his work has been attempted by historians in the past. 

The earliest published catalog of Silsbee’s work was done by Susan Karr Sorrell, accompanying an article entitled “Silsbee: The Evolution of a Personal Style".  It appeared in the Prairie School Review in 1970 and covered the middle part of Silsbee’s career in Chicago from approximately 1882 until 1897 when Silsbee’s work seemed to diminish.

A study of Silsbee’s career prior to arriving in Chicago entitled “The Early Work of Work of Joseph Lyman Silsbee” was completed in 1981 by Donald Pulfer as part of his Masters Thesis at Syracuse University.  This study uncovered numerous buildings by the architect produced in his Syracuse and Buffalo offices and hints at the broad scope of Silsbee’s career.

A chapter in the book, In Search of Modern Architecture: A Tribute to Henry Russell Hitchcock, was published by Thomas McCormick in 1982.  Entitled “The Early Work of Joseph Lyman Silsbee”, it provided the first glimpse at the architect’s personal background how it related to his development as an architect, focusing on the Syracuse work.

Elena Sciliberto made the first attempt at compiling a complete list of Silsbee’s buildings in 1992 in her article in “Alle Origini del “Moderno” Nordimericano: L’Opera di Silsbee e la Sua Inedita Richardson House”.  This article, accompanied by the most complete list of Silsbee works to be printed, shed light on the inventive side of the Silsbee’s character and began a valuable discourse about works created after 1897.

Last but not least, a list of predecessors to this study would not be complete without including the contributions of Buffalo historian Martin Wachadlo.  He has been instrumental in uncovering a wealth of knowledge about Silsbee’s work in Buffalo as well as a large body of work from his productive years after the 1890’s.

All of the photographs included on this site are the property of the author unless otherwise noted.  Contemporary photographs were taken by the author and are his sole property.  Much of Silsbee's work has been demolished and scant photographic evidence exists for most of his work.   Architectural journals from the 19th century, postcards and travel souvenir books provide most of the images of this non-extant body of work.  Copies of non-copyrighted items on this site are from the author's private collection.


Finally, I would like to extend a sincere gratitude to all of the Silsbee building and homeowners who have helped me over the years.  Without their willingness to open their homes to me and allowing me to photograph, measure and inspect their property, much of what is presented here would never have been uncovered.