Encyclopedia Dubuque
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SPENCER, John
SPENCER, John. (York, England, Dec. 26, 1856--Dubuque, IA, Dec. 25, 1916). Educated at Cambridge College in England after completing public school Spencer later graduated from the South Kensington Art Institute. He then practiced his trade for ten years before choosing to relocate to the United States. (1)
Spencer moved to Dubuque in the late 1880s as a junior member of the firm of W. W. Boynton and Company of Chicago that designed many Dubuque buildings including the BANK AND INSURANCE BUILDING. (2) He remained in Chicago for two years before moving to Dubuque
Spencer has been credited with the design of the GERMAN TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK, CARNEGIE-STOUT PUBLIC LIBRARY, Riverfront Pavilion at EAGLE POINT PARK, the CARR, RYDER, AND ADAMS COMPANY and many private residences. (3) In 1902 it took nine ballots of the state commission chosen to select the architect for the Iowa Building at the World's Fair before Spencer was eliminated from the final two. (4)
See: JOHN SPENCER
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Source:
1. "John Spencer is Called to Beyond," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, Dec. 26, 1916, p. 3
2. Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1911, p. 688
3. Ibid.
4. "Spencer Loses Out," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, December 20, 1902, p. 5