Wangenstein, John J.

WANGENSTEIN, John J. (1858-1942), a leading architect in Duluth, Minn. was credited with the design of a substantial stone residence for F. Morton Morse, Roslyn Avenue, WINNIPEG, MAN., 1902-03. Morse was a partner in Miller, Morse & Co., one of the largest wholesale hardware distributors in Western Canada. He initially hired J.H.G. Russell in 1902 as the local supervising architect for the commission, but the plans came from Duluth, and are credited to Wangenstein in the Western Architect [Minneapolis], xi, May 1908, illus.
Wangenstein was born in Valders, Norway in 1858 and educated at Trondheim, Norway. He emigrated to the United States in 1883 and maintained an office in Duluth under his own name, and was briefly in partnership with William E. Baillie (1892-95). His major works there include the Duluth Dry Goods & Provisions Block (1893), the Masonic Temple (1904), and the DeWitt-Seitz Building (1911). He also served as local project architect to Daniel H. Burnham on the design and construction of the St. Louis County Courthouse, Duluth (1909). Wangenstein died on 23 July 1942 (obit. Duluth News Tribune, 24 July 1942, 1; inf. Linda Rau, Duluth Public Library)