Smith, Mortimer L.

SMITH, Mortimer L. (1840-1896) of Detroit, Mich. was a member of the Smith family architectural dynasty. Born in Jamestown, N.Y. in 1840, he trained under his father Sheldon Smith (d. 1868) and practiced with him from 1861 to 1868, then worked under his own name form more than twenty years before inviting his son Frederick L. Smith (1862-1941) to join him as partner. In 1888 the office of Mortimer L. Smith & Son, Architects were commissioned by Hiram Walker to design a four storey brick hotel at WALKERVILLE, ONT., costing $50,000 (Engineering & Building Record [New York], xviii, 13 Oct. 1888, 240). In 1891 they prepared plans for an elaborate hotel on PECHE ISLAND, ONT. at the mouth of the Detroit River near Lake St. Clair (C.R., ii, 11 July 1891, 2). The complex was commissioned by Hiram Walker and his family, who also had Smith design a substantial residence in WINDSOR, ONT.. for himself. The plans for this large mansion survive at the Ontario Archives in Toronto (OA, D. Collection, Dwgs. 1782-90). After Smith's death in Detroit on 19 January 1896, his son Fred continued the practise which evolved into Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, one of the largest and most successful architectural firms in the American mid-west (obituary for Mortimer L. Smith in Detroit Free Press, 20 Jan. 1896, 5; biog. in H. Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects, 1956, 560; W. Hawkins Ferry, The Buildings of Detroit, 1968, 87)