DEGGENDORFER, Franz Xavier (1868-1952) was among the first professional architects to work in Alberta in the late 19th century. Born in Salzburg, Austria on 30 December 1868 he graduated from the State School of Building & Engineering in Salzburg in 1887 and worked in Austria as a railway engineer until 1889. In that year he moved to South America and was employed on engineering projects in Argentina and Brazil before emigrating to the United States to work as surveyor for the Southern Pacific Railway in Portland, Oregon in 1892-93. In July 1894 he emigrated to Canada and the following year established a practise in Edmonton as partner in the firm of Pigeon & Deggendorfer, Civil Engineers & Draughtsmen (Edmonton Bulletin, 21 March 1895, 1). In July of that year their business was terminated and Deggendorfer opened his own office as Civil Engineer & Architect (Edmonton Bulletin, 25 Aug. 1895, 4, advert.). He formed another partnership with A.G. Harrison in February 1900, but this too was shortlived and dissolved within a year (Edmonton Bulletin, 3 Aug. 1900, Supplement, 4; 1 April 1901, advert.).
He was elected as the first President of the newly formed Alberta Association of Architects in 1906 and served a two year term but appears to have left Edmonton in late 1907 to return to Portland, Oregon where he continued his career. Deggendorfer held a variety of positions there including that of mechanical draftsman for the Portland Dock Commission and for the O.W.R. & N. Railway. He retired in August 1941 and died in Portland on 14 November 1952. His photographic portrait appears in the architectural journal called Construction [Toronto], i, Sept. 1908, 34 (death notice in the Oregon Journal [Portland], 17 November 1952; biog. Richard E. Ritz, Architects of Oregon, 2002, 102; inf. from Dennis Person, Edmonton; Peter Arends, Ottawa; inf. Nancy Deggendorfer, Milwaukee, Oregon)
(works in Edmonton unless noted)
PIGEON & DEGGENDORFER
BLOCK 5, between Fraser Avenue and Queen's Avenue, cottage for A. Mallette, 1895 (Edmonton Bulletin, 18 April 1895, 1)
F.X. DEGGENDORFER
4th STREET, residence for Joseph H. Gariepy, c. 1896 (inf. from Dennis Person, Edmonton)
ROMAN CATHOLIC CONVENT, 10th Street, 1896 (Edmonton Bulletin, 8 June 1896, 1, t.c.; 20 July 1896, 1, detailed descrip.)
2nd STREET, between Jasper Avenue and Victoria Avenue, residence for William J. Richardson, to be built "...nearly opposite the residence of James T. Blowey", 1896 (Edmonton Bulletin, 23 July 1896, 1)
HUMBERSTONE BLOCK, Jasper Avenue East, to be occupied by W.T. Henry & Co., 1897 (Edmonton Bulletin, 12 Aug. 1897, 3, t.c.)
ALBERTA HOTEL, Jasper Avenue East, major addition for Jackson & Grierson, 1897 (Edmonton Bulletin, 20 Sept. 1897, 1; 27 Sept. 1897, 1, t.c.)
MAIN STREET, retail store for C. Gallagher '.....to the west of his present block', 1898 (Edmonton Bulletin, 18 April 1898, 1, t.c.)
JASPER HOUSE HOTEL, Jasper Avenue East, major addition, 1898 (Edmonton Bulletin, 18 April 1898, 1, t.c.)
ST. JOACHIM'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 10th Street, 1899 (Edmonton Bulletin, 6 Feb. 1899, 1, descrip.; 6 Nov. 1899, 2, descrip.)
SANDISON BLOCK, for Charles Sandison, Jasper Avenue East, 1899 (Edmonton Bulletin, 19 June 1899, 1; 6 Nov. 1899, 2, descrip.)
2nd STREET, store for D.W. MacDonald, 1899 (Edmonton Bulletin, 2 Oct. 1899, 1, t.c.)
VICTORIA AVENUE, at 4th Street, residence for Joseph H. Picard, 1899 (Edmonton Bulletin, 6 Nov. 1899, 2, descrip.)
McDOUGALL AVENUE, at Rice Street, residence for P. Heiminck, 1899 (Edmonton Bulletin, 6 Nov. 1899, 2, descrip.)
4th STREET, residence for Patrick L. McNamara, 1899 (Edmonton Bulletin, 6 Nov. 1899, 2)
DEGGENDORFER & HARRISON
WALKER BLOCK, Jasper Avenue East, for W. Johnston Walker, 1900; addition, 1906 (Edmonton Bulletin, 23 April 1900, 1; 27 April 1906, 7, t.c.)
NANKIN BLOCK, Jasper Avenue, for Samuel Nankin, 1900 (Edmonton Bulletin, 23 April 1900, 1, descrip.)
JASPER AVENUE WEST, block for Donald W. MacDonald, 1900 (Edmonton Bulletin, 27 April 1900, 1, t.c.)
unnamed street, residence for W.H. McMahon, 1900 (Edmonton Bulletin, 4 May 1900, 6)
F.X. DEGGENDORFER
McDOUGALL AVENUE, hotel for Henry Sigler and J.H. Pickard, 1901 (Edmonton Bulletin, 15 Nov. 1901, 1, descrip.)
ST. ALBERT, ALTA., Roman Catholic Cathedral, foundations begun in 1902; completed in 1922 by Edward Underwood (Catholic Record [London], 14 June 1902, 8, descrip.; dwgs. at PAA, Blakey Coll., 67.100)
FORT SASKATCHEWAN, ALTA., hotel for an unnamed client, 1903 (Edmonton Bulletin, 4 July 1903, 1, t.c.)
DEGGENDORFER BLOCK, Jasper Avenue West, 1905, designed and built for the architect (Edmonton b.p. 8, 15 April 1905)
JASPER AVENUE, stores and offices for Robert Lee, 1905 (Edmonton b.p. 2, 20 March 1905)
JASPER AVENUE, stores and offices for F. Fitzgerald, 1905 (Edmonton b.p. 3, 20 March 1905)
JASPER AVENUE, near 2nd Street, stores and offices for William D. MacKay, 1905 (Edmonton b.p. 22 May 1905)
JASPER AVENUE, near 3rd Street, theatre for F. Fitzgerald and H. Bowen, 1905 (C.R., xvi, 7 June 1905, 4)
7th STREET, between Jasper Avenue and Victoria Avenue, residence for Allan C. Fraser, 1905 (Edmonton b.p. 41, 8 June 1905)
8th STREET, between Hardisty Avenue and McKay Avenue, residence for Herbert Bowen, 1905 (Edmonton b.p. 158, 19 Sept. 1905)
GARIEPY BLOCK, Jasper Avenue East between McDougall Avenue and Howard Avenue, 1906 (Edmonton p.b. 475, 12 April 1906)
ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL, 3rd Street between Victoria Avenue and Jasper Avenue, 1906-07 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 30 April 1906, 1, descrip.; 24 Aug. 1907, 7, illus. & descrip.)
NAMAYO AVENUE, store for Frederick Schattner, 1906 (Edmonton b.p. 922, 8 Sept. 1906)
5th STREET, south of Jasper Avenue, apartment house for J.H. Gariepy, 1906 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 22 Oct. 1906, 3, descrip.)