Paul Gutike (1842- 1898) - Architect

 

Arizona weekly journal-miner. [volume], June 15,1892

 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85032938/1892-06-15/ed-1/seq-6/

Paul O. Gutike was born about 1842 in Berlin, Prussia, supposedly to a good family which afforded him an excellent education. He arrived in New York on October 2, 1862, aboard the ship St. Bernhard, hoping to find work as an architect. However, the Civil War interrupted his career plans.

Scarcely three weeks later, on October 23, 1862, Paul found himself in Company K, 53rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (later became the 162nd). He may have been short of funds and enlisted voluntarily, but it’s also possible that he was more or less ‘drafted’.

On December 11, 1865, Gutike reenlisted in the 3rd U. S. Cavalry, being discharged three years later on October 1, 1868, at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He signed up again at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to serve in Company H, 5th U. S. Infantry, but deserted on May 28, 1870. He was dishonorably discharged December 4, 1870, at Fort Harker, Kansas.

Gutike had many more adventures with the military, some of them not so honorable.  

By 1887, Gutike had found work as a draftsman for James Riely Gordon in San Antonio, Texas. Gordon eventually gained national renown for his Texas courthouse designs.

Gutike’s career as an architect and civil engineer burgeoned in Arizona.  In 1889, Mrs. Vina Brown commissioned him to design some apartments at 4th Avenue and Adams in anticipation of providing quarters for winter visitors coming to Phoenix.  The following year, he designed the plans for the Burke Hotel in Prescott, Arizona.  The Burke was advantageously located on the corner of Montezuma and Gurley Streets and included ground-floor shops along with well-appointed rooms.  (Advertised as the only “fire-proof” hotel in Arizona, the Burke was nevertheless destroyed during Prescott’s Great Fire of 1900.  St. Michael’s Hotel is located on the site today.)

Gutike hadn’t forgotten his years in the military, either.  In 1891, he drew up plans for two new buildings to house troops at Fort Whipple.

Paul became well known in Phoenix, but according to his obituary, had a propensity for drink.  He died in July 21, 1898 of gastritis and was buried in the Rosedale Cemetery.

-by Patty

 

St. Michaels now stands on the corner where the Burke once stood - Val W.

Harvey Reid Leonard (1826-1896) - Civil Engineer and Architect

 

AI Generated Generic Image

An architect and bridge builder, Harvey Reid Leonard spent most of his professional life on the Pacific Coast.  Born in Illinois, he seems to have used the names Harvey and Henry interchangeably, at least at first.  The federal census of 1860 records him as a simply a carpenter in Sacramento, California, where he was living with his wife Amanda and infant son.

Between at least 1860 and 1869, Leonard partnered with other architects who were active in the city at the time.  According to San Francisco city directories, he maintained offices at 432 Montgomery Street and, later, 240 Montgomery Street.

Between 1871 and 1873, Leonard was in Portland, Oregon, with offices located at the corner of 1st and Ash Streets.  While in Portland, he designed an engine roundhouse and a railroad bridge.  By 1882, he was back in California as an employee of the Pacific Bridge Building Company, specializing in railroad bridges.

It appears that, sometime after 1880, Leonard’s wife Amanda died and he remarried.  Perhaps it was not a happy match, as his second wife, E. M. De Lisle, eventually divorced him on grounds that he had deserted her when he moved to Arizona. 

H. R. Leonard relocated to Phoenix about 1890, probably with the intention of retiring.  However, he found ample scope for his talents in the Salt River Valley and continued to work well into old age.  In 1890, he was working with William Hancock to map sites for reservoirs.  He designed a schoolhouse in Mesa in 1890 and one in Tempe in 1891.

Brick was a popular building material in Phoenix, as very little lumber was available locally.  Initially, manufacturers used molds of different sizes.  In January 1893, Leonard joined with several other Valley architects to call for the standardization of brick sizes. 

On May 6, 1893, Leonard undertook a reclamation expedition to see about the feasibility of building a water reservoir for northwest Yuma County.  It must have been an arduous undertaking for a man in or approaching his seventies.

In February 1894, concerns were expressed about the structural soundness of the Phoenix Opera House for an upcoming performance.  Architects Leonard and Petit were appointed to examine the structure.  Leonard ruled that the performance could proceed, but the building should be remodeled with more exits and safety features incorporated.

When H. R. Leonard died on February 2, 1896, of cirrhosis hepatitis at the age of 85, he was buried in City/Loosley Cemetery.  There is no grave marker.

- by Donna Carr

 

Alexander Peter Petit (1819 - 1895) - Architect

rosson house, Library of Congress

Alexander Peter Petit was a well-known architect of his time in 1850s California designing theaters such as the National Theater and the New Pacific Theater.  Born in Pennsylvania around 1819 he and wife Catherine arrived in Phoenix about 1878 from California. 

Shortly after his arrival, he designed the Irvine Building on First and Washington Streets, one of the first two story brick buildings in Phoenix.  Petit and his wife moved to Tucson where he designed and built some of the commercial buildings along Congress Street, including the Henry Buehman Photography Studio and Gallery and a school near Military Plaza.  The Arizona Daily Star erected in 1883 is the only remaining evidence of Petit’s work in Tucson.

The Petits returned to Phoenix where in February 1891 Catherine died after a short illness.  She was buried in the IOOF Cemetery at the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park. 

Petit continued his work and his last design was the Rosson House located at 6^th Street and Monroe.  The Rosson House was completed a month before Petit died in March 1895. 

Alexander Petit’s contributions to Arizona have faded over time and one must search for his history.  The Petits’ graves were unmarked for many years in the cemetery making finding the Petits even harder to any historian.  In 2015 the Pioneers’ Cemetery Association, through our Memorial Marker Program, placed two new markers on the Petits’ graves in the I.O.O.F. 

-Donna Carr

Paul Gutike (1842 - 1898) - Architect

Arizona weekly journal-miner. [volume], June 15,1892

 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85032938/1892-06-15/ed-1/seq-6/

Paul O. Gutike was born about 1842 in Berlin, Prussia, supposedly to a good family which afforded him an excellent education. He arrived in New York on October 2, 1862, aboard the ship St. Bernhard, hoping to find work as an architect. However, the Civil War interrupted his career plans.

Scarcely three weeks later, on October 23, 1862, Paul found himself in Company K, 53rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (later became the 162nd). He may have been short of funds and enlisted voluntarily, but it’s also possible that he was more or less ‘drafted’.

On December 11, 1865, Gutike reenlisted in the 3rd U. S. Cavalry, being discharged three years later on October 1, 1868, at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He signed up again at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to serve in Company H, 5th U. S. Infantry, but deserted on May 28, 1870. He was dishonorably discharged December 4, 1870, at Fort Harker, Kansas.

Gutike had many more adventures with the military, some of them not so honorable.  

By 1887, Gutike had found work as a draftsman for James Riely Gordon in San Antonio, Texas. Gordon eventually gained national renown for his Texas courthouse designs.

Gutike’s career as an architect and civil engineer burgeoned in Arizona. In 1889, Mrs. Vina Brown commissioned him to design some apartments at 4th Avenue and Adams in anticipation of providing quarters for winter visitors coming to Phoenix. In later years, he designed several commercial landmarks, and became quite well known.  Learn more about Paul Gutike at the PMMP! - adapted from a story written by Patty Gault

St. Michaels now stands on the corner where the Burke once stood - Val W.