Herbert Amery Brand, 1885 - 1972
Herbert Amery Brand was born in Danville, Illinois, on April 5, 1885, to William and Frances (Kitchener) Brand. His father owned and operated a successful millinery business. In 1903 Herbert graduated from Danville High School and started attending the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign the following year. He graduated on June 4, 1908, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering. His first job following college was with Frederick L Foltz, a Chicago architect. He worked as a draftsman and apprentice structural engineer. Brand became a licensed Illinois architect in 1911 and a registered structural engineer in 1916. In November of 1916 he became a partner in the firm of Foltz and Brand. During World War I, Brand served as a supervising architect for the U.S. Army Ordinance Department of Chicago. He married Esther Hoover on June 4, 1921. They had four children (Brand, 2015; Ryerson and Burnham Archives, 2018).
Brand first started working on church buildings in 1923, when the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Oak Park burned down. Foltz & Brand served as associate architects for the new building. By 1925 Brand started his own architectural firm, specializing in church and educational architecture. Brand later became a licensed architect in both Indiana and Wisconsin and was a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Ecclesiastical Architecture. His eldest son, William H. Brand, joined the firm in 1946 and became a partner in 1952. Brand and Brand Architects and Engineers operated from 1952 until Herbert’s retirement in 1959. Herbert Brand practiced in Chicago until 1955, when he relocated his office to Western Springs, Illinois. Brand’s hobbies included drawing, painting, writing poems, and inventing. He held a patent for a combined drinking cup and straw. Brand passed away on January 22, 1972. Brand’s legacy includes over 90 church buildings, 11 educational buildings (including a 1945 men’s dormitory at Eureka College), 4 commercial buildings, and approximately 14 residences. His papers are located in the Ryerson and Burnham Archives at the Art Institute of Chicago (Brand, 2015; Ryerson and Burnham Archives, 2018).
