Holabird & Roche

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameHolabird & Roche
Used name•Holabird & Roche
NOC United States

Biography

The works of 1928 and 1932 from Holabird & Roche were certainly submitted by the office of American architects William Holabird (11 September 1854 in Amenia Union/N.Y. – 19 July 1923 in Evanston/Ill.) and Martin Roche (1 August 1853 in Cleveland, Ohio – 4 June 1927 in Chicago, Ill.), as Holabird and Roche had already passed away. The son of William Holabird, John Augur Holabird (Born 4 May 1886 in Evanston, Illinois, died 1 May 1945 in Chicago, Illinois) studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris between 1909-13, where he became friends with another American, John Root. Together they joined his father’s office. In the 1920s, John Augur Holabird and Root became increasingly in charge of the business.

The firm of Holabird & Roche had been founded in 1880 as Holabird & Simonds. Roche joined them in 1881 and they became Holabird, Simonds & Roche until 1883, when Simonds left the firm. After the founders’ deaths, the firm became known as Holabird & Root. This is the name by which it is still known in Chicago, and it remains one of the better known architectural firms in the American midwest.

In 1928, Holabird & Roche submitted a Plan of the Stadium of the University of Illinois. It was named Memorial Stadium to commemorate the university’s students who were killed in World War I represented by a colonnade of 183 limestone columns. The original plans also comprised a campanile, fountains, and ornate entrances to the stadium. The official opening took place in 1924. The stadium initially accommodated 55,000 spectators, but today, after numerous conversions, it holds about 60,000. Their second entry was the Stadium for the South Park Commissioner Chicago. The Municipal Grant Park Stadium with a capacity of 90,000 seats was inaugurated in 1924 on the 53rd anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. In 1925 it was renamed Soldier Field. In this stadium, games of the World Cups in 1994 (men) and 1999 (women) took place. After a complete renovation in 2003, only the Doric façade has been preserved.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1928 Summer Olympics Art Competitions USA Holabird & Roche
Architecture, Further Entries, Open (Olympic) AC
Architecture, Further Entries, Open (Olympic) AC