- Mendelssohn, Fisher and Lawrie
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- The firm of Mendelssohn, Fisher and
Lawrie evolved from one of the city’s earliest professional partnerships - Dufrene
and Mendelssohn, formed in 1881. Dufrene had worked as an architect in Nebraska since
1867, first in partnership with T. B. Borst, and then alone during the 1870’s.
Mendelssohn, born in Berlin in 1842, had studied in New York and practiced in Detroit
prior to coming to Omaha. The 1884 Christian Specht
Building is a product of the Dufrene and Mendelssohn partnership.
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- In 1885 Mendelssohn left Dufrene and
entered into partnership with George Fisher. The firm operated as Mendelssohn and Fisher
in 1885 and 1886 and then as Mendelssohn and Lawrie in 1887 when Fisher left the firm for
a year and Harry Lawrie joined Mendelssohn. Fisher then rejoined the firm and the
partnership of Mendelssohn, Fisher and Lawrie was formed.
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- Mendelssohn, Fisher and Lawrie was a
prestigious firm which designed a variety of prominent buildings in Omaha’s building
boom of the 1880’s and early 1890’s. Mendelssohn left in 1893, and the
partnership of Fisher and Lawrie continued until 1913. The partners were agile designers
working in a variety of building types and styles. Their buildings include the
Withnell-Barton House (demolished), the Old University Library (Lincoln), the Storz House and Sacred Heart Church.
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- Michigan-born George Fisher (1856-1931)
graduated from the University of Michigan in 1880 with a degree in civil engineering.
Harry Lawrie (ca. 1858-1935) had nine years of professional experience in Glasgow and
Edinburgh, Scotland , before immigrating to Chicago in 1883 to enter the office of Burham
and Root. He moved to Omaha in 1887.
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