John Batschy: A Quincy Architect

When John Batschy died, the Aug. 29, 1922 Quincy Daily Herald reported his death calling him “… a Quincy architect, scientific builder, prominent citizen, church man and thirty-third degree Mason… .” The same article ended by saying, “John Batschy straightforward, honorable and upright, will long be remembered for his excellent character and good works in Quincy… .” This was high praise for an architect in a city with many fine architects whose buildings we admire and preserve today.

Batschy arrived in Quincy during a period of growth. In the 1899 Representative Men and Homes David Wilcox said, “His genius as an architect is unquestioned.” In his 1919 book Wilcox described Batschy as “… a practical dreamer, able to convert his beautiful visions into utilitarian as well as magnificent structures.”

Batschy contributed much to the cityscape by designing commercial blocks and industrial buildings, many of which are remembered but unfortunately torn down. The Musselman building at Seventh and Hampshire streets was described as the largest business block in Quincy. He designed buildings for the Gardner Governor Company, Quincy Show Case Works, and the J. J. Flynn and Co. Bottling Works. He was the architect of Woodland Home at 27th and Maine streets, and along with George Behrensmeyer, he designed the Masonic Temple at 428 Jersey. He designed Washington, Berrian, and Irving schools, and Fire Houses #4 and #7.

John Batschy was born in 1855 in a small Alpine village in Switzerland known as Filisur. He attended public school, graduating in 1870. Though interested in art, he learned to be a carpenter and developed an interest in architecture. He attended design schools in Zurich and Winterthur. After finishing school, he began working as an assistant architect. In 1884 he left Switzerland and travelled studying art and sculpture before emigrating to American. He travelled up the Mississippi with stops in St. Louis and Dubuque, Iowa, before arriving in Quincy in 1886. He became a naturalized citizen in 1895. According to the 1899 Wilcox book, “…the time was favorable for this city was entering an era of development that demanded progressive ideas and talented men to carry them out.”

Batschy briefly worked for another Quincy architect before opening his own business, the J. Batschy & Company, first at Sixth and Hampshire streets and later located at 644 Jersey. Quincy was growing and his building expertise was quickly recognized. Establishing his career, he placed ads in the newspapers which stated he was an architect and designer with “plans and specifications for public and private buildings.” Later in his career his ads said, “Educational and Public Buildings a Specialty.”

Prior to 1897, any architect could apply for an Illinois license by providing an affidavit listing two buildings he designed. Batschy listed the Gem City Business College, which was located in the 1892 Musselman building, named after D. L. Musselman, the founder of the college. The building is now torn down. The other property listed on his application was the J. B. Schott Office Block on Hampshire, built in the Romanesque Revival style with a brick and unglazed terra cotta façade. Batschy received license A90.

In 1889, Batschy drew plans for buildings at the Soldiers and Sailors Home and asked for bids from contractors. His talent spread beyond Quincy. He designed public buildings in Missouri, a hotel in Macomb, Illinois, the high school and the Odd Fellows Hall in Fort Madison, Iowa, and many other structures outside of Quincy. Toward the end of his career he designed the second clubhouse of the Quincy Country Club and cottages for the Hillcrest Sanatorium built for the care and isolation of tuberculosis patients. After the sanatorium, located on east State Street, was closed in 1968, those buildings were torn down.

Batschy married the daughter of a prominent Quincy family in 1891. Louise Schoenemann was one of the eleven children of John and Anna Schoeneman who had lived in Quincy for decades. Her parents were described as pioneers even though they were both born in Germany. Her father, built and ran the Farmer’s Hotel at 9th and Hampshire streets but died young. From a family of eleven children, only Louise and her brother John survived into adulthood. John became the city editor of the Quincy Whig newspaper. After they married, John and Louise lived on South 12th Street and had one son, John Martin, born in 1893. Louise died in 1898 of meningitis.

Though busy with industrial and business designs, Batschy also built homes. In contrast to his industrial designs, most of his houses are lived in today. He favored the Queen Anne style for homes with turrets, towers, bay windows, and gables. The 1890 pilot house for the Park Place addition at 12th and Park Place streets is a fine example of this style. Park Place was Quincy’s first covenant subdivision. A covenant meant that there were rules that governed the property. The 25 homes in the neighborhood had to be built of stone or brick and cost a minimum of $3,000. He did not limit his design style and also built homes in Victorian Romanesque, and Classic Revival.

John Batschy’s son, John Martin, known as Jack, also became an architect. He was a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he enlisted for service in World War I in 1917. He was a 1st Lieutenant in the American Expeditionary Forces and left for France in January 1918. He served on the staff of General Pershing and was promoted to Captain, returning home in July 1919. He married Viviane Hamel in 1920 and moved to Oklahoma. Jack and his wife returned to Quincy for his father’s funeral in 1922 which was held at the Masonic Temple. The Congregational minister, Rev. Edward A. Thompson officiated. The Knights Templar formed an escort for the funeral cortege. At Woodland Cemetery, the Bodley Lodge #1 held their burial ceremony. The honorary pallbearers were all 33rd degree Masons, as John Batschy had achieved that high rank.

Sources

“Award Contracts Of Two Cottages For Sanatorium.” Quincy Daily Herald, June 2, 1921, 14.

“Death Comes Suddenly to John Batschy.” Quincy Daily Herald, August 29, 1922, 17.

“Death’s Doing During A Day.” Quincy Daily Herald, Monday, May 30, 1898.

“Highest Honors of Masonic Fraternity Paid John Batschy.” Quincy Daily Herald, August 31, 1922, 2.

“Lived Here Fifty Years.” Quincy Daily Herald, July 18, 1890.

“Masonic Funeral Notice.” Quincy Daily Herald, August 30, 1922, 14.

Wilcox, David F. Representative Men and Homes, Quincy, Illinois. Quincy: Author, 1899.

Wilcox, David F. Quincy and Adams County History and Representative Men. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1919.

Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.