Baumann & Baumann Architectural Plans

Albert B. Baumann (1861-1942), architect, son of William and Catherine (Schneider) Baumann, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. William Baumann (1813-1875) came to America with his parents about 1835 and in 1837 married Catherine Schneider, whose family had emigrated from Germany around the same time. The young couple went to Savannah, Georgia, where William Baumann was a ship designer and builder. Then they returned to East Tennessee; one son, Joseph F., was born in 1844 in Tellico Plains (Monroe County). In 1855 William Baumann moved his family to Knoxville. Joseph F. Baumann (1844-1920) learned carpentry and building from his father and became so proficient that in 1872 he began to advertise himself as an architect. His practice was extensive; he was responsible for much of the architecture in East Tennessee during this time. Albert Benjamin Baumann was the youngest of several children. He attended Knoxville public schools, Prof. Albert Ruth's private school, and received architectural training in the office of his brother Joseph. A partnership was formed in 1882. The Knoxville City Directory for that year lists Joseph F. Baumann, architect and superintendent, and Albert B. Baumann, draughtsman. The Baumann Brothers designed many buildings, churches, and residences in early Knoxville, including the Third Presbyterian Church (later Fifth Avenue Presbyterian), Church of the Immaculate Conception, Staub's Theatre (southeast corner of Gay Street and Cumberland Avenue), and the Third National Bank (on the east side of Gay Street, destroyed by the great fire of 1897). After thirty years of architectural practice with his brother, A. B. Baumann practiced alone for a time until his son, A. B. Baumann, Jr., joined the firm. A. B. Baumann, Sr., died after sixty years of practice in 1942. He was buried in Highland Memorial Cemetery. Albert Benjamin Baumann, Jr. (1897-1952), architect, was born in Knoxville. He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology and attended for two years the University of Pennsylvania. After his father's death the younger Baumann continued to practice architecture and was president of Baumann and Baumann. Some of the later structures designed by the firm include the Andrew Johnson Hotel, Tennessee School for the Deaf in Island Home, Cherokee Country Club, United States Post Office and Court House on Main Avenue, the Tennessee Supreme Court building, and Sequoyah Presbyterian Church. A. B. Baumann, Jr., died suddenly in Asheville, N.C. in 1952. Adapted from Heart of the Valley.