Carl M. Almquist, Architect

Carl Martin Almquist was a Swedish architect who worked in and around the Edgewater area.

Almquist was born on August 23^rd, 1851 in Sweden and immigrated to the United States aboard the ship Rugia from Germany on December 19^th, 1883, at the age of 32 in order to pursue his career in architecture. 

He came to Chicago in either 1889 or 1890. As years went on, Almquist settled into the Chicago community. On June 7^th1892, Carl, at age 40, married fellow Swedish immigrant, Mathilda Erikson (later known as Matilda Almquist) who was 26 years old. Carl and Matilda had two children together, Esther and Carl Jr. (Carl G. Almquist). Esther would go on to become a hair stylist, and Carl Jr. would pursue his career as a draftsman. While it is unknown if Almquist ever became a naturalized citizen, records indicate he was denied naturalization on October 8^th, 1910 due to a want of prosecution. 

Later in life, his son, Carl Jr., passed away (October 18^th, 1934) at the young age of 40 due to unknown causes. He is buried at the Ridgewood Cemetery in Des Plaines, IL. Carl M. Almquist passed away three years later on December 12^th, 1937 at the age of 86. He is also buried at the Ridgewood Cemetery in Des Plaines, IL section 14, lot 622. 

Residencies  

According to the census records and Chicago city directories, Almquist lived at numerous different residencies during his lifetime in Chicago. The first of these residencies was located at 7418 Storms Avenue, when Almquist first settled in the Chicago area. Although Almquist designed over 350 buildings for others, he lived in rented apartments with his family for most of his career. Yet, in 1921 at the age of 69, Almquist built and designed a home located at 4426 N. Mozart for himself and his family. It is here Almquist lived out the remaining years of his life until his death in 1937. The house, a modest sized bungalow, still exists today, and is a testament to Almquist’s career. Although he never lived in Edgewater proper, for 20 years he lived just a short distance from its southern and western boundaries—in Greater Edgewater. For a complete list of all of Mr. Almquist’s residencies, please consult Table 1 below. 

As to Almquist’s place of business, his office location changed numerous times as well. The first listing for his office is in the year 1890 at 162 LaSalle under the business partnership known as “Almquist & Klebert.” However, from 1891 and onwards, Almquist is listed on his own. From the years 1891-1905, Almquist moved his business back and forth between 162 and 164 LaSalle Street. Almquist’s final move was in 1921 to the Oxford Building at 118 N La Salle where he remained until 1929, which is the last listing for Mr. Almquist’s architect career in Chicago. For a complete list of Almquist’s office locations, please consult Table 2. 

His work  

According to the American Contractor database, which encompasses the years from 1898-1912, Carl M. Almquist is listed as having designed over 350 buildings in Chicago during this period. One of Almquist’s most well-known commercial buildings is located at 2100 South Indiana, and was built for the Vesta Battery Corporation. In addition, another interesting building designed by Almquist is a mixed use building located at 5236 N. Clark in Andersonville. This structure was built in 1907, and is currently operated by the Svea Restaurant, which serves traditional Swedish food. In Edgewater Almquist is listed as having designed about 63 buildings, most of which are residential dwellings.  

**Street numbers in parentheses denote the current address**  

Table 1 

Table 2 

sources

• Chicago city directories (1890-1929)

• U.S. naturalization records 1791-1992

• Passenger list of the Rugia

• Federal Census (1900, 1910, 1920, 1940)

• American Contractor website 1898-1912

• National Main Streets Conference Andersonville Tour Handout