Pond & Pond
compiled by Cornelius O'Leary, CHA Volunteer
Pond and Pond was an American architecture firm established by the Chicago architects Irving Kane Pond and Allen Bartlitt Pond.
Irving K. and Allen B. Pond were both born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1857 and 1858 respectively. Their father was newspaperman Elihu Pond, editor of the weekly Ann Arbor Argus. The two brothers attended the University of Michigan, where in 1879 they were pupils in architectural classes given by the noted Chicago architect William LeBaron Jenney, who commuted from Chicago to deliver the first courses in architecture at Michigan.
In 1886, Irving Pond formed the Chicago architectural firm Pond and Pond in partnership with his brother Allen. The Pond brothers worked together for more than 40 years, and their buildings are considered to be among the best examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in Chicago. The Ponds gained acclaim as the architects of Jane Addams' Hull House, and three of their buildings have been declared National Historic Landmarks—the Hull House dining hall, the Lorado Taft Midway Studios, and the Frank R. Lillie House.
While Pond and Pond were best known through their work for social service organizations, they designed a wide range of buildings — social, religious, educational/academic, residential, governmental, and civic — mainly in the Chicago area and the Midwest. They were known for detailed brickwork, asymmetrical massing, and distinctive decorative detail, producing fine examples of Arts and Crafts and early modern architecture.
The firm was also notable for its success in a new field of architectural design, that of large university student union buildings. Pond and Pond built student unions for the campuses of Purdue University, University of Michigan, Michigan State, and University of Kansas.
The brothers only work in Coronado was the home at 1005 Adella Avenue built in 1903. The home was built as a winter home for William F. Dummer, a prominent Chicago banker. It was designated by the city as a Historic Resource in 2004 as an example of the English Tudor architectural style.
Allen Bartlitt Pond died in Chicago on March 17, 1929.
Irving Kane Pond died in Washington, D. C. on September 29, 1939.
Architect biographies compiled through the use of:
Coronado Historic Resource Commission Agendas &Minutes
City of Coronado's Searchable Register of Designated Historic Resources
Coronado Designated Historic Resources Map
Biographies of Established Masters - City of San Diego 2011
California Digital Newspaper Collection
City of San Diego Historical Resources Board minutes
San Diego History Center website
Modern San Diego website
Legacy 106 website
Friends of San Diego Architecture website
California Historical Resources Inventory Database, City of San Diego
The AIA Historical Directory of American Architects
Save Our Heritage Organization
Internet Archive
