Adolf Scherrer (1847-1929) Indianapolis, Indiana (F.A.I.A.)

A native of St. Gall, Switzerland, the young man was educated in architecture at the Fine Arts Academy in Vienna, Austria, and practiced in association with a number of noted European architects. In 1870 he emigrated to the United States, settling first in New York. He relocated to the Midwest, spending two years in Chicago, and arrived in Indianapolis in 1873. His first job was as a draftsman in the office of Edwin May, one of the leading architects of Indianapolis of that day, who was drafting plans for the Indiana State House. Upon his employer's death, Scherrer took up the work and carried it to completion. His name is inscribed on state records as supervising architect for the structure.

Scherrer established an office in the Indiana Trust Building until a few years prior to his death. Among the public buildings he designed was the City Hospital and the Elks Club in Indianapolis, the Evansville National Bank, and other works elsewhere in the state. He had been a member of the Indiana Chapter, A.I.A. after 1887, and two years later was elected to Institute Fellowship.

Scherrer designed a series of Indianapolis Public School buildings in the 1890s, including P.S. #36, William McKinley Public School #39, the original Thomas D. Gregg School #15 (1896) and Nicholas McCarty Public School #48 (demolished). School #48, built in 1889, was characteristic of Scherrer's IPS designs. Like Franklin School, it presented a truncated hipped roof, an encircling brick cornice, and a central tower (roof removed) with paired, arched windows and arched vestibule. The segmentally arched windows contained 6/6 panes. A series of additions extended outward from the rear. Scherrer also served as supervising architect for Manual Training High School, built in 1895. In 1919, Scherrer and his son Anton (1878-1960), devised a standard plan for IPS buildings, incorporating the latest technological advancements and progressive ideas in education.

Scherrer served on the city's Board of Public Works (ibid.) from 1893 to 1895, during the administration of Mayor J.L. Sullivan. The Board was charged with hiring the engineer who designed the city's first comprehensive sewer system. Scherrer was a member of the Indianapolis Architect's Association and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

In 1877 Scherrer married Emma Anaeshaensel. The couple had two sons, Herman and Anton. Both became well-known architects in Indianapolis, working first with their father and later on their own (ibid.). Scherrer retired from active practice in 1919, following a debilitating stroke. He died in 1925.