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Hyslop, William Wallace (W.W.)

Last Name: Hyslop
First Name: William Wallace (W.W.)
Dates:
*15.2.1867 (Date of Birth)
*18.11.1917 (Date of Death)
Biography/History: William Wallace Hyslop was born on February 15, 1867 near Chester, Minnesota. He attended both the University of Minnesota and Columbia University, studying architecture. After finishing his formal training, Hyslop settled briefly in Montana, then moved to Spokane in 1897. There are no known buildings in Spokane to his credit from this early period, but he did practice architecture. Hyslop also met his future wife, Elsie May Skinner, daughter of architect Henry Skinner, during this time. They were married June 3, 1904. Hyslop designed Henry Skinner’s home at 709 Waverly Place near Corbin Park; it was completed in 1901. Hyslop designed a total of twelve homes in this area, including his own, built at the west end of Corbin Park (525 Waverly Pl). A daughter, Eleanor, was born to the family in 1905 and a son, Robert, in 1909. Robert later went on to become a structural engineer in Spokane. In 1912 Hyslop formed a partnership with Fred Wescot, who had originally worked for Hyslop as a draftsman. In 1915 the building boom slowed in Spokane, forcing Hyslop to open a branch in Anaconda, Montana. Hyslop commuted weekly by train, leaving Wescot in Spokane to carry out commissions. The situation continued for two years until Hyslop’s death on November 18, 1917, at age 50. By the time of his death, Hyslop completed over 200 residential and commercial designs in the Spokane area. Two hundred and thirty rolls of drawings (mostly on linen), now housed at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture’s Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives, contain the original apartment houses, office buildings, churches, private residences and theaters that Hyslop built over a 17-year period in Spokane. Hyslop’s work exists also in Anaconda and Missoula, Montana; St. Louis, Missouri; Vancouver, British Columbia; Ontario, Oregon; Nez Perce, Moscow, Nampa, and Rathdrum, Idaho; Newport, Hartline, Sprague, and Valley, Washington; and rural Wyoming.