Klauder, Charles Z. (Charles Zeller), 1872-1938

Charles Zeller Klauder was born in Philadelphia in 1872. In 1887 he began working for the Philadelphia architect T.P. Chandler, and by 1891 he had won the silver medal of the Philadelphia T-Square Club. He worked for various firms such as Wilson Brothers, Walter Cope, and Horace Trumbauer before settling as the chief draftsman for Frank Miles Day and Brother in 1900. The firm's name changed to Charles Z. Klauder in 1927 and remained so until Klauder died in 1938. Klauder, one of the leading architects of his time, co-authored College Architecture in America with Herbert C. Wise, in 1929. He was the collegiate gothic architect who transformed many American campuses from disparate collections of stylish buildings into memorable places with distinct identities. He is known for being the creator of background buildings, the warp of the tapestry of great American college campuses. Klauder believed that each campus should reflect its own unique combination of distinguishing factors, and that diversity was essential. Some campuses he worked on were Brown University, Princeton University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Charles Zeller Klauder was born in Philadelphia. He entered the firm of T.P. Chandler at age 15 while studying architecture at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. As a young man he also worked for Wilson Bros., Cope & Stewardson, Frank Miles Day & Bro., and Horace Trumbauer. In 1900 Klauder was appointed chief draftsman at Frank Miles Day & Bro. In 1911 the firm name became Day Bros. & Klauder, and in 1913, after the retirement of H. Kent Day it became Day & Klauder. After the death of Frank Miles Day in 1918, Klauder continued to practice under that name. From 1927 until his retirement Klauder practiced under his own name. Klauder was highly honored for his design skills and extraordinary sketching ability. His nationally recognized practice excelled in academic campus buildings. In addition, he designed residences, churches, banks, and office buildings.

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson wrote to Frank Miles Day, whose work he knew when he was president of Princeton University. Day's brother and executor responded, informing the President of Day's death two years previous and suggesting that he consider Klauder. President Wilson engaged Klauder to design a residence in Washington where he intended to live after his departure from the White House. Klauder prepared several schemes for different sites the President was considering, including Conduit Road, Q Street, and Ridge Road. Klauder also advised the President on the merits of four existing houses with probable costs of alterations. Even after President Wilson purchased a house in Washington (2340 S Street NW, built in 1915, designed by Waddy Wood), he had Klauder continue to refine his designs for a house to be built on Conduit Road overlooking the Potomac River. He appears to have abandoned the project at some time after May 1921.