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Eggers and Higgins

From Bloomingpedia

When Herman B Wells assumed the presidency of Indiana University he began a search for an architectural firm to do overall planning for the Bloomington campus. He and Ward Biddle consulted with Indiana architects and traveled to meet with candidate firms. The short list at the end of the process was McKim, Mead & White, John Gamble Rogers, and Eggers & Higgins. Eventually Wells settled on Eggers & Higgins because a) the firm had a reputation for excellence in design and Indiana architects were enthused about working with them b) McKim, Mead & White were felt to be past their prime and c) John Gamble Rogers was elderly and perceived to be a 'one man shop' that would collapse when he was no longer associated with the firm.

The University and Eggers & Higgins established a long term relationship where Eggers & Higgins did planning and design and Indiana architectural firms were engaged as associate architects to execute the designs. The firm's partners were Otto R. Eggers and Daniel Paul Higgins.

Higgins visited the campus regularly. It was on such a visit December 9 and 10 of 1953 that Wells, in his role as member of the board of directors of the Showers Brothers Co. asked Higgins for advice on how to win contracts for supplying new hotels and dormitories with furniture. Wells wrote a letter to Higgins on December 14 following up on the advice, but it seems unlikely that Higgins ever read it. He was stricken on the train returning to New York from Bloomington, was met at the train station by his physician and died of 'a thrombosis of the brain' on December 26th.

The firm was later named the Eggers Partnership.

Buildings designed by Eggers and Higgins include:

They are also well-known for designing the Jacob K Javitz Federal Building and Bank of America Building in New York City.

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