Fred Brinkman


Frederick Adolph Brinkman was an American architect based in Kalispell, Montana, and Brinkman and Lenon is a partnership in which he worked. More than a dozen of Brinkman's extant works in and around Kalispell have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Anderson Style Shop, Charles Boles House, Brice Apartments, City Water Department, Cornelius Hedges Elementary School, Russell School, Linderman School, the Montgomery Ward Store in Kalispell, and the O'Neil Print Shop.

Early years

Brinkman was born in Spokane, Washington in November 1892. His father, Gustave A. Brinkman, emigrated from Germany in 1880 and worked as a carpenter. His mother, Amalia Brinkman, emigrated from Germany in 1881. His family moved to Montana while Brinkman was still an infant. Brinkman's father developed a reputation as a master carpenter and cabinetmaker and was reported to have built the first house in Kalispell. At the time of the 1900 United States Census, the family remained in Kalispell. Brinkman also had two younger brothers, Charles E. and Conrad W.. The family continued to reside in Kalispell at the time of the 1910 United States Census. Brinkman attended Flathead High School as part of the Class of 1912.

Education and early career

Brinkman attended the University of Wisconsin from 1912 to 1913 and the University of Michigan from 1913 to 1916. He received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from the University of Michigan College of Engineering in 1916. While attending Michigan, he was a member of Tau Sigma Delta and won the AIA Scholastic Medal. In 1916, he began working as an architectural draftsman for Louis Kamper, one of the leading architects of the time in Detroit, Michigan. In a June 1917 draft registration card, Brinkman wrote that he was living in Detroit and was employed as an architect by Kamper. During World War I, he worked on the Panama Canal as a civil service architect while serving as a lieutenant in the Army Engineers, which he left in 1919.

Architectural career in Montana

After being discharged from the military, Brinkman returned to Montana. From 1920 to 1922, he was employed as a draftsman by McIver & Cohagen in Billings, Montana. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Brinkman was living in Billings and working in an architect's office. He was married to Aral Jean Linthacum in December 1920 at Billings. At the time of the 1930 United States Census, Brinkman was living in Kalispell, Montana, with his wife, Aral, and their daughter, Rosalie Brinkman. He was in practice by himself from 1922 to 1946, at which time he went into partnership with Percy H. Lenon. He was a member of the Kiwanis, Elks, and Freemasons.
Brinkman worked as an architect in Kalispell for nearly 40 years. In the book, "A Guide to Historic Kalispell," Kathryn L. McKay wrote that Brinkman "influenced the physical appearance of his hometown more than any other single person," creating buildings "in virtually all architectural style popular from the 1920s to the 1950s." More than a dozen of Brinkman's extant works in and around Kalispell, Montana have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Anderson Style Shop, Charles Boles House, Brice Apartments, City Water Department, Cornelius Hedges Elementary School, and Russell School.
Brinkman designed several buildings at Montana State University, including the Business Administration Building, the Student Union, the Men's Dormitory, and Field House. He was also a lecturer at Montana State. He also designed the Administration Building at North Montana College.
Brinkman died in Flathead County, Montana, in October 1961.

Selected works

Kalispell