Proudfoot & Bird


Proudfoot & Bird et al. was an American architectural firm or partnership that designed many buildings in the U.S. Midwest. Partners included Willis Thomas Proudfoot and George Washington Bird and Harry Dustan Rawson. At times it was known as Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson, Proudfoot, Rawson & Souers, Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas, Monheim, Bird & Proudfoot, Proudfoot, Rawson Brooks & Borg, Brooks - Borg Architects - Engineers, Brooks Borg and Skiles Architects Engineers, and finally BBS Architects Engineers|BBS Architects|Engineers.
A large number of their buildings which survive are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Many or all of these were listed as part of one 1988 study and multiple property submission. In 1988 there were 25 known surviving Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson buildings in Des Moines alone. Their work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

List of works

Their works include:
Other buildings associated with the firm:
  1. Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, Des Moines
  2. Carnegie libraries in Iowa
  3. Memorial Union and Beardshear Hall at Iowa State University, Ames
  4. United States Post Office and Courthouse, Dubuque, Iowa
  5. Des Moines City Hall
  6. Seven Oaks, Sac City, Iowa
In 1945, the firm changed its name to Brooks Borg, and in 1966 the name was changed to Brooks Borg and Skiles. In 2017, the firm's name was changed to BBS Architects | Engineers.
See "Architectural Legacy of Proudfoot & Bird in Iowa MPS" and other MPS documents cited in articles.