Leroy Buffington

LeRoy Sunderland Buffington (1847–1931) was an American architect from Minnesota who specialized in hotels, public and commercial buildings, churches, and residences. He was born September 22, 1847, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied architecture and engineering at the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1869. He later moved to Saint Paul, becoming a partner of Abraham Radcliffe, and worked on the remodeling of the original Minnesota State Capitol. After the first Capitol burned down, Buffington designed a replacement which served as the State House until 1904. In 1881 he claimed to have thought up the idea of building skyscrapers by using load-bearing iron frames. He applied for a patent in November 1887 and received it in May 1888. Even though many subsequent builders used this method of construction, Buffington was mostly unsuccessful in collecting royalties from his patent (one exception was for the Rand Tower in Minneapolis). Buffington remained in private practice in Minneapolis until his death on February 15, 1931.

Some of Buffington's works include: