Adolphus Gustavus Bauer was an architect in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. He worked with the more famous architect Samuel Sloan and helped him build the Executive Mansion in Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

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Life

Bauer struggled to find business after the death of his partner Samuel Sloan and left Raleigh for some time. When he returned he did find work on some of his better-known buildings. While he was working on the Pullen Building in 1884, he met his wife-to-be, Cherokee Indian Rachel Blythe. The couple had to leave North Carolina to get married, since interracial marriages were illegal in North Carolina at the time.

A few years later, in 1896, Bauer's carriage was struck by a train. He survived, but the trauma gave him continuing psychological issues which ruined his reputation. After Rachel died in 1897, his mental health grew even worse. He constructed an elaborate tombstone for her based on a Grecian temple. Shortly after completing this last project, Bauer committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

Works (not a comprehensive list)

• Church of the Saviour
• The Academy of Music
  The Academy of Music
  The Academy of Music was a music conservatory located in the United States. The academy was once considered one of the foremost music academies in the southeast, and the primary music academy in the state of North Carolina...
  
  
• North Carolina Executive Mansion
  North Carolina Executive Mansion
  The North Carolina Executive Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of North Carolina and his or her family. Building began in the year 1883 and it was designed by noted architects Samuel Sloan and A.G. Bauer. The first occupants, Governor Daniel G. Fowle and his family, moved into the...
  
  
• The Pullen Building
• Baptist Female University
• NC School for the Deaf
• NC Department of Labor Building

Further reading

• Bushong, William B. “A. G. Bauer, North Carolina's New South Architect.” North Carolina Historical Review v.60, no. 3 (July 1983): 304–32.
• Prioli, Carmine A. “The Indian 'Princess' and the architect : origin of a North Carolina legend.” North Carolina Historical Review v.60, no. 3 (July 1983): 283–303.