# Edward Sibbert

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{{short description|American architect}}

[[File:Kressbuilding.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Sibbert-designed Kress Building in [Daytona Beach, Florida](/source/Daytona_Beach%2C_Florida)]]

'''Edward F. Sibbert''' (July 1, 1889 – 1982) was a [Brooklyn](/source/Brooklyn%2C_New_York)-born American architect. He is best remembered for the fifty or so retail stores he designed during a 25-year career as the head architect at the [S. H. Kress & Co.](/source/S._H._Kress_%26_Co.) chain of [five-and-dime](/source/five-and-dime)s. His tenure at Kress coincided roughly with the company's peak years of success, and many of his [Art Deco](/source/Art_Deco)-style buildings have survived beyond the chain's 1980 demise and are in use today in other purposes.

==Early years==

Sibbert's architectural education began at the [Pratt Institute](/source/Pratt_Institute) (1919–20) where he studied structural engineering.  This was followed by work at [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) (1921–22) in its architectural program, where he was tapped into the New York Alpha chapter of the [Phi Kappa Psi](/source/Phi_Kappa_Psi) fraternity, known for its artists and architects.  Through that organization, he was a member of the [Irving Literary Society](/source/Irving_Literary_Society_(Cornell_University)).  Following the end of his formal education he worked as a draftsman for [W.T. Grant](/source/W.T._Grant) and Company, a dime store retail organization.<ref>Thomas, Bernice L., 1997. ''America's 5 & 10 Cent Stores: The Kress Legacy''. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. {{ISBN|0-471-18195-1}}, p. 69</ref>

In 1924 Sibbert, along with Cornell classmate and fraternity brother [Russell Pancoast](/source/Russell_Pancoast), moved to [Miami](/source/Miami%2C_Florida) where Pancoast's grandfather [John S. Collins](/source/John_S._Collins) was developing [Miami Beach](/source/Miami_Beach). It was an exciting time and the right place for an aspiring young architect: the great [Florida land boom of the 1920s](/source/Florida_land_boom_of_the_1920s) was in full swing, with some properties being bought and sold several times in one day. Then just when the bubble showed signs of imploding anyway, a serious [hurricane](/source/1926_Miami_hurricane) in 1926 helped things along and all but ended the Miami building boom.  So Sibbert and his wife Bertha left Florida and returned to Brooklyn, where he signed on as an architect for E. H. Faile.<ref>Thomas, pp. 69-71</ref>

==Architect for Kress==

In 1929 Sibbert answered an advertisement in a newspaper and was hired by the S. H. Kress company. [Samuel H. Kress](/source/Samuel_H._Kress) was in the process of dismissing his head architect, George Mackay and it is possible that Sibbert worked with MacKay in designing the store for [Pueblo, Colorado](/source/Pueblo%2C_Colorado).<ref>Thomas, p. 61</ref>  Sibbert continued as Kress's chief architect for 25 years, designing chain stores across the United States in a consistent format and style, recognizable by its use of ornamental terra cotta.

Sibbert was a member of the [American Institute of Architects](/source/American_Institute_of_Architects) and [American Society of Civil Engineers](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers) as well as being a member of the [Salmagundi Club](/source/Salmagundi_Club) in New York. He retired to Pompano Beach, Florida, after living for many years in New York City.  Sibbert died in Pompano Beach on May 13, 1982.

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibbert, Edward}}
Category:1889 births
Category:1982 deaths
Category:20th-century American architects
Category:Architects from Brooklyn
Category:S. H. Kress & Co.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edward Sibbert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sibbert) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sibbert?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.