Pond, Pond-Martin & Lloyd : Irving Kane Pond, 1857-1939 and Allen Bartlit Pond, 1858-1929. Irving Kane Pond graduated from the University of Michigan and Ann Arbour in 1879 with a degree in civil engineering. He received his first practical architectural experience in what was considered by many as an important training ground for young architects, the office of William Le Baron Jenney. He then joined Solon Spencer Berman as a draftsman and designer, working on development of the first model town, the city of Pullman. Irving Pond entered into partnership with his brother Allen in 1887, a relationship that continued until the latter's death in 1929. The Omaha Apartments (1893) was one of their first projects. The Pond and Pond partnership was associated in its later years with Edgar Martin and Alfred L. Lloyd. Many of the Pond's buildings were related to social services, inspired perhaps by their father's position as warden of the Michigan State prison. Most important were the ten buildings they designed over an 18-year period as additions to Jane Addams' Hull House at the 800 South Halsted block (1890-1908; mostly demolished). Another project that attempted to use architecture to respond to societal needs was their proposed housing for people who worked in the Chicago Union Stock Yards and lived nearby. Drawn in Irving Pond's characterstically loose style, the rendering showed the three-story courtyard apartments in the context of their industrial location. With ample green space, porches for many apartments, and lighted, enclosed stairwells in the banded tower-like sections at the front and middle of the buildings, the apartments appear to be an informed response to low-cost housing. Other works include the Chicago Commons, the City Club (1911; now John Marshall Law School), and many Chicago apartment buildings, including the Irving Apartments (1889). The firm designed a number of buildings at Midwestern colleges, including the student unions for the University of Michigan (1917) and Purdue University (1929). Irving Pond wrote extensively on architecture, including The Meaning of Architecture (1918), as well as numerous articles for various architectural periodicals on topics ranging from a critique of the Tribune Tower Competition to German arts and crafts.
