Fischer & Jirouch Building, Cleveland, OH
Memorial Plaques
FISCHER AND JIROUCH is a nationally known maker of decorative architectural relief sculpture. The company was established in 1902 and incorporated in 1909 by two sculptors, George J. Fischer (1876-1958) and FRANK L. JIROUCH (1878-1970). The firm specialized in ornamental plasterwork for buildings, but also did wood carving and produced cast stone architectural items, as well as garden, conservatory, and hall furniture. Since the early 1910s the firm has been located at 4821 Superior Ave.
The firm did sculptural work primarily for public buildings, theaters, and churches. Examples of their craft could be found in the PALACE THEATERS, and the Union Commerce Bank. They also worked on a number of WALKER AND WEEKS buildings, including the Pearl St. Savings & Trust, the United Banking & Trust Bldg. at West 25th and Lorain, the CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY, the FEDERAL RESERVE BANK, and the Superior Bldg.
After years of slow but steady growth, business declined for the company from 1930-47. The firm thereafter utilized only one-half of their original space, and also eliminated an elaborate showroom in the building. The company was sold in 1956 to Theodore Takacs, a 28-year employee of the company.
By 1975 Fischer and Jirouch was 1 of only 6 ornamental plasterworks remaining in the U.S.; in 1995 the firm was 1 of 2. Corrado Mattei and Louis Cretoni, two Italian-born craftsmen who had worked at Fischer and Jirouch since the 1950s, purchased the firm in 1977. Fischer and Jirouch has also specialized in producing motion picture sets for such films as Age of Innocence and Bronx Tale.
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Frank Jirouch Biography
American Frank Jirouch was a sculptor, painter, lithographer, etcher and also a member of the National Sculpture Society. He was educated as a wood-carver. In 1902 Jirouch founded a firm together with New York sculptor, George Fischer. They produced architectural relief sculptures primarily for public buildings, theaters, and churches.
During World War I Jirouch studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. In 1921, he moved to Paris, exhibited works at the Salon Français and worked at the Académie Julien. After his return to the US he was responsible for much of Cleveland’s outdoor sculptures including many busts, statues and reliefs for the Cultural Gardens during the 1920s until the 1960s.
JIROUCH, FRANK L. (3 Mar. 1878-2 May 1970), sculptor known mainly for his work in Cleveland's Cultural Gardens, was born of a Czech father, Austin Jirouch, and German mother, Mary (Girgur) Jirouch, in Cleveland. Little is known of his early life, but at the turn of the century he and Geo. Fischer worked together as woodcarvers on the Prudential Bldg. in New York City. In 1902, the two returned to Cleveland and started the firm of Fischer & Jirouch, mainly doing decorative architectural relief sculpture, a field the firm dominated for many years. During WORLD WAR I, Jirouch attended the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Jirouch married Mary "May" Macha on 6 May 1903. In 1921, he and his wife lived in Paris for 3 years, at which time he exhibited work at the Salon Francais and became a monitor at the Academie Julien. According to Jirouch in a 1964 interview, returning to Cleveland he found the business of decorative relief sculpture on the wane, but the Cultural Gardens were expanding. It is thought Jirouch did as many as 25 of the busts, statues, and commemorative plaques of groups sponsoring the Gardens, the greatest contribution of any single sculptor. Among his pieces were Abraham Lincoln (1950), John Hay (1938), Artemus Ward (see CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE) (1948), and Ernest Bloch (1955).
https://case.edu/ech/articles/j/jirouch-frank-l
Campen, Richard N. Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio (1980).