The Cyclopædia of American Biography/Pond, Irving Kane

POND, Irving Kane, architect, b. in Ann Arbor, Mich., 1 May, 1857, son of Elihu Bartlit and Mary Barlow (Allen) Pond. His earliest American ancestor, Samuel Pond, came from England and settled in Connecticut, at a date not definitely known, though there is a record of his marriage in the year 1642. His father was a pioneer newspaper editor and publisher in Michigan, being first president of the Michigan Press Association and for twenty-five years editor and publisher of the Michigan (afterward the Ann Arbor) &ldquo;Argus.&rdquo; He was also a member of the Michigan senate and for two years warden of the State prison. Irving K. Pond was educated in the public schools of Ann Arbor and in the University of Michigan, where he was graduated in 1879 with the degree of C.E. In the same year he went to Chicago, where he spent a few years in the office of a prominent architect. After this he traveled abroad, to finish his architectural studies by means of actual observation. In 1886 he entered into partnership with his brother, Allen Bartlit Pond. Together they have designed numerous buildings, private, institutional, and public, among the latter being the Federal Building at Kankakee, Ill. They also built Hull House, in Chicago, for Miss Jane Addams; the Chicago Commons, for Dr. Graham Taylor, and numerous other settlement houses, being themselves interested in social and political betterment movements. They are also the architects for the new Michigan Union, the college home of the students and alumni of the University of Michigan. Mr. Pond has met the problems of his social and professional life with a force and determination of character which have not alone enabled him to win his way to success, but have earned for him the commendation of his fellow citizens and practitioners. He has served on the board of directors of the American Institute of Architects, six years; was its vice-president one year, and president for two years. He represented the U. S. government and the American Institute of Architects at the International Congress of Architects at Rome and Venice, in 1911, delivering addresses before the congress in both cities. In November of the same year he also appeared before the Royal Institute of British Architects. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him by the University of Michigan in 1911. Mr. Pond was one of the founders of the Chicago Architectural Club, of which he is now an

honorary member. He is an honorary member of the San Francisco, Los Angeles and the South Bend Architectural Clubs; of the National Institute of Arts and Letters; of the Little Room (a founder); of the Cliff Dwellers (a founder); of the Chicago Literary Club, and of the City and University Clubs of Chicago. He was president of the Illinois Society of Architects, In recent years he has contributed liberally to the architectural journals and has reviewed many books dealing with the subject for the Chicago &ldquo;Dial&rdquo; and other literary papers.