February 22, 1857
Ernest George Washington Dietrich was born on the anniversary of our first president's birthday in Pittsburgh, PA to Jacob and Johanna (Roenigk), Dietrich. He was the oldest of their six children.
Dietrich graduated from Duff’s College and attended the Western College of Pennsylvania (University of Pittsburgh). His architectural training was at the firm Drum and Kuhn.
1881
Dietrich moved to New York, NY. While working in the office of architects David and John Jardine, he published several of his own designs in architectural periodicals.
1882
He returned to Pittsburgh to work as a draughtsman and delineator in the office of architect James T. Steen.
1883
Dietrich partnered with Charles M. Bartberger establishing the firm of Bartberger and Dietrich.
November 12, 1884
Dietrich and Eliza Estelle Melhorn were married by the bride's father, the well-known Lutheran minister Rev. John K. Melhorn. The Dietrich family would grow to include six sons.
1886
With several promising commissions on the East coast, Dietrich moved back to New York City to start his own practice. Over the years he partnered with several architects including A. M. Stuckert, Manly Cutter, Henry LaPointe, Arthur H. Smith and Julius Diemer.
1891
Dietrich built his own home “Sandonona” at Bensonhurst-by-the-Sea (Brooklyn), New York.
May 1903
In collaboration with Gustav Stickley, Dietrich designed the first “Craftsman House”. Published in Stickley's Craftsman magazine, the article included floorplans, an exterior view, and interior views featuring Stickley's Craftsman furniture designs.
1914
Emerson, the third son and the one thought most likely to follow in his father's footsteps as an architect, met a tragic and untimely death involving a possible love-triangle and a lion.
April 20, 1924
Eliza Estelle (Melhorn) Dietrich died after a long illness.
December 24, 1924
On his way into Manhattan, Dietrich suffered a fatal heart attack waiting for the Long Island Rail Road at the Freeport, NY train station near his home.
“This brief outline of his career will perhaps mean little to those without knowledge of his personal qualities. He was a man of sterling character, kind, considerate, always a gentleman, ready to render service and to give advice to anyone who asked, and to work for a worthy cause. In brief, to know him was to love him, and his passing was a grief to his many friends who held him in their highest esteem.”
William H. Stangle and Charles C. Wagner
Brooklyn Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 1926