Albert Bartleton Groves (1866 - 1925),[1] also known as A.B. Groves or Albert B. Groves, was an American architect who practiced in the St. Louis, Missouri area.
Albert B. Groves, circa 1921Brown Shoe Company's Homes-Take Factory, St. Louis, 1904
Groves was born in Providence, Rhode Island and attended architectural courses at Cornell University. After periods studying in France and Italy, and working under Denver architect Frank E. Edbrooke for two years, Groves began practicing in St. Louis with partners as Gable, Weber and Groves in 1891.[2] The firm Weber & Groves ended in 1905 with the death of Weber. Groves practiced independently thereafter.
Groves designed his share of houses in St. Louis's private places, and by 1921 had designed 18 separate churches in the area, but made a specialty of the design of relatively simple concrete and brick factories for garment manufacturers in the city, who demanded speed, flexibility and ingenuity. Grove designed multiple buildings for these manufacturers—eleven separate buildings and an 8-story headquarters for Brown Shoe alone—which, along with alterations, expansions, and changes of ownership, can present a challenge in identifying his work.
Work
Buildings designed by Groves (or Weber & Groves) include (in St. Louis if not otherwise indicated):[3]
Fountain Park Congregational Church, 1895 (Gable, Weber & Groves), 1895
One or more buildings in the City Hospital Historic District, Roughly bounded by Lafayette Ave., Grattan St., Carroll St., Dillon St., St. Ange St., 14th St., and Carroll St., in St. Louis
