Cornelius Ward Rapp was born December 26, 1860. In the 1880s he moved to Chicago, where he worked for architect Cyrus P. Thomas. In 1889, the two formed the partnership of Thomas & Rapp. This was dissolved in 1895, when both opened independent offices. Rapp's major projects over the next eleven years included
Altgeld Hall (1895–96) and Wheeler Hall (1903–04) at what is now
Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the
Coles County Courthouse (1898–99) in
Charleston. His father was superintendent of construction for both Carbondale buildings. Rapp was an independent practitioner until 1906, when he formed a partnership with his younger brother, George L. Rapp. George Leslie Rapp was born February 16, 1878. He was educated in the
School of Architecture of the
University of Illinois, graduating in 1899. He then followed his brother to Chicago, where he joined the office of architect Edmund R. Krause. Of the projects completed by Krause during Rapp's employment, the best known was the Majestic Theatre, now the
CIBC Theatre. After seven years with Krause he joined his brother to form the firm of C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp. Following early success with the
Five Flags Center in
Dubuque, Iowa, the new firm quickly specialized in theatres. In 1917 they began working with the
Balaban & Katz chain of movie theatres, a relationship leading to the construction of many early
movie palaces. In 1926
Paramount Pictures bought a controlling interest in Balaban & Katz, after which the Rapp office gained a national practice. C. Ward Rapp died the same year, leaving his brother to head the firm. The firm diversified its practice away from theatres during the 1930s, and designed a variety of commercial and industrial projects. ==Legacy==