George Grant Elmslie

Architect and designer, born near Huntley, Aberdeenshire, NE Scotland, UK. He emigrated to Chicago in 1884. His most notable works were designed during his partnership (1909–22) with William Gray Purcell (1880–1965), such as the Edison Building, Chicago (1912), and the Woodbury County Courthouse, Sioux City, Iowa (1915–17). He also designed furniture, metalwork, and stained glass.

George Grant Elmslie (February 20, 1869 - April 23, 1952) was an American, though born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern United States.

The architectural practice most widely known Purcell & Feick, was created at Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1907 between Purcell and his Cornell School of Architecture classmate, George Feick, Jr. George Elmslie and Purcell had been friends since 1903, when Purcell worked for a short while in the office of Louis Sullivan, and Elmslie was an informal influence in the work of Purcell & In 1909, Elmslie joined the office in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the name of the firm changed to Purcell, Feick, & Feick left the partnership in 1912, and the name of the practice became Purcell & Elmslie became one of the most commissioned firms among the Prairie School architects, second only to Frank Lloyd Wright. Following the dissolution of his partnership with Purcell, Elmslie worked occasionally with various other architects, including Lawrence A.

A curious historical note: Elmslie claimed to have been born in 1871, he carefully kept his true birth year a secret all his life except from a very few people.