Albert Weiblen (1857–1957) was a German-born American architect and sculptor. His company, the Albert Weiblen Marble and Granite Company, was based in New Orleans and specialized in monuments and burial structures.
Life and career Weiblen was born in Metzingen, Württemberg in 1857. He immigrated to the United States in 1883, arrived in New Orleans two years later and worked as a sculptor for Kursheedt and Bienvenu. By 1888, he established his own marble yard and showroom, eventually incorporating his operations as the Albert Weiblen Marble & Granite Company.Louis Voss. History of the German Society of New Orleans. New Orleans: Sendker Printing Service, 1927, p. 25.
The Weiblen company operated a large quarry in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Day-to-day work at the quarry was initially overseen by Weiblen himself, though he later hired Italian sculptor Theodore Bottinelli.Freeman, David B.; Carved in Stone: A History of Stone Mountain, Mercer University Press, p. 109 The firm served New Orleans patrons primarily, as well as many other parts of the South. Weiblen operated a showroom in New Orleans at 116 City Park Avenue. Most of Weiblen's monuments were of Amphiprostyle design.McDowell, Peggy and Meyer, Richard E.;Revival Styles in American Memorial Art, The; University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, p. 27
After Weiblen's death at the age of 99, his daughter in law Norma Merritt Weiblen took up company operations. In 1969, Weiblen Marble & Granite was sold to Stewart Enterprises. The Weiblen company papers are now divided across the Southeastern Architectural Archive at Tulane University and the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans.
Notable works
William G. Helis, Sr. mausoleum (n.d.), Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana Tomb of Lodge No.30 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (1912), Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana P.G.T. Beauregard Monument (1913), New Orleans, Louisiana; removed on May 17, 2017 Tomb of Josie Arlington, Metairie Cemetery (1914), New Orleans, Louisiana Thomas Egleston Monument (1918), Atlanta, Georgia Downman Tomb (1920), Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana Tombs of Joseph and Lucca Vaccaro (1920s), Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana Bloom Fountain (1927), Monroe Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi; part of the Uptown Vicksburg Historic District
References
Sources Albert Weiblen biography Weiblen Company's Drawings