Born in Fjälkinge, Sweden, Olof Hanson immigrated with his family to Willmar, Minnesota in 1875. Hanson lost his hearing gradually and became profoundly deaf at the age of 13. At the age of 16, he enrolled at the Minnesota Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind and graduated three years later. In the fall of 1881, Hanson began his studies as a student at the National Deaf-Mute College, now known as Gallaudet University.
Hanson's office was on the second floor of this building in Faribault, Minnesota. Note Olof Hanson's name on the middle window.
Interior of Hanson's office, Faribault, Minnesota, circa 1895-1901.
During his forty years of architectural work, Hanson designed more than 100 buildings including stores, churches, private residences, hotels, and buildings for state residential schools for deaf children in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Mississippi.
Employment opportunities for deaf people in the nineteenth century were for the most part limited to trades taught in state residential schools for deaf children. Boys were trained in tailoring, printing, and shoe repair; girls were taught sewing, cooking, and housekeeping skills. The founding of the National Deaf-Mute College in Washington, D.C. offered a select few deaf and hard of hearing students a chance to pursue higher education and to explore new employment opportunities.
After Hanson's death, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places registered four of his buildings, including the residence of J.L. Noyes in Faribault, Minnesota. The building was designed in 1896.
Hanson trained with Hodgson and Sons architectural firm and received his master's degree in architectural studies from the National Deaf-Mute College in 1889. It is generally believed that Hanson is the first recorded deaf architect in the United States.
A quiet, unassuming, scholarly man, he was a wise counselor and a devotee of high standards.
-Rev. Guilbert C. Braddock, Silent Missionary, 1933
Hanson was the first deaf architect to design a building for the National Deaf-Mute College. Construction was completed in 1895, and the building served as a dormitory for boys of the Kendall School students until 1953. The building, still standing, is known as Dawes House.
In 1894, the campus community gathered for the laying of the cornerstone of the Kendall School dormitory for boys. The building was designed by Hanson. In the photograph, College President Edward Miner Gallaudet appears to be signing "house." What word do you think he is signing?
Blueprint of the dormitory for boys of the Kendall School, erected 1895.
Understanding the deaf community's need for visual clarity, Hanson designed buildings with ample natural light. Hanson's design aesthetic reflected his appreciation of the Queen Anne architectural style, which can be identified by its hipped roofs with dormers, chimneys, turrets, arched doorways and windows, and the combination of bricks and shingles.
North Dakota School for the Deaf, Main Hall. Devils Lake, North Dakota Designed by Olof Hanson, 1891.
Courthouse and Jail Juneau, Alaska Designed by Olof Hanson and Frank Thayer, 1902
Charles Thompson Memorial Hall, a clubhouse for deaf people. St. Paul, Minnesota. Designed by Olof Hanson, 1915
Study of church, circa 1889.
Study of people, circa 1889.
Hanson created a series of watercolors (two shown here) expressing his love of architecture and landscapes. His calm and peaceful compositions reflect the serenity of nature and often hint at the architectural structures of life. Also seen is the sense of order so valued in Victorian America.
