Bell was born on a farm in
East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania to Chalhly Bell & Mary Emlen.[4] He married Addie Vanhoff on June 7, 1871, and by 1876 he was living in
Springfield, Illinois with his wife and two children, working as Assistant Superintendent of the statehouse.[1] Bell's tenure as Supervising Architect for the US Treasury began on November 1, 1883, with an annual salary of $4,500 (equivalent to $147,150 today).[5] He was member of the Joint Commission to Complete the
Washington Monument, and his name is engraved on the north face of the monument's capstone. Bell submitted his resignation from the position by mid-1887 and moved to Chicago. In Chicago, Bell was appointed as superintendent of repairs for the city's federal buildings, and was in charge of federal buildings at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition.[6] He died in Chicago of
pneumonia in 1904.[7]
1885-89
Federal Building, N. Fitzhugh and Church Sts.
Rochester, New York. Architects Harvey and Charles Ellis are credited with the design; M.E. Bell was supervising architect during its 1885-9 construction.[9] NRHP-listed.
1886-87 — U.S. Post Office, Lexington Kentucky[10]
U.S. Post Office, Quincy, Illinois, in the
Châteauesque style
U.S. Court House and Post Office, Keokuk, Iowa, now the Lee County Courthouse, in the
Queen Anne style
U.S. Post Office, Hannibal, Missouri, a late
Second Empire style
U.S. Post Office, Former, and Federal Courthouse, Auburn, New York, a late Richardsonian Romanesque style
Marion County, Iowa Courthouse; Knoxville, Iowa Richardsonian Romanesque
Marion County Courthouse
Paul Laxalt State Building - formerly the U.S. Court House &
Carson City Post Office, now home to the Nevada Commission on Tourism in Carson City, Nevada
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2009-06-21.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) HCRS nomination form
Bell was born on a farm in
East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania to Chalhly Bell & Mary Emlen.[4] He married Addie Vanhoff on June 7, 1871, and by 1876 he was living in
Springfield, Illinois with his wife and two children, working as Assistant Superintendent of the statehouse.[1] Bell's tenure as Supervising Architect for the US Treasury began on November 1, 1883, with an annual salary of $4,500 (equivalent to $147,150 today).[5] He was member of the Joint Commission to Complete the
Washington Monument, and his name is engraved on the north face of the monument's capstone. Bell submitted his resignation from the position by mid-1887 and moved to Chicago. In Chicago, Bell was appointed as superintendent of repairs for the city's federal buildings, and was in charge of federal buildings at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition.[6] He died in Chicago of
pneumonia in 1904.[7]
1885-89
Federal Building, N. Fitzhugh and Church Sts.
Rochester, New York. Architects Harvey and Charles Ellis are credited with the design; M.E. Bell was supervising architect during its 1885-9 construction.[9] NRHP-listed.
1886-87 — U.S. Post Office, Lexington Kentucky[10]
U.S. Post Office, Quincy, Illinois, in the
Châteauesque style
U.S. Court House and Post Office, Keokuk, Iowa, now the Lee County Courthouse, in the
Queen Anne style
U.S. Post Office, Hannibal, Missouri, a late
Second Empire style
U.S. Post Office, Former, and Federal Courthouse, Auburn, New York, a late Richardsonian Romanesque style
Marion County, Iowa Courthouse; Knoxville, Iowa Richardsonian Romanesque
Marion County Courthouse
Paul Laxalt State Building - formerly the U.S. Court House &
Carson City Post Office, now home to the Nevada Commission on Tourism in Carson City, Nevada
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2009-06-21.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) HCRS nomination form