Bissell, Belair and Green papers

Bissell, Belair, and Green is a direct descendent of the architectural firm of Edward Stebbins. The firm is still in existence in Minneapolis as Green, Nelson and Weaver. Throughout its history, the company has specialized in the design of educational facilities, many of which are included in this collection and in the Edward Stebbins papers.

Cyrus Bissell was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 6, 1885. He received his B.S. in Architecture from Columbia University in 1908. From 1908 to 1917 he was a draftsman and project manager in several architectural firms in New York City (including Delano & Aldrich and Nelson & Van Wagonen), Montreal (Brown & Vallance) and Albany (Marcust, Reynolds). During World War I, Bissell was assistant chief estimator in the Construction Division of the War Department for two years. After the war, he joined Stebbins & Haxby in Minneapolis in 1920 and remained a partner throughout the rest of his career. Bissell died in Minneapolis in 1976.

John Belair was born in Minneapolis in 1904. He received his architecture degree from the University of Minnesota in 1934. From 1921 to 1944 he worked for a succession of architectural firms as a draftsman, designer, and mechanical engineer in both of the Twin Cities as well as Montana and Canada. Belair began as a draftsman in the firm of Stebbins, Haxby, and Bissell and became a full partner in 1944. He retired in the early 1970s and died in Minneapolis in 1976.

Gene Green was born in Madelia, Minnesota in 1926. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in architecture in 1950. He began his career two years earlier as a draftsman for Haxby, Bissell, and Belair and became a partner in the firm in 1959 and a senior partner in Green, Nelson and Weaver.