Otto H. Matz (March 8, 1830 - March 8, 1919) was an American architect and an American Civil War veteran. Born in Berlin, Matz arrived in Chicago in 1854 and became an architect for the Illinois Central Railroad and the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Matz designed the first Union Station built in Chicago, that was unfortunately destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 1871. He served as an engineer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, during which he was a member of the staffs of Generals Fremont, Hallock, and Grant. He worked on the plans fro the capture of Vicksburg and entered the city with General Grant. After the war, Matz returned to Chicago and acted as the school architect of Chicago from 1869 until 1871. After the Chicago fire, Matz participated in the competition for a contract to construct the new city hall and county buildings and won first prize, though he was not awarded the contract. In 1892, Matz was the County Architect and was responsible for building the criminal court building. Matz married Mary Elizabeth Lewis on October 26th, 1857, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Matz's obituary in the Chicago Tribune that three of his grandsons served in World War I.



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