Dittmann and Gauger had something in common. Both were German immigrants. Dittmann, born in Wurttemburg, and Gauger in Brandenburg, had a common language and culture. It was only natural that Dittmann seek a German architect to design his bank. And St. Paul had a large German community.

Gauger immigrated to the United States in 1862, when he was ten years old with his parents, Michael Friedrich August Gauger and Christine Kroning Gauger. The family settled near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where his father began farming. Augustus continued his education in a new land, learning a new language and quickly adapting to his new country.

His parents were determined that he receive the best education possible and gave him every opportunity to obtain it. Augustus learned the carpenter’s trade and showed an interest in construction and design. He also developed a talent for drawing. He began his studies in architecture at Oshkosh and later traveled to Chicago where he completed his studies and worked as an apprentice.

In 1875, twenty-three-year-old Gauger arrived at St. Paul where the pioneer architect Edward Bassford employed him. Gauger worked as his assistant and learned from the master builder.

In 1878 Gauger began his own practice and married Albertine O. Nitschke, a native of Wisconsin. Seven sons were born to the couple, only four survived to adulthood.

He became a citizen on October 5, 1892, and lived and worked in St. Paul for the remainder of his life. His first home at 559 Desota Street was destroyed by fire. His second home at 1183 Como Lake Drive still stands. His office was on the third floor of the Scandinavian American Bank Building, rooms 302-303, at Sixth and Jackson Streets in St. Paul.

Honors came to the talented architect quickly. Gauger served as the architect to the St. Paul board of education from 1881 to 1887. He designed the Douglas, Franklin, Longfellow, and Rice Schools in St. Paul.

His knowledge of carpentry and architectural engineering made him a valuable asset to the city of St. Paul where he was asked to serve as the city’s building inspector from 1884 to 1885. At the same time he continued with his architectural practice and did some of his finest work on Summit Avenue. The next year he was chosen to chair the committee whose task was to revise the city’s building codes. Not every home or business constructed during St. Paul’s building boom at the time was structurally sound. It was not unusual for walls to collapse on construction workers or for a completed home to simply fail and topple on a family.

From 1905 to 1929 he was the architect to the board of trustees of the Minnesota Soldier’s Home in Minneapolis. He designed the Women’s Building at the Soldier’s Home which received wide acclaim. Gauger also helped to establish the Minnesota Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He became a fellow of the AIA in 1889.

He employed Emma Brunson, one of Minnesota’s first female architects, from 1905 to 1920. Brunson worked as a draftsman and specifications writer.

Gauger’s work can be seen throughout Minnesota and the United States. In Dakota County he designed the Bank of Farmington, and remodeled the second floor and redesigned the dome of the county courthouse in Hastings.

The Warren County courthouse in Warren, Minnesota was his design. He also remodeled the Goodhue County courthouse in Red Wing, Minnesota. Several Gauger homes and businesses can be seen in Red Wing. The August Becker Store on Plum Street, and the State Bank Building are excellent examples of his work. He also designed the Carnegie Library there.

Some of his finest work can be seen in St. Paul. Time has not been kind to his homes on Summit Avenue. Three of his six designs remain. They are the Queen Anne style Lindeke house at 295 Summit built in 1885; the Queen Anne style Constans mansion at 465 Summit built in 1886; and the vernacular style Dr. Stone residence at 107 Farrington built in 1882, which was originally located at 301 Summit. Photographs of the remaining three houses, the Second Empire style Hart residence at 243 Summit built in 1883, and the Tuscan Villa style King residence at 525 Summit built in 1885 and the Muir residence at 545 Summit built in 1886, can be found at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

Other St. Paul homes are the handsome Shields residence at 911 Lincoln Avenue built in 1904; the Rogers-Johnson house at 306 South Exchange Street built in 1881;and the elaborate Horn house at 50 Irvine Park, built in 1869 and remodeled by Gauger in 1881; the Seiberlich house at 2166 Lincoln Avenue; and the Bumgardner residence at the corner of Fairmont and Chatsworth.

Another Gauger design is the ornate Stutzman Block at 727-731 East Seventh Street. The commercial building as we see it today is the result of the Upper Swede Hollow Neighborhood Association which rediscovered the building, purchased the property, and restored it to its original beauty. The association honored Gauger by creating a park located adjacent to the Stutzman building. Gauger Park is a landscaped community garden with terraced flowerbeds and a stone pathway located on the corner of East Seventh Street and Bates Avenue.

Gauger’s reputation was national. He designed businesses, churches, courthouses, homes, and schools in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Augustus Gauger died in February 1929 and is buried at Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul.

He ranks as one of Minnesota’s great architects.