A multi-generational design firm.

The Grailville Oratory, converted by William Schickel in 1962

William pass Schickel Design to Martha

The Abbey of Gethsemani, renovated l in the 1960s

William and Martha review stained glass

A young William Schickel working with stained glass

We stand on the shoulders of our past.

J. William Schickel (great-great-grandfather to Rebecca Dorff Cadena) was born January 29, 1850 in Wiesbaden, Germany. In 1870, at the age of twenty, he emigrated to the United States, and the next day started his New York architectural career in the offices of the renowned Richard Morris Hunt. In 1885 he formed William Schickel & Company in association with Isaac E. Ditmars and Hugo Kafka. Norbert Schickel (great grandfather to Rebecca Dorff Cadena) was one of J. William Schickel’s eleven children. Taking a break from the family lineage of artists and architects, Norbert started Schickel Motor Co. in 1911 and unveiled his first motorcycle at the Chicago Motorcycle Show. His company started producing motorcycles in 1912 from Stamford, CT.

Our founder, William Schickel (1919-2009), was born in Stamford, Connecticut and raised in Ithaca, NY. In 1947, he married Mary Frei, daughter of renowned stained glass artist Emil Frei. Shortly after marrying, they moved to a farm in Loveland, OH where they raised twelve children, and William continued to grow his art and design business. You can learn more about William Schickel and see his artwork at William Schickel Gallery, owned and operated by Joe Schickel, William Schickel’s son and artistic executor.

St. Ignatius Loyola Church, NYC, designed by J. William Schickel in 1898

The interior of St. Ignatius

Mission Church, Boston, MA, another work by J. William Schickel

Norbert Schickel, founder of Schickel Motor Co.

A motorcycle produced by Schickel Motor Co.