In partnership with William Holabird, Martin Roche designed buildings following the Chicago School and that were landmarks in the development of early sky scrapers.
Ossian Simonds left the practice in 1883 to concentrate on landscape design, and the firm was renamed Holabird & Roche.
Roche was a fine designer with an eye for Gothic architecture.
He designed the world's first Gothic-style skyscraper for the University Club of Chicago, which opened in 1908.
William Holabird died in 1923 and Martin Roche followed four years later.