Zimmerman was born in 1856 in Thiensville, Wisconsin, and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and opened an independent practice in Steinway Hall in 1898.
Zimmerman at first continued to design houses, largely in the Chicago neighborhoods of Rogers Park, Kenwood, and Edgewater.
[1] Zimmerman was appointed Illinois State Architect in 1905, a role he held for ten years.
This presented Zimmerman with the opportunity to design major works on behalf of the state government.