Van der Meer was a well-known architect of ecclesiastical buildings. He created numerous designs for churches, schools, and hospitals. During the 1920s, he did work for the Archdiocese of Dubuque and most importantly, the Diocese of Rockford, a territory that encompassed twelve counties in northwestern Illinois. Van der Meer's other work in Aurora included St. Theresa Church and School (1926), Fox Valley Catholic High School, and Madonna Catholic High School for Girls (1926). The architect also designed a new building for Aurora's third city hospital, St. Joseph Mercy. Dedicated on September 20, 1931, one year before completion of the new St. Charles, St. Joseph Mercy was a six-story Gothic style structure. The hospital's most notable feature was a seven and a half story tower with delicate stone tracery work.
The Gothic inspired St. Joseph Mercy Hospital characterized the ecclesiastical architecture of Wybe Jelles Vander Meer. In general, the architect felt most comfortable when designing in the Gothic style. Examination of Van der Meer's 1931 architecture book Catholic Churches and Institutions revealed this preference for historical based design. Vander Meer further revealed his fondness for Gothic architecture through the inclusion of a quote from John Ruskin, the famous nineteenth-century art critic and champion of the Gothic style. The quote appeared on the final page of Van der Meer's book, a fitting conclusion for an architect who repeatedly found inspiration in the Gothic churches of Northern Europe.
To some extent, Van der Meer's preference for Gothic design can be attributed to his Northern European roots. He was born in Woudend Friesland, Netherlands on June 18, 1883. When Van der Meer was twentythree years old, he immigrated to the United States.
The architect's portrait in the St. Charles Hospital:
Souvenir of Dedication was accompanied by a caption that read, "Wybe J. Van Der Meer, B.N.A. - A.LA. Architect." The title "B.N.A." denoted that Van der Meer was a registered architect with the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects. This designation meant that Van der Meer was a professionally licensed architect prior to his arrival in the United States. As part of his instruction in the Netherlands, Van der Meer would have been educated in the architecture of the Gothic builders. His training in the Gothic was not simply confined to the classroom however; it would have included firsthand knowledge of the great Gothic churches through actual, personal experience.
Van der Meer's Catholic Churches and Institutions also contained photographs and blueprints of his work to date. Published prior to the completion of the new St. Charles, Catholic Churches and Institutions included a perspective drawing and floor plans of the unfinished hospital. Despite the absence of St. Charles photographs, the proposed building was impressive when placed alongside the architect's larger corpus. The hospital stood out as the book's single example of Art Deco influenced architecture. In all likelihood, the St. Charles Hospital
was Van der Meer's first and only Art Deco design. Although he felt most at ease in the Gothic style, Van der Meer's work on the St. Charles Hospital proved that he was a capable and flexible architect who felt comfortable working in both new and old modes of design
