Difference between revisions of "Richard W. Grant (1862-1939), Architect"

Latest revision as of 19:34, 17 May 2020

Richard W. Grant, 1938

Richard Grant was born January 5, 1862, in Sangamon County, Illinois to an American father and an English mother. They moved to Beatrice, Nebraska when Grant was 8 years old. He attended Beatrice Public Schools and the University of Illinois, although he claims to have trained himself as an architect. He married Ida M. Schell in 1887. Grant practiced architecture in Beatrice from 1888 until his death in 1939, with a specific focus on public buildings and public schools in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and South Dakota. By 1918 he was said to have designed over seventy school buildings.[1][4][28]

This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.

Zion Lutheran Church, 1916. (D. Murphy)

Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings

Beatrice, Nebraska, 1890-1938

Lincoln, Nebraska, 1899

Educational & Professional Associations

1870s: High School, Beatrice, Nebraska.[4]

ca. 1884: special engineering student, University of Illinois.[4][b]

1885-1888: with N. S. Spencer, Architect, Beatrice, Nebraska.[4][a]

1888-1900: architect, 104 S 6th, Beatrice, Nebraska.[4][a]

1899: architect and partner, Grant & Somers, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[9][c]

1900-1902: architect and partner, Berlinghof & Grant, Architects, Beatrice, Nebraska.[6][d]

1904-1939: architect, Beatrice, Nebraska.

1908: associated architect with John Latenser, Omaha, on school at Fairmont, Nebraska.[h]

1938: Registered Professional Architect September 28, 1938, A-82.[4]

Buildings & Projects

North Platte High School, 1899-1900 (NSHS)

Kilpatrick house, 1904-1905 (NeSHPO)

U. S. Post Office, Seward, 1936-1939 (D. Murphy)

Mechanical Arts (Stout) Hall (1898), University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska.[10]

North Platte High School (1899-1900), North Platte, Nebraska.[2][8][29][i] (LN06-027)

Masonic Hall (1901), North Platte, Nebraska.[7]

Klein's Mercantile Company building (1902), Beatrice, Nebraska.[12]

New bank building (1902), Plymouth, Nebraska [13]

Brick church for the Christian society (1902), Beatrice, Nebraska.[14]

High School (1903), Tecumseh, Nebraska.[15,24]

Samuel D. Kilpatrick house (1904-1905), 701 N. 7th, Beatrice, Nebraska.[3] (GA03-166) National Register narrative

Three-story School for Saint Joseph's Parish (1907), Beatrice, Nebraska.[27]

First Christian Church (1908), northeast corner 14th & M Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.[11]

Brick and stone school in association with John Latenser (1908), Fairmont, Nebraska.[27][r]

State Bank of Alexandria (1909), Alexandria, Nebraska.[16]

Hospital, Mennonite Society (1910), Beatrice, Nebraska.[18]

Design for Scottsbluff High School (1910), Scottsbluff, Nebraska.[18,20,25][f]

Geneva Masonic Temple (1910), Geneva, Nebraska.[18]

Citizens' State Bank (1910), Geneva, Nebraska.[18]

Ogallala High School (1910), Ogallala, Nebraska.[18][19]

Geneva Carnegie Library (1911-1913) 1043 G, Geneva, Nebraska.[5] (FM05-046)

Rev. A. Petrisch House (1913), Friend, Nebraska[22]

Fairfield Carnegie Library (1913), SW Corner 5th & D, Fairfield, Nebraska.[3][5][21] (CY05-004)

Remodeling of Office, Lodge and Store Building for William A. Wolfe (1914), Beatrice, Nebraska.[23][e]

Remodeling of residence for W. Robertson (1914), Beatrice, Nebraska.[23]

Tekamah Carnegie Library (1914), SW Corner 13th & L, Tekamah, Nebraska.[3][5] (BT06-043)

Zion Lutheran Church (ca. 1914-1916), Pickrell vicinity, rural Gage County, Nebraska.[30]

Wymore Carnegie Library (1914-1919), 1021 W B, Wymore, Nebraska.[3][5] (GA15-011)

Hanover Lutheran Church (1917), rural Gage County, Nebraska.[1][17]

U. S. Post Office (1936-1939), south side courthouse square, Seward, Nebraska.[g] (SW09-166)

Notes

a. In 1888 Grant purchased the firm of N. S. Spencer and began practicing for himself.[4] The 1888 city directory also lists him this year as a contractor and builder.

b. Grant states in his application to practice architecture, 1938, that he worked under Professor Riecker (sic) while at the University of Illinois.[4] The reference to Riecker should read, Nathan Clifford Ricker (ed).

c. The Lincoln city directory of 1899 lists "Grant & Somers, (R. W. Grant & E. S. Somers), archts, 311 Farmers & Mer. Ins. Building." Elbert S. Somers (1868-1933) was listed in the 1898 Omaha directory as a draftsman for "Expo." By the time of the 1900 Census, Somers' residence was Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife Mary E. and infant son Rolland; his occupation was architect.

d. Improvement Bulletin, a trade publication, noted in 1900 that "R. W. Grant, of Lincoln, and G. A. Berlinghof, of Beatrice, have formed a partnership, and will maintain offices at both places."[6] The Lincoln office may have been established only briefly as both men remained residents of Beatrice and the Lincoln city directories do not reflect the partnership. A few projects cited in Improvement Bulletin in 1899 and 1900 refer to Grant as "of Lincoln." See Berlinghof & Grant, Architects.

e. The American Contractor describes this project as "Beatrice, Nebr. Office, Lodge & Store Bldg. (rem.): 2 sty & bas. $8,000 to $10,000. Archt R. W. Grant. Owner Wm. A. Wolfe. Archt. & owner will take bids on materials. Construction. Cut stone, brick, galv. iron skylight & cornice, struct. iron, painting, plastering."[23]

f. Scottsbluff High School was built in 1922-1923 from designs by R. A. Bradley & Co. of Hastings.[25]

g. Data from the cornerstone, April 15, 2016. Richard W. Grant, Architect; Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the U. S. Treasury.

h. Improvement Bulletin of June 20, 1908 lists "Fairmont, Neb.--R. W. Grant, Beatrice, Neb., and John Latenser, Omaha, associate architects, are preparing plans for a brick and stone school building for the board of education, to cost $30,000."[27]

i. American School Board Journal of January 1899 reports: "North Platte, Neb. The board of education has adopted plans of Architect R. W. Grant, Lincoln, Neb., for the new $25,000 high school."[29]

References

1. Hugh J. Dobbs, History of Gage County, Nebraska (Lincoln: Western Publishing & Engraving Co., 1918), 578-79.

2. North Platte Evening Telegraph (August 1, 1900), 1:2.

3. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

4. Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering and Architecture, Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, August 4, 1938. Nebraska State Historical Society RG081 SG2.

5. State Library Commission files. " 6. "Among the Architects," Improvement Bulletin (March 17, 1900), 11.

7. Improvement Bulletin (October 19, 1901), 20.

8. Improvement Bulletin (June 3, 1899), 26, referring to Grant as "architect, of Lincoln"; (February 3, 1900), 15, referring to Grant as "architect, of Lincoln"; (April 28, 1900), 14, referring to Grant as "architect, of Lincoln and Beatrice."

9. Lincoln City Directory (1899), 240, 491.

10. Kay Logan Peters, "Mechanic Arts Hall (Stout)," An Architectural Tour of Historic UNL, Accessed April 9, 2015. http://historicbuildings.unl.edu/building.php?b=4 .

11. City of Lincoln Building Permit #2664, $28,000 estimated cost of construction. Illustrated in Nebraska State Journal, (January 3, 1909).

12. Improvement Bulletin (August 2, 1902), 20; (August 30, 1902), 20.

13. Improvement Bulletin (August 16, 1902), 20.

14. Improvement Bulletin (October 10, 1902), 17.

15. Improvement Bulletin (July 18, 1903), 17; (August 29, 1903), 19.

16. Improvement Bulletin (September 4, 1909), 28.

17. Hugh J. Dobbs, History of Gage County, Nebraska (Lincoln: Western Publishing & Engraving Co., 1918), 446-450.

18. The American Contractor (June 4, 1910), 77.

19. The American Contractor (May 14, 1910), 23.

20. The American Contractor (May 21, 1910), 27.

21. The American Contractor (April 19, 1913), 93.

22. The American Contractor (January 25, 1913), 65.

23. The American Contractor (May 2, 1914), 115.

24. School Board Journal (September 1903), 27.

25. American Contractor (November 26, 1921), 67; (April 29, 1922), 38; (July 15, 1922), 64; (July 22, 1922), 61.

26. School Board Journal (April 1907), 27.

27. Improvement Bulletin (June 20, 1908), 24.

28. “Illness Fatal to R.W. Grant,” Beatrice Daily Sun (April 12, 1939).

29. American School Board Journal (January 1899), 348.

30. Cindy Lange-Kubick, "The Cathedral in the Cornfield: Zion Lutheran Church celebrates 100 years," Lincoln Journal-Star 156:106 (April 16, 2017): 1A, 4A.

Page Citation

D. Murphy and E. F. Zimmer, “Richard W. Grant (1862-1939), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 2, 2020. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 1, 2024.

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