Difference between revisions of "Percy Parke Lewis (1885-1962), Architect"
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<div style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:125%">'''Jacksonville, Florida, 1907; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1910-1915; Omaha, Nebraska, 1916-1924; Los Angeles, California, 1924-1951 '''</div style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:125%"> | <div style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:125%">'''Jacksonville, Florida, 1907; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1910-1915; Omaha, Nebraska, 1916-1924; Los Angeles, California, 1924-1951 '''</div style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:125%"> | ||
Revision as of 17:40, 9 December 2022
Percy Parke Lewis was born in Merryall, Pennsylvania on August 12, 1885 to Jackson and Hannah (nee Parke) Lewis. His father, a miller, died in 1890. By 1900, widow Hannah and three of her children, including 14-year-old Percy, lived in Waterbury, Connecticut.[2][3] Young Percy showed an early interest in and talent for drawing, taking "first on pen and ink drawing" at the "Waterbury Agricultural fair" in 1900.[4] Whether he had the advantage of much education in architecture is uncertain, but his early choice of an architectural career is clear. When Percy married Ruth Hoffer in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1909, he was referred to as "a well known architect of this city, formerly of Waterbury, Conn."[7][a] He practiced in Pennsylvania until moving to Omaha in 1916, then to Los Angeles in 1924. His practice there included churches, theaters, houses and large apartment buildings, sometimes illustrated in L.A. newspapers with exquisite watercolor renderings. Lewis died In Los Angeles on February 9, 1962.[1][2]
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.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Omaha, Nebraska, 1917-1925
Educational & Professional Associations
1907: draftsman, Jacksonville, Florida.[6]
1908: took "a course of architecture," New York City.[5]
1910-1911: draftsman in office of (F. L.) Olds & Puckey, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[9]
1912-1915: partner with Jacob S. Pettebone in Pettebone & Lewis, architects, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[10]
1917-1918: draftsman, Omaha, Nebraska, including for Bankers Realty Investment Co.
1920: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.[5]
1924-1951: architect, Los Angeles, California.[3][7]
Buildings & Projects
Notes
a. P. P. Lewis was listed in the Jacksonville, Florida city directory of 1907 as a draftsman. John H. W. Hawkins was well-established in his Jacksonville architectural practice by that time, having relocated from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1902. Previously Hawkins was located in Omaha and Lincoln, spending a highly productive decade in Nebraska from 1885-1895. Perhaps it is coincidental that after his year in Jacksonville, Lewis settled in Wilkes-Barre for a decade, then Omaha from 1916-1924, but it seems likely that Hawkins had some influence on those choices.(EFZ)
When Lewis arrived in Omaha in 1916, his new employer, Bankers Realty Investment, boasted that Lewis "is a Columbia University man" and also "studied at the Art Students' League in New York City." Lewis' name cannot be found in Columbia University Alumni Registry, but perhaps it was in reference to the Art Students' League that a Waterbury newspaper mentioned in 1907 that Lewis "has been taking a course of architecture in New York" and that he would "leave for Havana" after visiting his mother for a couple of weeks.[5][7][8]
References
1. "Percy Parke Lewis," obituary in Los Angeles Times (February 12, 1962).
2. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Jackson Lewis" & "Hannah Lewis," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009; Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census, s.v. "Percy Lewis," b. 1885, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
3. "Jackson Lewis" in Find a Grave," accessed on-line December 9, 2022, at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87826220/jackson-lewis
4. "Close of the Fair. Long List of Prizes Distributed," Waterbury (Connecticut) Democrat (September 22, 1900), 3.
5. "City News," Waterbury (Connecticut) Democrat (March 6, 1908), 10.
6. Jacksonville, Florida city directory, 1906-1908.
7. The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) (August 31, 1909), 18.
8. "Prominent Wilkes Barre, PA., Architect Comes to Omaha," The New Nebraskan (Omaha, Nebraska) (February 24, 1916), 2; "East Watching Omaha, Declares P. P. Lewis," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily News (February 22, 1916), 12.
9. Succeeds Architect Olds," Pittston (Pennsylvania) Gazette (February 233, 1912), 8.
10. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania city directories; and New Bridge Plan...Architect Lewis to Submit Perspective Painting of a Proposed Structure," The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) (July 6, 1914), 17.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer, “Percy Parke Lewis (1885-1962), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 9, 2022. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, October 31, 2024.
Contact the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office with questions or comments concerning this page, including any problems you may have with broken links (see, however, the Disclaimers link at the bottom of this page). Please provide the URL to this page with your inquiry.
