Francis John Plym (1869-1940), Architect & Inventor
Lincoln, 1900-1902; Kansas City, Missouri, 1903-1907; Niles, Michigan, 1907-1940
Francis John Plym was born in Sweden in 1869. His father Osley Plym, a cabinetmaker, brought the family to America when Francis was an infant and settled in Aledo, Illinois.[24] Plym earned a bachelor of science in architecture from the University of Illinois College of Engineering in 1897.[25] He began practicing as an architect with Marcus Leach in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1900 as Leach & Plym. Early in 1903, Plym announced his departure for Kansas City, with the intention of opening an associated office there, but the partnership with Leach apparently ended at that time.[22][g] Plym married Jennie M. Barber of Lincoln in 1903 and they had three children. In 1906 Plym patented a system of metal framing for plate glass storefronts and founded Kawneer Manufacturing Company to produce the storefronts. He moved the company to Niles, Michigan in 1909 and later established a large west coast factory in Berkeley, California. Kawneer still exists as a division of Alcoa (2018).
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
Lincoln, Nebraska, 1900-1903
Educational & Professional Associations
1897: earned bachelor of science degree in architecture, University of Illinois College of Engineering[25]
1901-1902: post-graduate work at Columbia University, New York City[26][f]
Buildings & Projects
1900-1903 (Lincoln, Nebraska)
See Leach & Plym, Architects for the partnership's Nebraska projects.[h][i]
Notes
a. School Board Journal of October 1902 includes an elevation of "New Central School, Lincoln, Neb. 10 Class Rooms, Library, Reading Room and Manual Training Rooms. Cost $25,000. Leach & Plym, Architects, Lincoln, Neb." School board minutes indicate T. P. Harrison constructed a 10 room school house on the high school grounds in 1902, for $24,500. The school was called "New McKinley School" by 1903[16][17]
b. The Wahoo academy building is estimated to cost $25,000, according to School Board Journal.[18]
c. School Board Journal of January 1899 lists: "Lincoln, Neb. A new $8,000 ward school. Plans drawn by architect M. Leach."[20]
d. The Lincoln Star of January 24, 1903 carried an announcement "Dr. Leonhardt, Office & Residence, Removed to 1726 N Street." The 1903 Sanborn Map Co. atlas of Lincoln shows that parcel as unimproved, while the 1928 edition shows a large two-story frame house on the site. Probably Leonhardt built 1726 N around 1903.[21]
e. The six architectural firms which submitted "separate sets of drawings and specifications" for Lincoln's Carnegie-supported library were Stone, Carpenter & Wilson of Providence, R. I.; Ferry & Clas of Milwaukee; Roberts & Woods, Leach & Plym, and James Tyler & Son of Lincoln; and Fisher & Lawrie of Omaha.[23]
f. Nebraska State Journal reported on December 15, 1901 "Architect Francis J. Plym will go to New York City in a few days where he expects to take post graduate work in architecture at Columbia university this winter, returning to Lincoln about March 1."[26]
g. Plym's imminent relocation from Lincoln to Kansas City was announced the Nebraska State Journal on February 1, 1903. It was said "He will still retain his connection with the Lincoln firm [Leach & Plym] and will come here from time to time as the work demands. The idea in branching out in this way is to come in contact with the highest class of work done in the west, as Kansas City is becoming more and more recognized as the metropolis of this entire region. Mr. Plym said yesterday that he hoped this change would react upon the work he does in Lincoln and make it better."[22]
References
1. Lincoln Trade Review 1:36 (Feb 7, 1903), 3. (Architects prepare to open Kansas City office to be under charge of Francis Plym. Lincoln office run by Marcus Leach.)
2. Lincoln Trade Review 1:50 (1903), 8. (re: Kansas City.)
3. Lincoln Trade Review 1:47 (1903), 3 (Work to commence, Apr 1903, plans drawn last fall).
4. Lincoln Trade Review 1:48 (1903) (construction has commenced; Odd Fellow Hall on second floor of band and adjoining building).
5. Lincoln Trade Review 1:52 (1903), 10 (bids let).
6. Lincoln Trade Review 1:52 (1903), {plans under preparation; brick building, 54 x 90, large seven-tier gallery holds 800-1000 people).
7. Lincoln Trade Review 2:4 (1903), 3 ($2000).
8. Lincoln Trade Review 1:3 (1902), 4 (plans & bid let, $8,000).
9. Lincoln Trade Review 1:7 (1902), 4 (contracts).
10. Lincoln Trade Review (1902), 4.
11. Lincoln Trade Review 1:15 (1902), 3 (80 x 50 ft).
12. Lincoln Trade Review 1:20 (1902), 4.
13. Lincoln Trade Review 1:26 (1902), 3 (contract to plan; three story brick, 50 x 91, twelve and fourteen foot clgs, $25,000, to be completed by 1903).
14. Lincoln Trade Review 1:37 (1903), 3 (draw plans for 61 x 68 ft bldg.).
15. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places within the Mount Emerald and Capitol Additions Historic District.
16. School Board Journal (January 1902), 11 (with elevation); (October 1902), 11; (January 1903), 13 (with photograph).
17. Yost, Carl. "History of the Lincoln Schools 1864 to 1925," typescript, University of Nebraska: N.Y.A. Program, 1936; 101. Copy at Lincoln Public Schools archive.
18. School Board Journal (January 1903), 27.
19. Bob Robinson, Lincoln, to D. Murphy, May 17, 2016; from original blueprints in his possession.
20. School Board Journal (January 1899), 392.
21. Lincoln Star (January 17, 1903), 2.
22. "People You Know," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (February 1, 1903), 6.
23. "Plans for Library--Board Declares Fisher & Lawrie the Winners--Competition Was Strong--Six Architects Submitted Drawings." (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (July 22, 1900), 1.
24. Francis John Plym passport application, April 1, 1921, on-line by Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925, s.v. "Francis John Plym [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
25. "Ninety-One in Class--Commencement Exercises at the University of Illinois," The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois (June 10, 1897), 10.
26. "People You Know," (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal (December 1, 1901), 8.
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. Zimmer, “Francis John Plym (1869-1940), Architect & Inventor,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, October 9, 2018. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 12, 2024.
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