Louis Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois (1856-1930), Architect
Louis Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois was a Canadian-born architect who practiced in Omaha, Nebraska as "L. J. B. Bourgeois" with a number of partners over a span of a half-dozen years, from 1888 to 1893. Before and after his Omaha sojourn he worked in Chicago, then practiced in Los Angeles for a decade between 1895 and 1904. He relocated to New York City around 1905 and there converted to the Bahai faith, which eventually led to his most notable work, the Bahai cathedral in Wilmette, Illinois, Mashriqui'l-Adhkar (dubbed The Temple of Light). His design for the temple was selected in 1920 but not dedicated until 1953; at the time of his death in Wilmette in 1930 only the foundation was complete.
Bourgeois was born in St. Celestine, Nicolet County, Quebec in 1856. He practiced only a few years in Canada (1878-1883), then in the United States for almost half a century. The Dictionary of Architects in Canada is his authoritative biography.[0] This page focuses on his Nebraska years, where he worked initially for F. M. Ellis, then entered briefly into a pair of partnerships, first with S. E. Maxon and H. C. Cooke, then with Herman Nitchner.
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the Format and contents of Nebraska architect entries page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Omaha, Nebraska, 1889-1893
Educational & Professional Associations
1885-1887: architect with Ostling & Bourgeois, Chicago, Illinois.[0][13][e]
1887: architect, partner with J. S. Donnellan, Chicago, Illinois.[[#References|[[0][15]]]
1888: architect, Chicago, Illinois.[16]
1889: architect with F. M. Ellis, Omaha, Nebraska.
1890: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.
1890-1891: architect and partner, Maxon, Bourgeois & Cooke, Omaha, Nebraska.
1891: architect and partner, Bourgeois & (Herman) Nitchner, Omaha, Nebraska.[a]
1892-1893: architect, Omaha, Nebraska.
1895-1904: architect, Los Angeles, California.
Nebraska Buildings & Projects
Associated with F. M. Ellis in design of Commercial National Bank (1889-1890), northwest corner of 16th & Farnam Streets, Omaha, Nebraska.[1][2][4][5][6][7][8][c]
Notes
a. Bourgeois' last Omaha directory listing occurred 1893, when he was listed among Architects in the Business Directory but not among alphabetic listing of residents.
c. An announcement of plans for the new Continental National Bank in December 1888 stated "it will be designed by Mr. Ellis, one of Omaha's best known architects, noting he had won the commission in competition "with representatives from Boston, Chicago and St. Louis..."[5] Advertisements for bids for the construction of the bank in 1889 also stated it would be built according to plans and specifications by Ellis.[1] But upon the opening of the building in 1890 the Omaha World-Herald identified Bourgeois as the architect and Ellis as the superintendent of construction.[7] Omaha Bee noted in January 1890 that "Mr. Bourgeois is well acquainted in Omaha on account to his connection with the new Commercial National bank, corner of Sixteenth and Farnam, which has been erected from his design and details."[2] The bank moved into its new building by June 1, 1890.[4] U. S. National Bank acquired Commercial National Bank in 1905 and moved into the building at 16th & Farnam, before replacing the 1890 structure around 1915.[6]
d. San Francisco Chronicle reported in 1901 that Alice De Longpre was missing from her father's home in Hollywood and was presumed to be with "Louis J. Bourgeois, an architect and sculptor," who had lived with the De Longpres while designing Paul De Longpre's Hollywood home. Bourgeois was described as a Frenchman who was "not yet out of the thirties and...not an unattractive man."[3] The 1910 U. S. census recorded a Louis Bourgeois, "architect," age 45, with wife Alicia, age 30, both born of french parents, in Teaneck, New Jersey.[9]
e. The 1885 Chicago City Directory listed "Bourgeois L. J. B. (Ostling & Bourgeois)" among residents and Ostling & Bourgeois in the Business Directory among Architecdts. In 1887 the listing was "Bourgeois L. G. B." of "Ostling & Bourgeois" among the city's residents, and L. J. B. Bourgeois among the architects in the Business Directory. Louis and Eric J. Ostling were listed as "Ostling Bros., architects" in the residents' section and among Architects in the Business Directory, but "Ostling & Bourgeois" was not included in the alphabetic listing of residents, nor among the Architects in the Business Directory.[13]
f. Chicago Tribune" in 1887 noted that "One of the handsomest houses that will be built on the West Side this year will be erected for William Gilman on Washington boulevard, just west of Union Park, after plans by L. J. B. Bourgeois. It will be of Michigan green-buff stone done in sixteenth century style...The same architect has just planed [sic] a large residence for Dr. Williams, to be erected near Lincoln Park."[14]
References
0. "Bourgeois, Louis Jean Baptiste," in Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950, on-line at http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1172, accessed July 5, 2020.
1. "Notice to Contractors," Omaha Daily Herald (March 15, 1889), 7.
2. "A Promising Partnership," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (January 4, 1890), 6.
3. "De Longpre's Daughter Drops From Sight. Had Become Subject to the Influence of the Man Who Built Her Father's Home," San Francisco Chronicle (April 27, 1901), 3.
4. "The Condition of Trade," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (June 1, 1890), 15.
5. "Another Fine Building--It Will Be Built by the Omaha Commercial National Bank," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (December 31, 1888), 1.
6. Jim McKee, "How U. S. National Bank of Omaha came to be," Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star (October 14, 2017).
7. "A Temple to Finance--The Commercial National Banks New Building and Its Distinctive Architecture," Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald (June 1, 1890), 8.
8. "A Gross Misstatement," Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee (June 3, 1890), 2.
9. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "Louis Bourgeois" and "architect". Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
10. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], s.v. "Louis Bourgeois." Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
11. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
12. "Noted Architect Dies," obituary for "...internationally known architect," Belvidere (Illinois) Daily Republican (August 20, 1930), 4.
13. Chicago city directory, 1885, 1887.
14. "Chicago Real Estate...Among Architects and Builders," Chicago (Illinois) Tribune (August 21, 1887), 6.
15. "Chicago Real Estate...Holiday Happenings," Chicago (Illinois) Tribune (December 31, 1887), 3.
16. "Realty and Domes...The Latest," The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois) (May 27, 1888), 18.
17. "Louis Bourgeois, Architect and Sculptor, Dead," Chicago (Illinois) Tribune (August 20, 1930), 22.
18. R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram, "Bourgeois, Jean-Baptiste Louis (1856-1930). Designer of Mashriqui'l-Adhkar at Wilmette, Illinois, United States of America," H-Bahai: Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies (V. 1, No. 7, September 1997), available on-line at https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/notes/bourgeoi.htm, accessed July 5, 2020.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer & D. Murphy, “Louis Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois (1856-1930), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, July 5, 2020. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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