Ellery Lothrop Davis (1887-1956), Architect
Ellery Lothrop Davis was born on February 21, 1887, in Lake City, Florida, to Ellery Williams Davis (1857-1918) and Annie Wright. Davis attended Lincoln High School and graduated valedictorian of his class in 1903. He attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where his father was professor of mathematics and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and graduated in 1907. Davis received his Bachelors of Art degree in Architecture from Columbia University in 1909. A year later he was associated with the firm of Berlinghof & Davis, Architects, for a brief but productive partnership, until 1917.
Davis worked as an independent architect from 1917-1920. In 1918 he hired Walter F. Wilson as a draftsman, then formed the firm of Davis & Wilson, Architects in 1920. Davis retired due to ill health in 1931, then returned to assist with a government contract to design a new Army Airfield in Denver in 1942 and remained active nearly until his death. He formally registered as an architect in the State of Nebraska in 1945.[22]
Davis was a member of the American Institute of Architects, the American Specification Institute, and the American Society of Testing Materials. Other of his affiliations included the Round Table Club, the Crucible Club, the University Club, and the Lincoln Country Club, and he was a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner. Davis died March 20, 1956. He was survived by his wife, Mary Camille Hall Davis; a daughter, Mary Axtell of Omaha; and his son, Ellery Hall Davis (1912-2003), Architect, also of Lincoln.[1][5][6][8][9][10][11]
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
Educational & Professional Associations
1903: graduate of Lincoln High School (valedictorian).[9][11]
1903-1907: A.B. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska.[9] [11[a]
1909: BArch, Columbia University.[[#References|[[7][9][11]]]
1908-1910: draftsman with Ferdinand C. Fiske, Architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[7]
1909-1910: draftsman with George A. Berlinghof (1858-1944), Architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.
1910-1917: architect and partner, Berlinghof & Davis, Architects, Lincoln.[9][11]
1917-1920: architect, Ellery L. Davis, Architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[9][11]
1920-1931: architect and partner, Davis & Wilson, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[11][22]
1931-1942: inactive partner, Davis & Wilson, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[11][22][b]
1942-1955: architect and partner, Davis & Wilson, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska.[11][22][b]
1945: Registered Professional Architect, Nebraska, September 5, 1945; A-156.[11]
Other Associations
1918-1920: employed Walter F. Wilson (1893-1970), Architect, as architect and superintendent.
Buildings & Projects
1909-1910
Hagenow Building (1909), 1701-1705 O St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[3] (LC13:D08-053)
Ticket booth for University Athletic Board (1909), 1002 T St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[14][c]
1910-1917
From 1910-1917, Davis practiced in partnership with George A. Berlinghof as Berlinghof & Davis, Architects.
One project during this period, the Floral Court Apartments, (1915), 1735-39 G St, Lincoln, Nebraska, was the work of Ellery Davis alone. Not only was this project developed by Ellery and Camille Davis as owners, Davis can be identified as the designer of this project based on drawings filed with the building permit. The elevation is inscribed “Apartment Building for Mrs. Ellery Davis Lincoln Nebr. Ellery Davis Architect Lincoln.” These drawings are the only ones so far found inscribed by Davis alone, during the period of the Berlinghof & Davis partnership.[13:52][25][26:93](LC13:D07-005)
1917-1920
Miller & Paine, Fourth Store (1917), 1215 O St, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][15][d]
Dr. G.O.W. Farnham Garage and Auto Sales Building - Duteau Chevrolet Building (1917), 1801 O St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][16] (LC13:D09-538)[e]
Remodeling at Oliver Theater (1917), 145 N. 10th St., Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:10][18][f]
Union Wall Paper & Paint Company Building (1917-1919), 1320 P, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][17]
Project for eight-story building for Turner & Holmes (1918) northwest corner of 13th & O, Lincoln, Nebraska.[25]
Nebraska City Telephone Building (1918) [Lincoln Telephone Company, Std. Bldg. 2], Nebraska City, Nebraska.[12]
Lewiston School (1918), Pawnee County Dist. 69, Lewiston, Nebraska.[12]
Magee’s Store Building (1918), 1201 O St, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][19] (LC13:C08-307)
Remodel premises for Nebraska Farmer (1918), 1400 P, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][23]
Remodeling of shop at Oliver Theater (1918), 137 N. 10th, Lincoln, Nebraska. [12][13:10][20][f]
Rudge & Guenzel Building (1918), NW corner 13th & N, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12] (LC13:C08-004) [n]
Alterations (1918), Gold & Company Store (Spiers Store), N 10th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12]
Shelton School for the Nebraska Conference (1918), Shelton, Nebraska.[12][g]
Remodel Mayer Bros. Store for Eli Shire (1919), 1023 O, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][24]
George Dutton house (1919), 9th & Burlington, Hastings, Nebraska.[12]
Eagle-Union High School (1919), Cass County Dist. 104, Eagle, Nebraska.[12]
Valparaiso School (1919), Saunders County Dist. 101, Valparaiso, Nebraska.[12] (SD15-024)
York Telephone Building (1919) [Lincoln Telephone Company, Std. Bldg. 3], York, Nebraska.[12]
Store for Paul Holm (1919), 117 S. 14th, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][21]
Nebraska Capitol Competition, final stage (1919-1920), Lincoln, Nebraska.[2]
Chadron High School (1920), 6th & Ann, Chadron, Nebraska.[12]
Chadron Ward School (1920), Lake & Norfolk Ave, Chadron, Nebraska.[12]
West Point High School (1920), Bridge & Park, West Point, Nebraska.[12]
David City Telephone Building (1920) [Lincoln Telephone Company, Std. Bldg. 1], David City, Nebraska.[12]
Fairbury Telephone Building (1920) [Lincoln Telephone Company, Std. Bldg. 4], Fairbury, Nebraska.[12]
Superior Telephone Building (1920) [Lincoln Telephone Company, Std. Bldg. 1a], Superior, Nebraska.[12]
Mead School (1920), Saunders County Dist. 72, Mead, Nebraska.[12]
Addition and alteration (1920), South Exchange Building, Lincoln Telephone Company, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][h]
Nebraska State Hospital (1920), Milford, Nebraska.[12]
Plainview High School (1920), Pierce County Dist. 5, Plainview, Nebraska.[12]
Kenwood School (1920-1921), Lake & Norfolk Ave., Chadron, Nebraska.[12] (DW03-049)
1920-1956
In 1920, Davis and Walter F. Wilson formed Davis & Wilson, Architects. The firm survived Davis’s death in 1956, at which time his son, Ellery Hall Davis (1912-2003), Architect, assumed the mantle of Davis partner in the firm. The firm was reorganized in December of 1968 as Davis Fenton Stange Darling, Architects, which was succeeded in 1995 by Davis Design, Architects.
During the transition into the Davis & Wilson partnership, and continuing for a few years after, drawings for the projects listed below bore only Davis’s name.
Kitchen addition (1921), Nebraska Home for Dependent Children, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12]
Ellery Davis House (1924), 2740 Van Dorn, Lincoln, Nebraska. (LC13:E05-038)
University Place School (1925), 4601 Adams, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:69]
Undated
Bookcases for H. K. Burket (n.d.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13][i]
C. M. Clark house (n.d.), Lewiston, Nebraska.[12]
Remodel (n.d.), Domestic Science Building, University Place, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:32]
Alterations (n.d.), H. A. Ensign Garage, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:54][j]
Remodel (n.d.), Fair Store, Beatrice, Nebraska.[12][13:55]
Goehner School (n.d.), Goehner, Nebraska (in association with Ben H. Hughes, Architect, Seward, Nebraska)[12]
Porch addition (n.d.), E. J. Hainer house, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:4-5][k]
Project for Markell Garage (n.d.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:20][l]
Merna Bank (n.d.), Merna, Nebraska.[12]
Marquee (n.d.), Perkins Huffman Company, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][m]
Alterations (n.d.), Gen. John J. Pershing house, 1748 B, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:66]
Addition (n.d.), Apartment House for Harvey Rathbone, Lincoln, Nebraska.[12][13:53]
Shop addition (n.d.), Tecumseh School, Tecumseh, Nebraska.[12][13:3]
Writings
Davis, Ellery, Architect. "Economical Proportions of Concrete Slabs and Simple Concrete Beams." American Architect 113 (1919): 779.
Notes
a. Sources on Davis’s dates of graduation, partnership, etc. vary by a few years, even when Davis himself was probably the source. The dates offered here are those deemed most reliable and consistent among the several sources; divergent dates are mentioned in the references below.
b. The white pages of the Lincoln City Directories do not list affiliation with Davis & Wilson for the years 1942-1950.
c. The original building permit for the Hagenow Building is for a two-story commercial building, while the accompanying drawings mention a third story “not to be built at present but column at top of second story must be provided for.” A second permit was issued three months later for the third story addition, presumably during one continuous construction campaign.
d. Drawings filed with the building permit depict a two-story storefront with Neo-classical terra cotta trim. Labeled “Fourth store Building for Mssrs. Miller & Paine,” the building replaced 3-story storefronts shown on those lots on the 1903 Sanborn Map Co. atlas of Lincoln. Images in the Macdonald Studio Collection of the Nebraska State Historical Society depict the storefront in 1931 (Macdonald images 19310409 [Fiche 8:F5] and 19130504 sub 3 [Fiche 8:J5]). In 1938 and 1939, Miller & Paine obtained building permits to alter and add to the existing two-story building with a new O Street façade, resulting in a 5-story building with a sleek limestone front, which Miller & Paine leased to Ben Simon’s store. Davis & Wilson designed the 1939 project, extending and re-facing the 1917 Davis-designed building.
e. This automotive sales building, measuring 100’x142’ and two stories tall, was built for Dr. Geo. O. W. Farnham and originally occupied by Hussong Ford. In 1922, Davis & Wilson doubled the building, extending it east another 100 feet. DuTeau Chevrolet occupied the structure for decades.
f. Two building permits were issued eight months apart for $5,000 of remodeling work on F. D. Eager’s Oliver Theater building, which stretched a half-block from 137-147 North 13th Street.
g. This is a combined school and dormitory.[12]
h. In association with Vernon F. Tinsley Associates.[12]
i. Homer K. Burket lived at 1934 F St. in Lincoln in 1920.
j. Ensign operated Ensign Omnibus and Transfer Co. at 221 S. 11th St. in Lincoln in 1920.
k. Eugene. J. Hainer resided at 1139 S. 19th Street (19th & A Sts.) in Lincoln in 1920.
l. John H. Markel operated Markel-Cropsey Airplane Co. at 1726 O St. in Lincoln in 1920, which was originally an automotive sales building design by “’Berlinghof & Davis’” and built in 1917.
m. Perkins Huffman operated a store at 1112-1114 O St. in Lincoln in 1920.
n. This department store was being designed at the time of dissolution of the Berlinghof & Davis partnership and apparently had involvement by the partners together and separately.
References
1. Edward F. Zimmer, “Davis & Wilson,” in David J. Wishart, ed. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004, 75-76. Online: http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.arc.015 Accessed February 22, 2013.
2. American Architect 117:2327 (July 28, 1920).
3. City of Lincoln Building Permits (and accompanying applications and drawings) #3223, July 10, 1909; and #3369, September 23, 1909; Architect “Ellery Davis.”
4. Mabin, Butch. “Davis Design has been shaping Lincoln since adolescence,” Lincoln Journal Star (March 2, 2003): 30M.
5. “Ellery Davis, Longtime Local Architect, Dies At Age of 69,” Lincoln Star (March 22, 1956): 6:1.
6. “Dean Davis Dies; Pneumonia Victim,” Lincoln Star (February 4, 1918): 4.
7. Stange, Jim. “Davis Design: Design Excellence since 1912,” Preservation Association of Lincoln, Brown Bag Lecture Series, Museum of Nebraska History, Lincoln, May 13, 2003. Lists Davis’s Columbia degree as 1908.
8. Lees, James T., “Ellery Williams Davis, Ph.D., 1857-1918: Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,” The University Journal (Alumni Edition) (April 1918): 2-3.
9. “Ellery Lothrop Davis,” in Robert M. Baldwin, Who’s Who in Lincoln, 1928. Lincoln: _____, 1928, p.68.
10. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects. In http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd1010139.aspx Accessed April 27, 2010.
11. Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering and Architecture, Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, August 10, 1945. Nebraska State Historical Society RG081 SG2. Lists Davis’s University of Nebraska graduation date as 1906, Columbia degree as 1908, and Berlinghof and Davis partnership dates as 1909-1917.
12. Tom Caspar, comp. Inventory of architectural records in the archives of Davis Fenton Stange Darling, Architects, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1996. Nebraska State Historical Society, RG3748, Box 16.
13. “Davis-Fenton-Stange-Darling Architects and Engineers: Architectural and Construction Documents,” Instrument of Donation, Davis Fenton Stange Darling Collection, Nebraska State Historical Society, RG3748, July 18, 1977.
14. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #3425, October 14, 1909; Architect “Ellery Davis.”
15. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #7236, September 29, 1917, Architect “Ellery Davis.”
16. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #7288 November 30, 1917, Architect “Ellery Davis & Trussed Concrete Steel Co.”
17. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #7926, May 26, 1919, Architect “Ellery Davis.”
18. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #7298, December 22, 1917, Architect “Davis.”
19. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #7392, Apr. 29, 1918, Architect “Ellery Davis.”
20. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #7549, August 6, 1918, Architect “Ellery Davis.”
21. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying application) #8187, September 30, 1919, Architect “Ellery Davis.”
22. A Century of Design Excellence, 1912-2012, Davis Design, centennial publication by the firm, 2013.
23. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying architectural drawings) #7442, May 16, 1918, “Ellery Davis Architect.”
24. City of Lincoln Building Permit (and accompanying architectural drawings) #7695, February 27, 1919, “Ellery Davis Architect.” 25.”Building to be Erected at the Northwest Corner of Thirteenth and O Streets by Turner & Holmes,” Sunday State Journal (Lincoln), January 6, 1918, p. 12B.
Page Citation
E. F. Zimmer and D. Murphy, “Ellery Lothrop Davis (1887-1956), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, May 15, 2013. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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